Borussia Dortmund were left rock bottom of the table on Saturday evening after a goalless draw at Bayer Leverkusen on their return to Bundesliga action.
With coach Jurgen Klopp making no secret of how difficult the next four months are going to be for him and his side on the eve of the game, Saturday's other Bundesliga results hammered home that concept with Leverkusen confirming at the BayArena that Dortmund are not going to get any favours.
The hosts would have won the game on points, but Dortmund showed the battling qualities they are going to need between now and May to pick up what could prove to be a crucial point when they are all added up in four months' time.
Schalke beat Hannover 1-0 but lost Klaas-Jan Huntelaar to a red card at the Arena AufSchalke.
Marco Hoger's 32nd-minute effort proved to be the difference between the two sides with the Royal Blues holding on to a scrappy win.
Huntelaar was given his marching orders late on for a dangerous tackle from behind, spoiling the victory which boosted Roberto Di Matteo's side's hopes of qualifying for the Champions League again next season.
Borussia Monchengladbach cut the gap between them and second-placed Wolfsburg to seven points with a 1-0 win at Stuttgart which sends the Swabians into the relegation zone.
Patrick Herrmann scored the only goal of the game in the 71st minute to move the Foals back to within seven points of the Wolves, who beat Bayern Munich 4-1 on Friday night.
Stuttgart had chances to get something out of the game, but despite the efforts of their fans to lift them, they were beaten at home for the sixth time this season to boast the worst home record of all 18 Bundesliga clubs.
Cologne dumped Hamburg right into the thick of a relegation battle with a 2-0 win at the Volksparkstadion on Saturday.
Marcel Risse scored twice in the second half as Peter Stoger's men weathered the storm and came out fighting to grab all three points.
The result lifted the victors five points clear of their hosts, who are facing up to yet another battle for survival after failing to build on what had seemed to be a promising winter break.
Mainz pulled away from immediate relegation danger and leapfrogged opponents Paderborn in the standings with a 5-0 win at the Coface Arena.
Yunus Malli's first two goals of the season and a Pablo De Blasis strike saw Kasper Hjulmand's men get off on the right foot at the start of 2015 and move two points above their opponents.
Sami Allagui added a fourth and Johannes Geis a fifth late on from the penalty spot as Paderborn suffered their heaviest defeat of the season.
A Nils Petersen hat trick helped Freiburg come from behind to beat Eintracht Frankfurt 4-1 and move off the foot of the table.
Marco Russ gave the visitors the lead in the first minute and their lead did not seem in any danger until Vladimir Darida levelled from the penalty spot after an hour.
Petersen then took centre stage, scoring two goals in five minutes before completing his hat trick and Freiburg's much-needed third win of the season late on.