In other matches, Real Betis beat Albacete 2-1 to climb into third place with 48 points, and Espanyol striker Raul Tamudo converted two penalties in a 2-2 draw with Real Sociedad, a result which left Espanyol in fifth place with 46 points.
Brazilian defender Lucio made amends for a costly blunder by scoring a goal to help lead Bayern Munich past Hansa Rostock 3-1 and back to the top of the standings.
Lucio scored the first goal in the 41st minute, and Caludio Pizzaro added another in the 65th. Michael Ballack got the final goal with an 89th-minute penalty. Uwe Moehrle had given the visitors a 1-0 lead in the 16th minute after outjumping the taller Lucio.
Schalke, which trails on goal difference, can reclaim the lead if it beats Mainz 05 today.
"We know this situation, we've been here before," Ballack said. "We were calm when we fell behind and didn't panic -- now it's up to Schalke."
Third-place Werder Bremen, which trails Bayern and Schalke by six points, beat Nuremberg 2-1 with a pair of goals by Ivan Klasnic. The goals ended a 217-minute scoring drought for the defending champions.
Hertha Berlin moved into fifth place -- only two points behind Bremen for the hotly contested third Champions League berth -- rolling past Bielefeld 3-0.
Berlin has lost only one of its last 16 matches and management has now demanded a berth in Europe from the players.
Hamburg tumbled from fourth to seventh with a 3-2 loss to Dortmund, while VfL Bochum blasted Wolfsburg 5-1, Leverkusen beat Kaiserslautern 2-0 and Hannover edged Moenchengladbach 2-1.
At the top of the Bundesliga, two battles have emerged.
Schalke and Bayern are fighting for the title with 53 points, while five teams are gunning for the final Champions League berth and three UEFA Cup places.
Bremen has 47 points, followed by Stuttgart with 45 and a game in hand, Berlin with 44, and Leverkusen and Hamburg with 43 each.
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