Dortmund sink Bayern in Bundesliga top of the table clash

Borussia Dortmund's players celebrate after their vital 1-0 home win over Bayern Munich.

Borussia Dortmund took a giant stride towards defending their Bundesliga title with a 1-0 win over Bayern Munich Wednesday in a top of the table clash.

The priceless victory left Dortmund six points clear of their Bavarian rivals with only four games left of the German league season.

Polish international striker Robert Lewandowski scored the vital goal, his 20th of a fine season, in the second half.

He helped home Kevin Grosskreutz's shot on 77 minutes, but there was still drama to come.

Only four minutes were left when Dortmund goalkeeper Roman Weidenfeller brought down Bayern's winger Arjen Robben in the penalty area.

The Dutch star decided to take the penalty, but saw Borussia captain Weidenfeller save his effort to be mobbed by his teammates.

Robben then compounded his error by shooting over from a great position and in a frantic finish Lewandowski hit the crossbar at the other end.

"That was thrilling at the end, the last few minutes were unbelievable," Dortmund coach Jurgen Klopp told AFP.

His side have gone 24 games without defeat to hold off a resurgent Bayern, who face Real Madrid next Tuesday in the first leg of their Champions League semifinal.

Bayern and Dortmund will also contest the German Cup final on May 12.

Meanwhile, third placed Schalke suffered a shock 4-1 defeat at Nuremberg which leaves them six points behind Bayern ahead of their clash with Dortmund at the weekend.

In Serie A, Juventus went back on top as Alessandro Del Piero scored the winner in a 2-1 win over Lazio in Turin.

The victory lifted them one point clear of AC Milan, who had briefly gone top with a 1-0 win at Chievo Tuesday.

Simone Pepe put Juve ahead before Stefano Mauri equalized in a rare Lazio attack.

Juve continued to press but it needed a typical piece of magic from Del Piero to grab the clinching goal from a clever free-kick with eight minutes left.

In other action, Inter Milan maintained new coach Andrea Stramaccioni's unbeaten start with a 2-1 win over Siena with Diego Milito scoring twice.

Inter drew level on points with Napoli, who were beaten 3-1 at home to Atalanta, for the final Europa League spot.