FC Schalke 2-1 VfB Stuttgart

Schalke moved to the top of the Bundesliga table for at least 24 hours with a home victory over Stuttgart.

Former Germany striker Kevin Kuranyi struck the winning goal after 56 minutes following a frantic 10-minute period when all three goals in the game were scored.

Edu Goncalves opened the scoring for the hosts less than a minute after his introduction as a half-time substitute before Serdar Tasci equalised after 50 minutes.

Kuranyi had the final say, however, to move Schalke a point ahead of Bayern Munich, who can regain top place when they host relegation-haunted Freiburg on Saturday.

Schalke had the first chance on goal after 14 minutes when Jefferson Farfan collided with defender Georg Niedermeier and the ball broke to Kuranyi who curled a shot that skidded past the right-hand post.

Despite the early chance, Stuttgart controlled the majority of the first-half possession and almost went ahead on 35 minutes when Pavel Pogrebnyak was sent through one-on-one with goalkeeper Manuel Neuer.

The Russian picked his spot but Neuer was up to the task, making a superb reaction save to keep the scores level.

The second half began with a flurry of goals and Edu claimed the opener with his first touch after coming on for Farfan at half-time.

A quick passing move between Peer Kluge and Kuranyi set up Edu to roll his shot past an exposed Jens Lehmann.

The lead lasted just four minutes as Timo Gebhart's pin-point cross found defender Tasci at the far post to head home from inside the six-yard box.

Schalke then reclaimed their lead in the 56th minute thanks to the Bundesliga's leading goalscorer Kuranyi.

A well-worked free-kick and an ill-advised attempt from the away defence to play Kuranyi offside allowed the 28-year-old striker the easiest of finishes for his 14th league goal of the season.

Schalke should have made the points safe 10 minutes later when Kuranyi burst clear and rolled a pass across the six-yard box only for Edu to blast his shot over the crossbar.

Stuttgart poured forward to find an equaliser and almost got it when Molinaro's 89th-minute shot was blocked on the line.

Hannover 2-1 Frankfurt

Hannover collected their second straight victory by holding on at home against nine-man Eintracht Frankfurt.

Leon Andreasen gave Hannover the lead after 14 minutes and Halil Altintop equalised in first-half stoppage time for the visitors.

Frankfurt were reduced to 10 men in the 54th minute as Selim Teber was sent off for a second yellow card offence.

Sergio Pinto restored Hannover's lead in the 57th minute and Frankfurt lost another player as Maik Franz received his second yellow card a minute into stoppage time.

Hannover's second win in a row - and their first against Frankfurt since 1987 - comes on the heels of a nine-game losing streak. Mirko Slomka's team improved to 23 points for 16th place.

Frankfurt have now suffered three straight losses and dropped to 10th with 35 points.

In the sixth minute, Frankfurt's Patrick Ochs cleared Christian Schulz's shot from seven yards just in front of the goal line.

The hosts grabbed the lead in the 14th minute. Manuel Schmiedebach sent a high ball into the area which Didier Ya Konan chested down and Andreasen charged forward and blasted home the first score.

The visitors equalised two minutes into first-half stoppage time with Pirmin Schwegler's cross into the area volleyed home from five yards by Altintop despite being surrounded by three Hannover defenders.

Frankfurt went a man down nine minutes after the break as Teber received his second warning for purposely handling a ball in the midfield.

Hannover grabbed the lead just three minutes later with a determined attack. Ya Konan played a fine through-ball and Frankfurt goalkeeper Oka Nikolov made a strong save on Elson's attempt, but Pinto collected the rebound, waited and looped the ball over the goalkeeper.

Frankfurt could not find the means to beat Hannover goalkeeper Florian Fromlowitz again and they were reduced to nine men a minute into stoppage time as Franz was shown his second warning.

Mainz 1-0 Cologne

Mainz boosted their hopes of European qualification with a victory over Cologne, despite playing with 10 men.

The hosts were facing an uphill struggle when Aristide Bance was sent off in the 27th minute, but Andre Schurrle netted shortly before the hour mark to hand them all three points.

Mainz move up two places into seventh in the Bundesliga, while Cologne remain 13th.

Bance had scored in Mainz's two previous games but his chances of being the hero again today evaporated with less than half an hour gone when he was sent off for elbowing Pedro Geromel in the face as he tried to evade the Cologne defender's attentions.

The hosts could nevertheless have taken the lead nine minutes later when Filip Trojan raced into the area and rounded two defenders before forcing Farid Mondragon into a good save with a close-range effort.

Cologne's best chance came a minute before the break when Milivoje Novakovic's fiercely-struck free-kick from just outside the area was well placed but caused no problems for Mainz goalkeeper Christian Wetklo.

Mainz took the lead in the 57th minute when substitute Chadli Amri, who had just come off the bench, forced his way into the area before crossing the ball to Schurrle for a low unstoppable drive past Mondragon.

The visitors had few chances to level although Lukas Podolski should have done better in the 78th minute when his effort scraped over the crossbar from the edge of the area.

They wasted an even better opportunity two minutes from time when Wetklo parried Kevin McKenna's corner but only as far as Fabrice Ehret who headed over the crossbar from close range.

Hertha Berlin 1-2 Nurnberg

Hertha Berlin suffered a huge blow to their hopes of avoiding relegation as they went down to a stoppage-time defeat.

Theofanis Gekas gave Hertha the lead in the 36th minute but the Europa League side could not take advantage of their chances and Albert Bunjaku equalised after 61 minutes.

And Nurnberg shocked Berlin in the final minutes as Angelos Charisteas struck the winner a minute into injury time.

Berlin have not won at home in 12 matches and remain stranded in last place in the Bundesliga with just 15 points - nine adrift of safety.

Nurnberg collected their first victory in Berlin since the 1990-91 season to improve to 24 points and 15th place.

Berlin had the first chance after 11 minutes with Raffael getting around Nurnberg keeper Raphael Schäfer, but Dominik Maroh got back to clear his goalbound shot.

The hosts continued to push forward and Gekas stuck the left post five minutes later.

The ball hit the woodwork again after 21 minutes as Schäfer deflected Raffael's shot against the crossbar, and the keeper made another great save from Gekas six minutes later.

But the Greek international finally put Berlin on the scoreboard in the 36th minute. Schäfer blocked Cicero's shot from seven yards but the rebound fell to Gekas, who was able to steer it under the keeper and in.

Hertha continued their push forward but could not beat Schäfer and Nurnberg took advantage of Berlin's missed chances to equalise after 61 minutes. Marcel Risse sent a corner from the left side into the area where Bunjaku headed into the far corner.

Nurnberg were close to taking the lead with 14 minutes to play but Bunjaku blasted a 14-yard shot against the right post.

The visitors remained determined to score again and finally did so a minute into stoppage time. Andreas Ottl sent a through ball to Ilkay Gündogan, who crossed for Charisteas to net the crucial goal from eight yards out.

M'gladbach 0-4 Wolfsburg

Edin Dzeko inspired Wolfsburg to their fourth straight Bundesliga win with a brace at Borussia Monchengladbach.

Zvjezdan Misimovic put the Wolves ahead in the 41st minute before Dzeko scored his first from the penalty spot in the 49th minute.

Christian Gentner guaranteed Wolfsburg all three points 10 minutes later before Dzeko's 14th goal of the season ensured an even more convincing win for the defending German champions 10 minutes from time.

Wolfsburg have been oozing self-confidence recently with the return to form of Dzeko coinciding with their rise away from relegation danger.

But a 1-1 draw at Rubin Kazan in the Europa League on Thursday had left them moaning the fact they only had 30 hours to recover after a 2,000-mile flight.

Nevertheless, there was no signs of tiredness as Dzeko had two chances to put them ahead in the first half.

Both shots came from similar positions inside the penalty area and both were saved by Monchengladbach goalkeeper Logan Bailly at his near post.

The Wolves took a deserved lead in the 41st minute when Misimovic received the ball 25 yards from goal and threaded it low through the Gladbach defence into the bottom corner of Bailly's goal.

Seconds later, Dzeko missed his third chance of the match with another effort too close to Bailly.

But he notched his 13th of the season early in the second half when Michael Bradley handled the ball inside the penalty area, allowing the Bosnian to double Wolfsburg's lead from the spot.

Juan Arango made it clear that it was not going to be his or Gladbach's day as he blazed his shot over an open goal from an angle.

And Gentner's unstoppable volley from the corner of the penalty area sealed the points for the away team in the 59th minute.

Dzeko added a fourth 10 minutes from time to seal Wolfsburg's fourth win in a row and take them to within six points of fifth-placed Hamburg.

Gladbach will have to start looking over their shoulder again as they slipped to within just eight points of the bottom three.

Schalke 2-1 Stuttgart

Schalke moved to the top of the Bundesliga table for at least 24 hours with a home victory over Stuttgart.

Former Germany striker Kevin Kuranyi struck the winning goal after 56 minutes following a frantic 10-minute period when all three goals in the game were scored.

Edu Goncalves opened the scoring for the hosts less than a minute after his introduction as a half-time substitute before Serdar Tasci equalised after 50 minutes.

Kuranyi had the final say, however, to move Schalke a point ahead of Bayern Munich, who can regain top place when they host relegation-haunted Freiburg on Saturday.

Schalke had the first chance on goal after 14 minutes when Jefferson Farfan collided with defender Georg Niedermeier and the ball broke to Kuranyi who curled a shot that skidded past the right-hand post.

Despite the early chance, Stuttgart controlled the majority of the first-half possession and almost went ahead on 35 minutes when Pavel Pogrebnyak was sent through one-on-one with goalkeeper Manuel Neuer.

The Russian picked his spot but Neuer was up to the task, making a superb reaction save to keep the scores level.

The second half began with a flurry of goals and Edu claimed the opener with his first touch after coming on for Farfan at half-time.

A quick passing move between Peer Kluge and Kuranyi set up Edu to roll his shot past an exposed Jens Lehmann.

The lead lasted just four minutes as Timo Gebhart's pin-point cross found defender Tasci at the far post to head home from inside the six-yard box.

Schalke then reclaimed their lead in the 56th minute thanks to the Bundesliga's leading goalscorer Kuranyi.

A well-worked free-kick and an ill-advised attempt from the away defence to play Kuranyi offside allowed the 28-year-old striker the easiest of finishes for his 14th league goal of the season.

Schalke should have made the points safe 10 minutes later when Kuranyi burst clear and rolled a pass across the six-yard box only for Edu to blast his shot over the crossbar.

Stuttgart poured forward to find an equaliser and almost got it when Molinaro's 89th-minute shot was blocked on the line.

Hoffenheim 0-1 Mainz

A spectacular individual goal from Aristide Bance in the 69th minute earned Mainz all three points at Hoffenheim.

The home side had looked the more likely to win it before being stunned by Bance, who covered almost 40 yards before scoring the decisive goal which took Mainz up to ninth in the table.

Hoffenheim slip to 11th, 10 points adrift of the top five but too far away from the bottom three to have any relegation worries.

Mainz arrived in Hoffenheim with just one striker, making their intentions clear from the off.

And the home team struggled to break them down with Carlos Eduardo sending his first shot of the game straight into the arms of Heinz Muller.

Vedad Ibisevic, who scored for Bosnia in midweek, was almost on target for Hoffenheim in the 24th minute, but his shot cleared the angle of crossbar and post.

Mainz ditched their more reserved tactics in the second half and started to attack their hosts with Andreas Ivanschitz getting in their first shot of the game in the 64th minute.

However, the Austrian's effort was deflected wide before he sent in a mixture of a cross and a shot moments later which did not result in any danger for the home team.

Mainz went ahead midway through the second period thanks to the individual skill of Bance.

He picked up the ball just inside his own half before starting a determined run through the Hoffenheim defence before pulling the trigger from just outside the penalty area and beating Timo Hildebrand, who still got a touch to the ball, inside his near post.

Nurnberg 3-2 Bayer Leverkusen

Nunberg ended Bayer Leverkusen's unbeaten record this season but were made to sweat for the victory at the Franken Stadion.

Two goals in as many first-half minutes from Eric-Maxim Choupo-Moting and a Mickael Tavares strike 10 minutes into the second half put the Bavarians well on course for all three points.

Stefan Kiessling (66) and Patrick Helmes (73) reduced the arrears but Nurnberg held onto all three points which take them out of the bottom three.

Nurnberg were dealt a major blow in the 33rd minute when Breno was left writhing in agony after a dangerous tackle from Stefan Reinartz. He was carried from the field with suspected torn knee ligaments.

After a tight 40 minutes in which former Nurnberg striker Kiessling had tried in vain to put a goal past his ex-club, Nurnberg took the first real chance of the match to go ahead.

Choupo-Moting, whose first goal in German football came against Bayern Munich, showed his knack for scoring against the big clubs.

He made Bayer's central defensive pairing of Sami Hyypia and Manuel Friedrich look like statues as he stole in for the opener in the 42nd minute before, just a few minutes later, striking again.

His second goal was even better as he took a diagonal ball from Dennis Diekmeier into his path and beat Germany number one Rene Adler with a high shot into the top corner.

Leverkusen found themselves with a mountain to climb just 10 minutes in to the second period when Tavares added a third for the Bavarians.

He opened his account for the season with a shot on the turn which beat Adler into his bottom right-hand corner.

Helmes was introduced moments later as Leverkusen had no other choice but to take a gamble.

Kiessling got the goal he was looking for in the 66th minute, and it could hardly have been any easier as Gonzalo Castro laid the ball on a plate to him having already beaten Nurnberg goalkeeper Rafael Schafer.

Helmes set up a grandstand finish with his first goal of the season in the 73rd minute, punishing Dennis Diekmeier's poor clearance to beat Schafer with a low shot.

Leverkusen threw everybody forward for a nail-biting final 10 minutes but they could not find a way though as they lost for the first time in 25 league games this season.

Dortmund 3-0 Moenchengladbach

Mohamed Zidan scored two goals and set up a third as Borussia Dortmund eased past Borussia Moenchengladbach.

Zidan was involved in Kevin Grosskreutz's goal in the 13th minute and made it 2-0 after 54 minutes. The Egyptian striker struck again in the 70th minute to seal all three points.

The first chance of the game also produced the first goal as Grosskreutz passed to Zidan, who raced into the left side of the area and crossed into the middle where a charging Grosskreutz had space seven yards out to poke past Gladbach goalkeeper Logan Bailly.

Dortmund controlled the proceedings and nearly made it 2-0 after 35 minutes but Bailly deflected Marcel Schmelzer's shot from the left side just inches wide of the far post.

Bailly was then forced to make another superb save from Zidan's powerful shot from 17 yards two minutes before the break.

Zidan finally scored a goal of his own with a wonderful shot with his left foot from 16 yards after faking out Dante and Michael Bradley at the edge of the area.

The Egyptian made it 3-0 with 20 minutes remaining after some fine Dortmund passing and poor Gladbach defence.

Zidan passed to Lucas Barrios, who sent a pass through to a charging Zidan who beat Bailly from the left side to the far right corner.

Gladbach never threatened to get back into the game and the home side looked more likely to find a fourth goal in the closing stages.

Dortmund 3-0 Moenchengladbach

Mohamed Zidan scored two goals and set up a third as Borussia Dortmund eased past Borussia Moenchengladbach.

Zidan was involved in Kevin Grosskreutz's goal in the 13th minute and made it 2-0 after 54 minutes. The Egyptian striker struck again in the 70th minute to seal all three points.

The first chance of the game also produced the first goal as Grosskreutz passed to Zidan, who raced into the left side of the area and crossed into the middle where a charging Grosskreutz had space seven yards out to poke past Gladbach goalkeeper Logan Bailly.

Dortmund controlled the proceedings and nearly made it 2-0 after 35 minutes but Bailly deflected Marcel Schmelzer's shot from the left side just inches wide of the far post.

Bailly was then forced to make another superb save from Zidan's powerful shot from 17 yards two minutes before the break.

Zidan finally scored a goal of his own with a wonderful shot with his left foot from 16 yards after faking out Dante and Michael Bradley at the edge of the area.

The Egyptian made it 3-0 with 20 minutes remaining after some fine Dortmund passing and poor Gladbach defence.

Zidan passed to Lucas Barrios, who sent a pass through to a charging Zidan who beat Bailly from the left side to the far right corner.

Gladbach never threatened to get back into the game and the home side looked more likely to find a fourth goal in the closing stages.

Werder Bremen 2-2 Stuttgart

Werder Bremen scored twice in the final 15 minutes as they came back from two goals down to snatch a draw against Stuttgart.

Hugo Almeida halved the deficit in the 75th minute and Torsten Frings converted a penalty with nine minutes to go to level the scores.

First-half goals from Pavel Pogrebnyak and Sami Khedira had earlier put Stuttgart in the driving seat.

The draw kept Thomas Schaaf's hosts four points ahead of their opponents as both bid for a European place.

Stuttgart took the lead in the 16th minute as Aliaksandr Hleb's pass went through the legs of Bremen defender Naldo to Pogrebnyak, who beat goalkeeper Tim Wiese with a left-footed shot into the left corner from 11 yards.

Bremen striker Claudio Pizarro found himself alone in front of the Stuttgart goal 15 minutes later, but he could not beat keeper Jens Lehmann from five yards.

Stuttgart striker Cacau also missed a good chance in the 38th minute, sending a shot from eight yards over the crossbar.

But the visitors doubled the advantage four minutes later as Pogrebnyak sent a fine pass to the right wing for Timo Gebhart, who crossed into the middle for Khedira to score with his head.

Bremen grabbed a lifeline with 15 minutes to go.

Per Mertesacker sent a long diagonal pass to the left side where Almeida fired an effort past Lehmann and inside the far right post from 17 yards.

And Bremen equalised with nine minutes left when Marko Marin was brought down in the area by Stefano Celozzi.

Captain Frings took the responsibility of taking the resulting penalty and made no mistake, sending his spot-kick high to Lehmann's left to rescue a point for his side.

Freiburg 1-2 Hannover

Papiss Cisse capped off a crazy 10 minutes with an own goal to hand Hannover three Bundesliga points at Freiburg.

After a goalless first hour, Elson's strike put Hannover ahead in the 63rd minute before Yacine Abdessadki levelled seven minutes later.

But Cisse nodded into his own net to leave the home fans disappointed.

Freiburg dominated possession in an unexciting first half but struggled to create many chances.

After 18 minutes, Mohammadou Idrissou advanced into the penalty area before firing wide from 10 yards.

After that there was little in the way of goalmouth action until a minute before the break.

Jonathan Jager crossed from the left wing for Cisse, who controlled with his head inside the six-yard box and saw his close-range effort parried by Florian Fromlowitz.

Heiko Butscher put the follow-up over the crossbar from six yards.

The game livened up a little after the break and Cisse should have put the hosts ahead when he missed from close range after being played in by Daniel Caligiuri.

It was barely deserved when Hannover took the lead - and they needed help from from Freiburg defender Felix Bastians to do it.

His attempted clearance did not even make it out of the area, instead finding Edson to finish low into the corner.

Freiburg equalised when Abdessadki volleyed Julian Schuster's long pass past Fromlowitz from 20 yards.

But Freiburg again shot themselves in the foot when Cisse headed Arnold Bruggink's cross into his own net with 17 minutes to play.

Wolfsburg 4-1 Bochum

Edin Dzeko scored twice as Wolfsburg came back from a goal down to continue their strong form with victory over Bochum.

Paul Freier gave Bochum the lead after 28 minutes before Dzeko equalised after an hour.

Obafemi Martins made it 2-1 in the 75th minute for Wolfsburg before Dzeko scored from the penalty spot four minutes later. Jonathan Santana finished off the scoring a minute into stoppage time.

That made it three straight wins for Wolfsburg after a 10-game winless streak, while Bochum suffered their first defeat in nine games.

Wolfsburg had the first chance of the game after seven minutes after confusion in front of Bochum's goal, but Grafite shot over from seven yards.

Bochum grabbed the lead 21 minutes later as Wolfsburg defender Andrea Barzagli could not collect a ball into the area. Freier collected the pass, turned inwards and placed his left-foot shot into the left corner.

The home side equalised on the hour mark with Marcel Schaefer crossing from the left to Dzeko, who struck a left-foot volley into the far right corner.

Wolfsburg claimed the lead in the 76th minute thanks to two substitutes. Makoto Hasebe crossed from the right side into the area where Martins hit a first-time shot past Bochum goalkeeper Philipp Heerwagen.

Dzeko scored his second goal of the game with 11 minutes left, converting a penalty after being brought down by Heerwagen.

And Santana joined the scoring party in the 90th minute for the hosts to complete the win.

Hamburg 1-0 Hertha Berlin

Marcel Janssen's goal five minutes before half-time improved Hamburg's chances of finishing in the Bundesliga's top three.

However, this defeat was more bad news for struggling Hertha Berlin, whose manager Friedhelm Funkel was given a vote of confidence on Thursday.

The home side started strongly and Marcel Janssen saw a second minute effort from Dennis Aogo well saved by Jaroslav Drobny in the Hertha goal.

Six minutes later David Jarolim tried his luck for the hosts from long-range - but it was off target - and in the 10th minute Aogo shot wide after Tunay Torun had set him up.

The visitors had their first chance in the 14th minute when Rafael's free-kick found Ramos - but his 30-yard effort was saved.

The only goal of the game came in the 40th minute. Tunay took the ball into the penalty area but it was blocked and fell kindly for Janssen to tap into an open goal from eight yards.

Hertha started the second half brightly and had two good chances in the 49th minute. After Cicero's volley had been saved, Adrian Ramos blasted the rebound against the bar.

Hamburg did most of the pressing in the second half and in the 69th minute Eljero Elia and Thomas Rincon were involved in a good passing move. Rincon crossed into the box but Drobny was on hand to save.

With 15 minutes remaining Ze Roberto's excellent ball found Janssen, who put the ball into the penalty area for Ruud Van Nistelrooy - but the Dutchman's shot was blocked by a defender.

Three minutes from time Hertha came close to an equaliser - but Cicero's header from Artur Wichniarek's cross failed to beat Frank Rost in the home goal.

Frankfurt 1-4 Schalke

Schalke moved up to second in the Bundesliga after a convincing win over Eintracht Frankfurt.

Goals from Joel Matip and Benedikt Howedes put the Gelsenkirchen side 2-0 up inside the first 15 minutes.

Alexander Meier pulled a goal back for the home side seven minutes into the second half but Ivan Rakitic and Kevin Kuranyi netted in the last 10 minutes to make sure of the win for Schalke.

Schalke leap above Bayer Leverkusen who travel to relegation-threatened Nuremberg tomorrow.

The visitors scored with their first attack of the game after 12 minutes, Matip heading in Marcio Rafinha's corner from close range.

The second three minutes later also came from a set-piece as Lukas Schmitz's free-kick into the Eintracht box found Schmitz who headed in.

Eintracht came out fighting in the second half and pulled a goal back when Meier diverted in Patrick Ochs' left-footed cross.

Schalke keeper Manuel Neuer then kept his side in front when he got down to save a speculative attempt from outside the box by Halil Altintop in the 75th minute.

But in the 80th minute, with Eintracht piling forward, Schalke broke upfield and Rakitic made the points safe when he fired in from inside the box.

Kuranyi then scored from a difficult angle on the right after he was played in by an intelligent pass from Christoph Moritz.

Cologne 1-1 Bayern Munich

Bundesliga leaders Bayern Munich were frustrated on the road and had to settle for a solitary point at Cologne.

Lukas Podolski opened the scoring for Cologne in the 32nd minute against his former team with his first goal since September 2009.

Bastian Schweinsteiger equalised for Bayern in the 58th minute, but Munich twice hit the woodwork in the final 30 minutes as they searched in vain for a winner.

The draw extended Bayern's unbeaten streak to 18 games but Louis van Gaal's team could only move to 53 points. They remain in top spot but will drop to second place if Bayer Leverkusen win on Sunday.

Cologne, who drew last week at Leverkusen, improved to 27 points to sit in 13th place - seven points from the relegation zone.

Bayern, starting the game without Arjen Robben and Franck Ribery, dominated the proceedings for the first five minutes but watched Podolski nearly give Cologne the lead in the seventh minute, blasting his left-foot shot against the crossbar from 22 yards.

Cologne keeper Faryd Mondragon had to make a fine save 13 minutes later from Daniel van Buyten's free-kick.

Podolski finally returned to the scoring column with a free-kick from 25 yards after 32 minutes, though Bayern keeper Hans-Jorg Butt was at fault as he badly misjudged the ball and could only fist the shot into his own goal.

Bayern dominated the second half and equalised 13 minutes after the restart. Miroslav Klose's backheel went to Thomas Mueller, who chipped the ball over Mondragon towards the spot, where Schweinsteiger blasted home the equaliser.

Schweinsteiger nearly hit his second goal just six minutes later but his header struck the underside of the crossbar just in front of the line.

Cologne appeared to have regained the lead with 16 minutes left but goalscorer Podolski was offside.

And Munich were denied again in the 85th minute as Ribery could only find the right post from 15 yards.

Bundesliga Weekend Review

Bayern Munich's win over Hamburg combined with Bayer Leverkusen's draw saw Louis Van Gaal's men go top of the table.

A goal from Franck Ribery was enough to take Bayern Munich to the top of the Bundesliga for the first time since May 2008 thanks to a 1-0 win over Hamburg.

The Frenchman struck in the 78th minute of an evenly-contested game to take the Bavarians above Bayer Leverkusen, who could only manage a 0-0 draw against Cologne.

Hamburg struck the woodwork as they went close to an equaliser but Bayern held on for all three points to move two points clear at the top.

It was the same score at Hannover, where the hosts slumped to a ninth straight Bundesliga defeat at home to Wolfsburg.

Zvjezdan Misimovic struck the winner 12 minutes from time to leave the hosts three points from safety.

Hannover have not won a point since December 5 but wasted a succession of chances to bring that run to an end on Sunday.

On Saturday, Cologne was the team that frustrated Leverkusen in the Rhine derby at the BayArena.

Leverkusen's best chance came in the 13th minute when Sami Hyypia's header was clawed off the goalline by Faryd Mondragon. Manuel Friedrich then scooped the rebound over the crossbar from just two yards out

The result sets a new league record of 24 games unbeaten for Leverkusen, but still puts them two points behind Bayern Munich.

Sebastian Prodl's winner five minutes into the second half reignited Werder Bremen's charge for European football as they moved to within a point of the top five with a 2-1 victory over 10-man Mainz.

Bremen took full advantage of Borussia Dortmund's defeat at Schalke last night to close the gap as Prodl won it after Aristide Bance struck on half-time to cancel out Tim Borowski's opener.

Mainz were always on the back-foot after having Florian Heller sent off in only the 14th minute.

Stuttgart striker Cacau scored both of his side's goals as they came from behind to beat Eintracht Frankfurt 2-1, Benjamin Kohler replying for the visitors.

Hertha Berlin's miserable season continued as they lost 2-0 at home to Hoffenheim to remain rooted to the bottom of the Bundesliga.

Demba Ba gave the visitors the lead 10 minutes from the end of the first half and Vedad Ibisevic made certain of the three points with a second in the dying seconds.

Roel Brouwers cancelled out Papis Demba Cisse's opener as Borussia Monchengladbach claimed a 1-1 draw at home to Freiburg, while the match between Bochum and Nurnberg finished goalless.

Albert Bunjaku was sent off for Nurnberg three minutes from time after collecting a second yellow card.

On Friday, Schalke eked out a 2-1 win over Borussia Dortmund in the Revier Derby.

Match Reports

Bayern Munich 1-0 Hamburg

Hannover 0-1 Wolfsburg

Bayer Leverkusen 0-0 Cologne

Hertha Berlin 0-2 Hoffenheim

Mainz 1-2 Werder Bremen

Stuttgart 2-1 Frankfurt

Bochum 0-0 Nurnberg

Monchengladbach 1-1 Freiburg

Schalke 2-1 Borussia Dortmund

Stuttgart 2-1 Frankfurt

Stuttgart striker Cacau followed his heroics against Cologne with both goals as his side earned back-to-back Bundesliga wins.

The Brazil-born Germany striker scored four times in last week's 5-1 rout, trebling his season's tally of league goals in the process.

And he was in clinical form again today after his side were given a scare by Benjamin Kohler's opener.

Eintracht's Sebastien Jung shot over inside the first two minutes after being teed up by Patrick Ochs, and they threatened again when Halil Altintop beat Timo Gebhart but saw his long-range drive saved by veteran keeper Jens Lehmann.

The visitors got the goal their pressure deserved six minutes before half-time when Caio intercepted Sami Khedira's poor pass and crossed for Kohler to find the net.

But they were behind by the interval as Cacau struck twice in quick succession.

His first came when Gebhart's corner found him unmarked at the far post just three yards out, and slow reactions from keeper Oka Nikolov allowed him to fire home the second after being picked out by Alexander Hleb.

Christoph Spycher's block prevented Gebhart from extending their lead five minutes after half-time after more good work from Hleb.

And Gebhart and Cacau combined to work an excellent opportunity shortly before the hour mark. The pair exchanged passes to leave Cacau with a clear sight of goal - but Nikolov scrambled his effort away and Gebhart, off balance, fired the rebound over.

Having weathered any pressure Eintracht could muster, Stuttgart created a late chance on the breakaway but Pavel Pogrebnyak was kept out by first Nikolov and then Khedira.

Hertha Berlin 0-2 Hoffenheim

Hertha Berlin's miserable season continued as they lost 2-0 to Hoffenheim and remained rooted to the bottom of the Bundesliga.

Demba Ba gave the visitors the lead 10 minutes from the end of the first half and Vedad Ibisevic made certain of the three points with a second in the dying seconds.

The home side could have taken the lead in the first minute thanks to a defensive lapse from Marvin Compper.

He lost the ball to Rafael which allowed the midfielder to advance on goal, but he curled his shot wide of the post.

Rafael was again involved in Hertha's next chance, setting up Lukasz Piszczek for a shot on goal which was blocked by the visiting defence.

And he was then denied the goal his play deserved on 22 minutes when Timo Hildebrand made an excellent block at close range.

Hoffenheim had created precious little before taking the lead on 35 minutes, Christian Eichner beating two players on the left before a quick pass to Ba in the penalty area.

Ba controlled well before curling a shot into the top corner beyond Jaroslav Drobny.

The home side went in search of an equaliser in the second half but Florian Kringe saw his shot blocked by Isaac Vorsah and substitute Maximilian Nicu drilled a shot wide from 22 yards shortly after coming on.

However, it was the visitors who grabbed the vital second goal, Ibisevic collecting a pass from Carlos Eduardo in the middle of the penalty area before finding the bottom corner.

Mainz 1-2 Werder Bremen

Sebastian Prodl's winner reignited Werder Bremen's charge for European football with a 2-1 win over 10-man Mainz.

Bremen took full advantage of Borussia Dortmund's defeat at Schalke last night to close the gap as Prodl won it after Aristide Bance struck on half-time to cancel out Tim Borowski's opener.

Mainz were always on the back-foot after having Florian Heller sent off in only the 14th minute.

Bremen were playing only two days after handing out a 4-1 thumping to FC Twente in the Europa League, but if they were feeling any fatigue from that match, they got early help as Heller made his exit.

He began the incident as the victim as Aaron Hunt fouled him to earn a booking of his own, but Heller retaliated and was shown red by referee Babak Rafati.

Bremen made that man advantage count 17 minutes later when Borowski curled in a free-kick after Elkin Soto was guilty of blocking off Claudio Pizarro 30 yards from goal.

Mainz responded with a free-kick of their own, which Soto took, finding Bo Svensson at the far post. He climbed higher than Naldo but put his header over the crossbar.

But they were level on the stroke of half-time.

Naldo was again at fault as he was all too easily beaten by Bance, who then hammered the ball into the back of the net from the edge of the area, leaving Christian Vander with no chance.

Despite that setback, Bremen did not need long after the break to respond, with Prodl finding the far corner of the net with a left-footed shot.

Mainz, finding their numerical advantage too much to overcome, could not create another chance as Bremen were happy to shut up shop and collect the three points.