Bundesliga 2007/08 ~ Champions: FC Bayern München

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Stuttgart returned to the top six with a 4-1 win over Hansa Rostosk, while there were a number a draws in the other fixtures. Four red cards were seen at Wolfsburg as Hamburg were held to a 1-1 draw.

Wolfsburg 1-1 Hamburg

Second place Hamburg saw Bayern Munich extend their lead at the top of the table after the Hanseaten were held to a 1-1 draw by their nemesis this season, Wolfsburg.

The visitors took the lead after 14 minutes through defender Bastian Reinhardt. Trochowski sent the ball into the area from a second corner in quick succession, finding Reinhardt completely unmarked. The centre back headed home from six meters without a challenge being made on him.

But seven minutes into the second half he home side got back on level terms with Daniel Ljuboja finding the back of the net. Trochowski lost the ball in his own penalty area to Christian Gentner who found the Serbian striker. Ljuboja’s deflected shot beat Frank Rost from a round 17 meters.

Four red cards followed in a crazy last ten minutes. Alex Madlung saw red first of all for a second yellow after a foul on Guerrero, then Vincent Kompany saw two yellow cards within six minutes of coming on to join Madlung back in the changing rooms.

In the final minute both Grafite and Joris Mathijsen saw straight reds for an altercation.

Nürnberg 1-1 Bochum

The points were shared at the easycredit Stadion as Nürnberg and Bochum shared one goal apiece.

The away side needed just five minutes to get their noses in front in this game with the ever-dangerous Stanislav Sestak getting the goal. A through ball from Dabrowski found the forward through on goal. After leaving Glauber for pace the Slovak gave Klewer no chance in the one-on-one duel to fire Bochum ahead.

The lead however lasted just three minutes with Misimovic equalising on eight minutes. Robert Vittek broke down the right and laid the ball off to Saenko. The Russian didn’t connect properly with his shot but Jan Koller reacted by feeding Misimovic. The midfielder fired in with a left-foot shot to get ‘der Klub’ back on level terms.

The result sees Nürnberg remain in the bottom three.

Duisburg 1-1 Hannover

The game got off to a sensational start with Hannover striker Mike Hanke shown a straight red card after just five minutes. Filipescu trod on the forward’s foot and Hanke reacted angrily by pushing the Duisburg defender, which the referee saw and judged to be worthy of a sending-off.

Despite playing with nine men and defending for the majority of the first half, the visitors took the lead three minutes before half time. Avalos tried to clear but only found Szabolcs Huszti, who crossed for Jiri Stajner at the far post to head in from three meters.

Despite playing the majority of the first half like relegation certainties, the home improved in the second period and laid siege to the Hannover goal. They were finally rewarded on 77 minutes with the equaliser from Michael Lamey. Tararache let rip from long range and saw his shot deflected into the path of Lamey, who made no mistake from close range.

The point is not enough however to lift the Zebras off the bottom of the table.

Borussia Dortmund 1-1 Karlsruhe

Yet another 1-1 draw took place at the Signal Iduna Park as Dortmund and Karlsruhe shared the points.

The home side took the lead after 24 minutes through Mladen Petric. Following a foul on Rukavina by Iashvili, Petric bent a superb freekick around the defensive all and past the keeper into the top right-hand corner.

The visitors grabbed the equaliser though on 63 minutes through Sebastian Freis. Eichner won the ball from Florian Kringe before passing to Tamas Hajnal. The Hungarian laid the ball off to Freis whose shot deflected off Dede and beat Ziegler in the BVB goal.

Stuttgart 4-1 Hansa Rostock

Stuttgart returned to the top six with a comprehensive 4-1 win over Hansa Rostock. After a goalless first half five goals flew in during the second half to send to the Swabians to a decisive win.

The deadlock was broken in the 52nd minute with Pardo stroking home a penalty after Gledson had handled the ball in the area. The lead was then doubled two minutes later when Cacau fired home after Marica had headed on a ball from Fernando Meira.

In a crazy few minutes, the away side then got a goal back in the 56th minute. A cross from Yelen was unfortunately headed into his own goal by striker Mario Gomez.

Three minutes from time and the result was put beyond doubt with Gomez making up for his earlier own goal with Stuttgart’s third of the game. A long ball from Beck found the German international, who rounded Wächter and slotted home.

Two minutes into injury time and Yildiray Bastürk fired home a fourth from a Gomez assist to put a more comprehensive spin on the result.

Bayern Munich 2-1 Bayer Leverkusen

Bayern Munich cruised to a 2-1 victory over a rather lacklustre Bayer Leverkusen at the Allianz Arena.

Two goals from Luca Toni set the Bavarians on the way to victory, before a hardly deserved goal from Dimitri Bulykin gave the Werkself hope late on .

For full match report, comments, analysis and reacton, continue here.

Goal.com - Bundesliga - Stuttgart Rampant, Hamburg Held At Wolfsburg Amidst Four Reds

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Sunday match results:

Arminia Bielefeld 1 - 1 Werder Bremen

14' [1 - 0] O. Kirch
69' [1 - 1] Diego (pen.)

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Hertha BSC 1 - 2 Schalke

11' [0 - 1] G. Asamoah
23' [0 - 2] J. Jones
67' [1 - 2] S. Chahed (pen.)

[Oliver_Kahn]

When was Bremen's last win ?

They are going downhill, level on pts with Schalke (who seem reborn after their CL win) and HSV.

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Schalke took a step closer to a Champions League spot with a deserved 2-1 away win against Hertha Berlin, while Werder Bremen ended their two game losing streak but had to settle for a point against Arminia Bielefeld.

Hertha Berlin 1-2 Schalke

Schalke moved level on points with Leverkusen and Werder Bremen with a deserved away win at Hertha Berlin.

The away side started the brighter of the two sides and took the lead after just 12 minutes. Christian Pander whipped in a free kick that found Gerald Asamoah unmarked in the centre. The German international headed in from close range to hand Schalke the lead.

That lead was then doubled on 23 minutes with Jermaine Jones getting his name on the scoresheet. Jones won the ball near the halfway line and advanced towards the Berlin goal. With nobody challenging him, the midfielder let fly from 16 meters to beat Jaroslav Drobny with a well placed shot.

The home side got themselves back in the game on 67 minutes with a penalty fired home by Sofian Chahed. Howedes was adjudged to have felled Kacar and the referee rightly pointed to the penalty spot. Chahed up and fired past Manuel Neuer to hand Hertha a lifeline.

Hertha Berlin: Drobny, Friedrich, Simunec, von Bergen, Chahed, Lustenberger, Kacar, Skacel (Okoronkwo 82), Ebert, Raffael, Andre Lima

Schalke: Neuer, Rafinha, Westermann, Howedes, Pander, Ernst, Jones, Grossmuller (Lovenkrands 73), Altintop (Sanchez 85), Asamoah, Kuranyi (Larsen 89)

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Arminia Bielefeld 1-1 Werder Bremen

Werder Bremen ended their losing streak but were unable to take all three points against Bielefeld.

Bielefeld scored with their first attack of the game. An Eigler pass found Wichniarek, who fired in a shot from a tight angle. Wiese saved but was only able to parry out to Oliver Kirch, who stabbed home to make it 1-0.

The home side held onto their lead until the 70th minute when Werder were awarded a penalty after Gabriel felled Ivan Klasnic. Diego stepped up to score from the spot even though Rowan Fernandez went the right way and got a hand to the ball.

The result sees Bielefeld out of the bottom three, but Werder remain fourth.

Arminia Bielefeld: Fernandez, Bollmann, Mijatovic, Kucera, Schuler (Gabriel 46), Kirch, Kauf, Marx, Halfar (Zuma 84), Eigler (Kamper 74), Wichniarek

Werder Bremen: Wiese, Fritz, Pasanen, Naldo, Boenisch, Frings (Ozil 80), Baumann, Hunt, Diego, Almeida (Klasnic 46), Rosenberg (Sanogo 46)

Goal.com - Germany - Schalke Triumph, Werder Held

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Table after MD 25:

1. FC Bayern München - 53 pts
2. Hamburg SV - 46 pts
3. Bayer Leverkusen - 44 pts
4. Werder Bremen - 44 pts
5. FC Schalke 04 - 44 pts
6. VfB Stuttgart - 41 pts
7. Eintracht Frankfurt - 39 pts
8. VfL Wolfsburg - 37 pts
9. Karlsruhe SC - 37 pts
10. Hannover 96 - 34 pts
11. VfL Bochum - 32 pts
12. Hertha Berlin - 32 pts
13. Borussia Dortmund - 30 pts
14. Hansa Rostock - 24 pts
15. Arminia Bielefeld - 21 pts
16. Energie Cottbus - 20 pts
17. FC Nürnberg - 19 pts
18. MSV Duisburg - 19 pts

Champions League
Uefa Cup
Intertoto Cup
Relegation


Top scorers after MD 25:

1> Luca Toni > FC Bayern München > 16 goals
2> Mario Gomez > VfB Stuttgart > 15 goals
3> Mladen Petric > Borussia Dortmund > 12 goals
4> Marko Pantelic > Hertha BSC Berlin > 11 goals
-> Diego > Werder Bremen > 11 goals

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Friday, 28.03.08, 20.30h
Hansa Rostock : VfL Wolfsburg

Saturday, 29.03.08, 15.30h
Karlsruher SC : FC Schalke 04
1. FC Nürnberg : Bayern München
VfL Bochum 1848 : Borussia Dortmund
Hamburger SV : Arminia Bielefeld
Bayer Leverkusen : Eintracht Frankfurt
Werder Bremen : MSV Duisburg

Sunday, 30.03.08, 17.00h
Hannover 96 : VfB Stuttgart
Energie Cottbus : Hertha BSC

Bundesliga Table

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Another busy round of Bundesliga action gets underway this weekend with things hotting up at the top of the table and the battle for survival becoming fiercer at the bottom.

Bayern’s superb win last weekend extended their lead at the top of the table to seven points and with Werder only managing a draw, things have become very interesting with just two points separating second from fifth.

At the bottom things continue to look very bleak for Nürnberg and Energie Cottbus with Bielefeld also desperate for three points.

Hansa Rostock – Wolfsburg

Round 26 kicks-off on Friday evening at the DKB Arena with Hansa Rostock hosting Wolfsburg. Defeat to Stuttgart last weekend extended Hansa’s winless streak to five games, so they will have to start picking up three points, especially at home, if they are to avoid slipping back into the relegation zone.

They are not plying badly right now, as their performance against Stuttgart showed, but they are just not picking up the points they perhaps deserve.

Wolfsburg remain one of the form teams in the Bundesliga with 17 points from a possible 24 in their last eight games. Only a defeat to Karlsruhe has blemished their record this year. Felix Magath will however be without key players Grafite, Alexander Madlung and Ricardo Costa, who are all suspended.

A win is vital for the away side if they are to keep their hopes of a European place alive.

Karlsruhe – Schalke

How much of Schalke’s attention is focussed on their upcoming midweek Champions League quarter final with Barcelona remains to be seen, but a win away to Karlsruhe would go a long way to ensuring they are back in Europe’s Premier club tournament next year.

The Königsblauen currently lie fifth but are just two points behind second place Hamburg. The season is entering a crucial phase for Mirko Slomka’s men as they seek a top three finish. However, an away trip to the Wildparkstadion is no easy task, and Schalke will want to avoid a repetition of the 2-0 defeat they suffered earlier in the season at the Veltins Arena.

Karlsruhe themselves will still harbour dreams of a top six finish, but they have fallen away from the pace in recent weeks and currently sit ninth.

Just two wins in their last ten matches has contributed to this dip but they fought back well last weekend against Borussia Dortmund to secure a point. Edmund Becker’s side will be hoping that Schalke are a little preoccupied with the Barcelona Champions League tie.

Nürnberg – Bayern Munich

When you are down at the bottom and in desperate need of points the last thing you want is the league leaders to arrive in top form, but that is what Nürnberg have to face on Saturday.

Bayern looked like they were back to their sizzling best last weekend against Bayer Leverkusen and the 2-1 scoreline just didn’t do their performance justice. If they can reproduce that level of performance it will be difficult to predict anything other than a heavy defeat for Nürnberg.

However, ‘der Klub’ will look to last season for inspiration when in Ottmar Hitzfeld’s first game in charge after returning to the club, Nürnberg inflicted a hefty 3-0 defeat on their Bavarian neighbours.

How things have changed though, with trainer Thomas von Heesen still looking for his first win in his efforts to lift last season’s Cup winners out of the drop-zone. On form, it looks like he will be waiting a little longer for that victory.

Bochum – Borussia Dortmund

A real mid-table clash takes place at the rewirpower Stadion as Bochum host Borussia Dortmund. Just two points separates Bochum in 11th with BVB in 13th.

Bochum will be confident going into the game however with an impressive home record to boast of. Undefeated in their last even home games, Bochum will prove a hard nut to crack for the visiting Dortmund side.

BVB trainer Thomas Doll was angered at his sides draw last weekend against Karlsruhe and will want to see a performance from his side which proves they haven’t taken their eye off of the league, following the reaching of the Cup final. With a Uefa Cup spot all but guaranteed next season, Doll’s job is now to maintain the player’s motivation.

Hamburg – Arminia Bielefeld

Three points are the order of the day for Hamburg as they look to keep their very faint title ambitions alive, or at the very least keep hold of a Champions League qualification spot.

Recent weeks have seen the Hanseaten replace Werder Bremen in second place, but also a few blips which have handed the advantage to leaders Bayern Munich. The likes of Schalke, Leverkusen and Stuttgart are hot on their tails so any more slip-ups are likely to prove costly.

The word free-fall seems like it was designed for Bielefeld. From the lofty position of second in the opening weeks of the season, the Arminen have tumbled down the table and sit precariously one position above the relegation zone. A change of trainer hasn’t had the desired effect and Michael Frontzeck is still awaiting his first win.

An improved performance was seen last week as they held Werder Bremen to a draw, but an away win at Hamburg may be asking too much. Bielefeld will be delighted with a point and staying out of the bottom three for another week.

Bayer Leverkusen – Eintracht Frankfurt

Last weekend against Bayern Munich, the Bayer players just didn’t show up. The only player to come out of the game with any credit was keeper Rene Adler, who pulled off a number of saves to keep the score respectable. The 2-1 final result was very flattering for Michael Skibbe’s side.

A vast improvement will be demanded on Saturday against Frankfurt at the Bay-Arena. Things have become extremely tight at the top of the table with Leverkusen, Werder Bremen and Schalke all on 44 points, so any slip-up against Frankfurt is sure to be to the other challengers advantage.

A win for Leverkusen would set them up nicely for their Uefa Cup quarter final first leg tie against Zenit St. Petersburg next Thursday.

Frankfurt are another team who have sneaked up the table since the winter break and are the verge of challenging for a Uefa Cup spot. The ‘Adler’ go into the game at the weekend on the back of two impressive wins against Karlsruhe away and Energie Cottbus at home last Thursday.

Werder Bremen – Duisburg

Werder’s season is in danger of unravelling very quickly. For so long Thomas Schaaf’s side were the side seen as most likely to stop Bayern marching to their 20th Bundesliga title. But three defeats in their last five league games and a draw last weekend against struggling Bielefeld has seen the Green and Whites drop down to fourth.

To make matters worse the teams around them have been gaining points and they now have a real fight on their hands to clinch a Champions League berth.

The good news however is that the weekend’s opponents are bottom side Duisburg, so Werder will be confident of three points. The Zebras look like a team destined for the drop with just one win in their last ten games and confidence at a low ebb.

Hannover – Stuttgart

Stuttgart’s topsy-turvy season continues. They are statistically the form side in the Bundesliga at the present moment with five wins in their last six matches and draw in the other. They have climbed the table to be in a real position to challenge for a European place, which seemed a distant possibility earlier in the season during their mini-crisis.

Striker Mario Gomez just can’t seem to stop scoring right now, which was underlined by his two-goal haul for Germany in midweek against Switzerland. Even though they are away from home the Swabians will be confident of bagging another three points.

Hannover will need to up their game considerably after two successive draws with sides struggling at the foot of the table (Duisburg and Bielefeld). With a European place out of reach now, Dieter Hecking’s side are going to have to come to terms with playing against some highly motivated sides, who have something to play for (Europe/ safety).

Energie Cottbus – Hertha Berlin

The two East German sides complete the Round 26 action at the Stadion der Freundschaft in Cottbus. The Lausitzer remain in the bottom three but that could change with three points against the capital club.

Their famous win against Bayern Munich two weeks ago should have acted as the spark to lead them out of trouble, but they were then rather controversially beaten last week by Eintracht Frankfurt. They need to get back on track with another Bayern-like performance against an inconsistent Hertha side.

Berlin have been hit by the injury to Marko Pantelic and much will depend on his availability on Saturday.

Goal.com - Germany - Bundesliga Weekend Preview: Round 26

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Friday match result:

Hansa Rostock 0 - 1 Wolfsburg

90' [0 - 1] J. Krzynowek

Hansa Rostock 0-1 Wolfsburg

A last-minute goal from substitute Jazek Krzynowek sealed a 1-0 win for Wolfsburg at the DKB Arena in a match that looked destined to finish goalless.

Wolfsburg managed to maintain their great Bundesliga form with a hard-fought 1-0 win over Hansa Rostock. Despite being the better side from an attacking point of view, they didn’t look like they were going to find a way through.

However, all three substitutes combined in injury time to seal a valuable win.

Rostock trainer Frank Pagelsdorf made only one change to the side from last weekend with Agali coming in for Rahn. Felix Magath was forced to make changes to accommodate the suspensions to Ricardo Costa, Grafite and Madlung. Ashkan Dejagah played in place of Daniel Ljuboja.

First Half

A fairly uneventful opening to the game saw both sides going forward without too much purpose or success. The first quarter of an hour was played predominantly in the midfield with plenty of competitiveness to the game but no real flow. The atmosphere being generated however inside the DKB Arena by the home fans was excellent though.

The first real chance of the game fell to the away side on 15 minutes when Hasebe forced a fine save from Wächter. Dzeko laid the ball off to Santana, who then fed the Japanese midfielder. His shot from the edge of the box was tipped over the bar by the keeper’s fingertips for a corner.

Shortly after, Rostock managed to get inside the Wolfsburg penalty area for the first time and Agali managed to get in a header following a long throw, but the effort never really worried Benaglio in the Wolfsburg goal.

Tobias Rathgeb had two efforts from distance, but the first one flew well over and the second was easily held by Benaglio. The game was warming up and on the half hour mark Wolfsburg should have taken the lead.

Christian Gentner found himself unmarked five meters out following a cross but his header was kept out by a superb reaction save from Wächter. The Hansa keeper was on hand six minutes later to keep the ball out of the net, this time from a Santana header after Hasebe had picked him out with a cross.

The first half ended with Kai Bülow firing in a low shot from the right but Diego Benaglio watched it all the way and dived to save.

Second Half

Both sides came out with a changed line-up for the second half with Hasebe going off injured for Wolfsburg and Alexander Laas coming on. Rostock sent on Addy-Waku Mega for Victor Agali.

Menga was quickly into the action spotting Benaglio off his line, and attempted a long range lob that unfortunately went narrowly wide. Wolfsburg then looked to up the pressure and forced a series of corners, but nothing came from it.

Another corner on 54 minutes brought the next big chance for the visitors. Gentner again was the man on hand to head goalwards, but Stefan Wächter produced another top reflex save to clear the danger.

With Wolfsburg looking the better side, Hansa than produced a chance from nowhere, which could have given them the lead. The ball cannoned off Gentner’s knee into the middle of the penalty area and Schäfer had to clear at the last minute with Menga looking like he was about to score.

Frank Pagelsdorf’s side had the next good chance on 79 minutes when Enrico Kern got his head to a long throw from Pearce after it had bounced in the penalty area. Benaglio was on hand though to palm the ball away from the top corner of the goal.

With the game one minute into time added on Wolfsburg broke Hansa hearts with a goal from pretty much the last kick of the game. Niang played the ball onto Alex Laas, who laid the ball off to the incoming Krzynowek. The Pole lashed the ball home to hand Felix Magath’s side a 1-0 win

Hansa Rostock: Wächter, Langen, Orestes, Gledson, Stein (Pearce 56), Bülow (Dorn 74), Rathgeb, Bartels, Yelen, Kern, Agali (Menga 46)

Wolfsburg: Benaglio, Santana, Riether, Simunek, Schäfer, Gentner, Josué, Hasebe (Laas 45), Marcelinho (Niang 79), Dejagah (Krzynowek 57), Dzeko

Goal.com - Bundesliga - Last Gasp Winner Seals Wolfsburg Win

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Saturday match results:

Bayer Leverkusen 0 - 2 Eintracht Frankfurt

23' [0 - 1] M. Russ
90' [0 - 2] V. Mantzios

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Bochum 3 - 3 Borussia Dortmund

4' [1 - 0] C. Dabrowski
9' [2 - 0] B. Auer
37' [2 - 1] S. Kehl
40' [2 - 2] M. Petric
42' [3 - 2] B. Auer
65' [3 - 3] Tinga

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Hamburger SV 1 - 1 Arminia Bielefeld

72' [0 - 1] M. Bollmann
83' [1 - 1] J.P. Guerrero

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Karlsruhe 0 - 0 Schalke

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Nurnberg 1 - 1 Bayern Munich

44' [1 - 0] Z. Misimovic
81' [1 - 1] L. Podolski

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Werder Bremen 1 - 2 Duisburg

32' [0 - 1] I. Grlic
42' [0 - 2] M. Ishiaku
58' [1 - 2] Diego

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Round 26 of the Bundesliga saw plenty of excitement as the action hotted up at both ends of the table.

Bayern Munich could only manage a draw in the Bavarian derby against Nürnberg thanks to a Lukas Podolski goal. Werder Bremen crashed to yet another defeat at home to Duisburg, who climb out of the bottom three.

Bayer Leverkusen were beaten at home, while Hamburg had to come from behind to claim a point against Bielefeld.

Nürnberg 1-1 Bayern

An impressive first half performance from the home side was rewarded on 44 minutes with a goal. A quickly taken throw-in caught Bayern cold and Zvjezdan Misimovic fired past Oliver Kahn to give Nürnberg a well deserved lead.

Bayern’s endeavour in the second 45 minutes paid off though with substitute Lukas Podolski scoring his first league goal of the season in the 81st minute to rescue a point for the league leaders.

See full match report: Goal.com - Germany - Podolski Goal Earns Bayern Draw

Werder Bremen 1-2 Duisburg

Werder Bremen crashed to yet another defeat (their third in four games) to see their chances of a top three finish diminish even further. The home loss to bottom side MSV Duisburg was a shock to the system, but has seen the Zebras climb out of the relegation zone.

After 32 minutes of an even opening to the game, the visitors took a surprise lead with Grlic firing home a direct free kick from a central position from about 18 meters.

If that wasn’t bad enough for the home fans to bear, the visitors then doubled their lead on 42 minutes. A long ball from defence saw Ishiaku beat Naldo before advancing and firing past Wiese from 12 meters.

Thomas Schaaf’s side gave themselves hope with a goal after 58 minutes through Brazilian Diego. The midfield maestro curled home a free kick from the left hand side which nestled beautifully in the far corner.

Much as they tried, Werder were just unable to find anymore goals and went down to yet another terrible defeat.

Karlsruhe 0-0 Schalke

Schalke earned a lucky point at Karlsruhe thanks largely to the home side wasting the goal scoring chances they had. KSC dominated the game for large periods, but were unable to translate that into goals.

Schalke, who perhaps had their upcoming Champions League tie with Barcelona on their minds, did however climb a place in the league thanks to the point and now lie third.

Bayer Leverkusen 0-2 Eintracht Frankfurt

Bayer Leverkusen crashed to their second league defeat in a row with a 2-0 loss at home to Eintracht Frankfurt in a result which sees the Adler climbing to sixth and improving their chances of European qualification.

The opening goal came after 24 minutes with Bayer striker Stefan Kießling scoring an unfortunate own-goal. Weissenberger crossed a free kick over from the right and keeper Adler came out to clear. However, Kießling under pressure from Russ got his head to the ball first and knocked it past Adler and into the back of the net.

Leverkusen pushed and pushed for the equaliser but were either too hasty or too imprecise and were punished in stoppage time at the end of the second half with a second goal from the Greek striker Mantzios.

Bochum 3-3 Borussia Dortmund

Fans saw a veritable goal fest at the rewirpower Stadion with six goals shared between Bochum and Borussia Dortmund.

Bochum flew out of the blocks at hit Dortmund with two goals within the first ten minutes. With just three minutes on the clock, Azaough floated in a free kick into the six yard box. Ziegler got a hand to it but could only direct to Dabrowski, who headed in from close range.

Six minutes later Azaough was again the provider when he beat Kehl down the right hand side before laying the ball back to Benjamin Auer, who fired the ball into the back of the net with a shot that left keeper Ziegler no chance.

If that was dramatic then the two goals in two minutes that Dortmund scored towards the end of the first half were equally so. On 37 minutes Sebastian Kehl got his head to a Dede free kick to pull one back, before Dede repeated the trick, this time for Petric to head in on 39 minutes.

However, with the crowd still getting their breath back, Bochum hit another goal before the half time whistle. BVB provider Dede sent a weak back pass to Ziegler, which found only Thomas Zdebel. The ball made its way to Auer in the penalty area and he made no mistake and fired low into the far corner to restore the home side’s lead in an amazing first 45 minutes.

The final goal of a thoroughly entertaining game came midway through the second half with Brazilian midfielder Tinga getting in on the scoring after good work from substitute Diego Klimowicz.

Hamburg 1-1 Arminia Bielefeld

After a red card for HSV and a one goal lead, Bielefeld looked on course for a valuable win, but ten-man Hamburg fought back to rescue a point and eventually finished with ten against ten following another sending off.

All the action came in the second half at the HSH Nordbank Arena. Midfielder David Jarolim was given his marching orders after 66 minutes following a set-to with Schuler on the bye-line. Six minutes later and the HSV defence fell asleep at a corner and had to look on as Bollmann headed home.

With just eight minutes remaining Paulo Guerrero latched onto a Zidan ball before firing past Rowan Fernandez in the Bielefeld goal. Jorg Böhme was then sent-off five minutes from time for a second yellow card.

Goal.com - Bundesliga - Duisburg Stun Werder, Leverkusen Slump, HSV Held

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Sunday match results:

Energie Cottbus 2 - 1 Hertha BSC

21' [0 - 1] L.d.S.M. Carlos
41' [1 - 1] E. Skela
63' [2 - 1] E. Skela (pen.)

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Hannover 0 - 0 Stuttgart