Bundesliga Week 13

Bayer 04 Leverkusen claimed three points at VfL Wolfsburg in the Bundesliga to move up to fifth place in the standings on a day when DSC Arminia Bielefeld continued 1. FC Nürnberg's disappointing start to the season.

Leverkusen fifth
Leverkusen bounced back from their 2-1 defeat against FC Spartak Moskva in the UEFA Cup on Thursday to claim league three points away against Wolfsburg. Paul Freier gave the visitors the lead eight minutes before half-time and seven minutes after the break they doubled their advantage as Stefan Kiessling scored his eighth goal of the season. Wolfsburg did set up an exciting finish after Manuel Friedrich turned the ball into his own net, but they could not muster an equaliser as Leverkusen claimed only their second Bundesliga win in six games.

Nürnberg woe
Meanwhile, Nürnberg remain in the bottom three after failing to prevent their eighth league reverse of the campaign. Hans Meyer's German Cup holders, who were beaten 2-0 in the UEFA Cup by Everton FC this week, have endured a miserable season to date and it is showing no sign of improvement following their visit to Arminia. Nürnberg did find themselves in front when Andreas Wolf struck two minutes before half-time but second-half efforts by Rüdiger Kauf (64), Artur Wichniarek (76) and Sibusiso Zuma (90) gave Arminia three points to lift them up a place to 14th.

Mario Gómez scored twice as VfB Stuttgart inflicted a first defeat of the season upon FC Bayern München, their 3-1 win enabling Werder Bremen to move to within a point of the leaders after hitting four goals against Karlsruher SC.

Bayern defeat
Bayern were hoping to end a run of three consecutive draws against the German champions, who lost 4-2 against FC Olympique Lyonnais in the UEFA Champions League in midweek, but Ottmar Hitzfeld's side were unable to build on their Bundesliga lead after conceding three goals in the first 42 minutes.

Gómez goals
Gómez put the hosts ahead on ten minutes, Yıldıray Baştürk made it 2-0 on the half-hour mark, and, as he did against Lyon on Wednesday, Gómez doubled his tally three minutes before half-time for his eleventh goal of the campaign. Although Luca Toni scored late on for the visitors, Bayern's miserable afternoon was epitomised by Lucio's 70th-minute dismissal and Stuttgart held on for their third consecutive win.

Bremen boost
Hamburger SV were unable to take full advantage of Bayern's defeat as they were held at FC Schalke 04, who took the lead 12 minutes in through defender Mladen Krstajić. Croatia striker Ivica Olić hit back for the visitors ten minutes before the break but they were unable to build on their foothold and had to settle for the point.

Diego double
Hamburg's draw was Bremen’s gain as Thomas Schaaf's side edged into second place on goal difference after a comprehensive 4-0 win against Karlsruhe. Bremen cast aside the memories of their midweek UEFA Champions League loss at S.S. Lazio as Diego (25, 45) struck twice. Hugo Almeida made it 3-0 midway through the second period and Naldo completed the rout (76) to move his side within a point of Bayern.

Kern treble
Elsewhere, Hertha BSC Berlin moved into seventh place after Brazilian striker André Lima gave them a 1-0 success against fifth-placed Hannover SC, an Enrico Kern hat-rick earned FC Hansa Rostock a 3-2 win against bottom-placed FC Energie Cottbus, while BV Borussia Dortmund and Eintracht Frankfurt shared a 1-1 draw.