Hamburg put pressure on leaders

Hamburger SV closed to within a point of Bundesliga leaders FC Bayern München by beating a FC Hansa Rostock side that slipped closer towards the relegation zone after 1. FC Nürnberg picked up a valuable victory.

Fine run
Hamburg continued a fine run that has seen them go unbeaten in all competitions after a reverse on 15 September against Eintracht Frankfurt, winning eleven out of their 13 games played since. The latest of those came against Hansa where it took the home side 19 minutes to break the deadlock as Dutchman Rafael van der Vaart found the net. Victory was assured for Hamburg, who face Stade Rennais FC on Thursday in the UEFA Cup, when Ivica Olić added a second just after the hour. Despite the win they remain third, behind Werder Bremen on goal difference.

Important win
Fellow UEFA Cup contenders Nürnberg, who will attempt to revive their European hopes against FC Zenit St. Petersburg next week, got only their third win of the season at home against BV Borussia Dortmund. Moving to within three points of their opponents – and two of Hansa – in the league standings. Nürnberg's goals came after ten minutes from Tomáš Galásek and in added time from Angelos Charisteas. Dortmund sit 13th following the reverse.