Bayern profit amid dropped points

A combination of results elsewhere in Germany and Lukas Podolski's equaliser in a 1-1draw at 1. FC Nürnberg kept FC Bayern München on course for the Bundesliga title.

Favourable scorelines
A share of the spoils against struggling Nürnberg might not have been the ideal outcome but it was enough for the leaders because none of their potential pursuers won. Second and third-placed Hamburger SV and FC Schalke 04 both drew while there were home defeats for Bayer 04 Leverkusen and Werder Bremen. So Bayern maintained their seven-point advantage thanks to substitute Podolski's 81st-minute equaliser against Nürnberg. The home team had led in the Franconia-Bavaria derby through Zvjezdan Misimović's 44th-minute strike.

Points aplenty dropped
Hamburg, meanwhile, slipped up against a DSC Arminia Bielefeld side who sit two points above Nürnberg in the third and final relegation place. HSV also needed a late leveller, from Paolo Guerrero on 82 minutes, to cancel out a Markus Bollmann opener ten minute before. Schalke, with three successive victories before today, had to settle for a point at Karlsruher SC. Which was more than Leverkusen and Bremen managed between them. Leverkusen lost 2-0 against Eintracht Frankfurt who climbed into the top six courtesy of strikes from Stefan Kiessling and Evangelos Mantzios; the Weserstadion witnessed a 2-1 success for MSV Duisburg which lifted the victors out of the drop zone. Diego scored for Bremen after Duisburg had the cushion of a half-time lead earned by Ivica Grlic and Manasseh Ishiaku.

Six-goal thriller
Elsewhere in the Bundesliga, VfL Wolfsburg won 1-0 at FC Hansa Rostock on Friday, before Saturday's mid-table collision between VfL Bochum 1848 and BV Borussia Dortmund finished in a 3-3 draw. Stuttgart, who had started the weekend in sixth position, visit Hannover 96 on Sunday when bottom club FC Energie Cottbus host Hertha BSC Berlin.