Bundesliga Round 16 Results: Koln thrashes Freiburg, Werder Bremen cruises past Wolfsburg

The Royal Blues took the lead just 20 minutes in at the Olympic Stadium, as Klaas-Jan Huntelaar capitalized on a poor clearance to grab his 14th goal in the Bundesliga this season and become the division's top scorer in the process.

However, only five minutes later Hertha netted the equalizer from the head of Adrian Ramos.

Markus Babbel's side couldn't hold on for the point, as it eventually bowed down to overriding pressure from Huub Stevens' outfit in the form of a curling Teemu Pukki strike, courtesy of an assist from Raul.

Schalke, which is now on 31 points alongside Bayern Munich at the top of the table, has registered three wins in its last four matches, but Hertha drops to ninth without a win in the last five.

Christian Clemens and Lukas Podolski each grabbed a brace as Koln kept Freiburg bottom of the Bundesliga standings with a 4-0 at the RheinEnergieStadion.

It took the home side 20 minutes to break the deadlock, and it was Clemens who came up with the goods, scoring from close range after Slawomir Peszko’s flick on presented him with a chance on a plate. Peszko was at it again on the hour mark, teeing up Podolski for a simple finish from inside the area.

Clemens grabbed his second six minutes later with an audacious effort, scoring directly from an in-swinging corner kick which left Oliver Baumann dumbfounded in the Freiburg goal. Podolski completed the rout in the 73rd minute, sliding home from inside the six yard area after a swift counterattack by the home side.

Nurnberg dropped to within a point of the relegation zone after Vedad Ibisevic's brace resigned the team to a 2-0 defeat at the EasyCredit Stadium.

The visiting side opened the scoring five minutes before halftime with Fabian Johnson finding space on the flank to cross towards Ibisevic, who headed home. Things got worse for Dieter Hecking and his men a few minutes later, as Timothy Chandler was sent off for a late lunge on Sejad Salihovic.

Hoffenheim’s decisive pair combined again just shy of the hour mark, Johnson again finding Ibsevic who struck his side into a two goal lead. The visiting side ended the match on a sour note however, after Marvin Compper was shown a straight red in the 90^th minute for a dangerous kick on Tomas Pekhart.

Jan Callsen-Bracker scored the only goal of the game six minutes after halftime, finding the top corner with an effort from outside the box after Tobias Werner’s free kick deflected off the wall into his path. Despite some late chances for the visiting team, Augsburg held on to record a priceless win in its battle against relegation.

The result sees Augsburg move off the foot of the table with 14 points, while Gladbach remains fourth with 30 points to its name.

Neither team was able to establish a foothold in the attacking third, though Eric Choupo-Moting spurned the best chance of the match in the 75th minute, firing over the bar from a guilt-edged position on the edge of the six-yard area.

Both sides remain within a point of each other, with HSV in 12th place with 18 points, while Mainz sits 13th with 17 points.

Werder Bremen kept up the pressure on the league leaders with an emphatic 4-1 victory over Wolfsburg at the Weserstadion.

Felix Magath’s men were down a goal in the 18th minute, after Claudio Pizarro’s header forced Diego Benaglio to parry into the path of Sokratis Papastathopoulos, who volleyed home. Pizarro made it 2-0 on the stroke of halftime, finishing from a tight angle after the Wolfsburg defense had switched off from a throw in. Bremen capitalized on another lapse in concentration from the visiting team's backline in the 55th minute, as Markus Rosenberg stole in to score and put the result beyond doubt.

The home side was not finished, and an incisive through ball by Pizarro in the 71st minute set up Marko Arnautovic for a measured finish from 10 yards out. Arnautovic missed a glorious chance for his second late on, before Marcel Schaefer grabbed a consolation goal for Wolfsburg, finding the far corner with a long range effort four minutes from time.

Bremen remains in 5th place, while Wolfsburg sinks to 14th, only three points above the relegation zone.

Match Report

Match Report