Bundesliga Saturday Round-up: Hamburg, Leverkusen Share Spoils, Bremen and Schalke Inch Closer to First

Eintracht Frankfurt 2-1 Hannover
Koeln 1-0 Mainz
Nuernberg 3-0 Hertha
Freiburg 1-2 Bayern Munich
Stuttgart 1-2 Schalke
Bremen 2-0 Hoffenheim
Hamburg 0-0 Bayer Leverkusen


Nikos Liberopoulos put the home team ahead with his 24th minute header, the Greek's first strike of the season. Hannover's Jiri Stajner equalised after the hour mark, before Alexander Meier won it for Frankfurt with 15 minutes to go.


After Scoring for Slovenia in midweek, Milivoje Novakovic hit his first Bundesliga goal of the season just before the break. Mainz played well, but Koeln matched their opponents' intensity and held on for a 1-0 victory.


Nuernberg comprehensively won today's relegation battle with Hertha. Daniel Gygax and Albert Bunjaku put their team 2-0 ahead in the first half, before Bunjaku completed his brace on the hour mark.


Bayern scored their first goal in more than 310 minutes when Thomas Mueller struck just before the half ended. In the 68th minute, Du-Ri Cha scored an own goal to make it 2-0 in favour of Bayern, effectively putting the game out of reach. After an uninspired spell, Freiburg pulled one back at the death through Stefan Reisinger, but it was too little, too late.


Stuttgart started well, but it was Schalke who struck first thanks to Ivan Rakitic's effort in the 24th minute. The score stayed this way until Cacau levelled for Stuttgart in the 73rd minute. Schalke fought back and took the win thanks to Kevin Kuranyi's goal three minutes after the equaliser. Schalke did just enough to keep their opponents at bay as the game reached its end.


This one really lived up to its billing. Werder goalkeeper Tim Wiese was adjudged to have brought down Maicosuel in the 14th, conceding a penalty. The German goalkeeper redeemed himself by saving Carlos Eduardo's penalty shot. Four minutes later, Claudio Pizarro headed his team into the lead and four minutes after that Per Mertesacker made it 2-0. Werder were dominant in the second half but, like Hoffenheim, failed to find the net.


Hamburg and Leverkusen shared the spoils of their battle for first place. The two teams' midfield canceled out one another over the span of 90 minutes, and both defenses held strong. The two sides traded late chances, but neither was able to net before the final whistle.

Clark Whitney, Goal.com