Stuttgart blew the Bundesliga title race wide open as they beat Schalke 3-0.
Stuttgart blew the Bundesliga title race wide open as they put in a superb performance to beat Schalke 3-0.The visitors started the day equal top with Bayern Munich, although their slip-up allowed third-placed Stuttgart to climb to within two points.
German international Kevin Kuranyi was the hero as he netted a hat trick, opening the scoring on 18 minutes and adding further strikes on 48 and 65.
A miserable day for Schalke was capped as Real Madrid target Lincoln was dismissed with 20 minutes to go for a second bookable offence.
With Schalke's slip-up Bayern Munich took the chance to cement their position at the top as they came back from behind to beat Borussia Monchengladbach 2-1.
Ivo Ulich put the visitors ahead on 65 minutes, although Munich showed their resilience with two goals in under twenty minutes.
Veteran Mehmet Scholl claimed the first on 66 minutes whilst German international Michael Ballack followed up his penalty against Chelsea with the winner six minutes from time.
Werder Bremen kept their UEFA Champions League hopes alive with a useful 2-1 win at rivals Hamburg.
Goals from Miroslav Klose and fellow forward Ivan Klasnic sandwiched a Medhi Mahdavikia strike as they pulled six points away from the home side.
Borussia Dortmund left it late to claim a dramatic 1-0 victory at Bayer Leverkusen.
Sebastien Kehl scored the vital goal with just two minutes to go as they consolidated their place in the top half of the table.
Hertha Berlin did nothing to alleviate Freiburg's miserable season to date as they ran out 3-1 winners against Germany's bottom team.
The home side claimed the victory thanks to two goals in the first twenty minutes from Brazilian star Marcelinho as he claimed his first after just six minutes before converting a penalty.
Freiburg responded late on through Sammy Koejoe although could not fashion an equaliser in the remaining twenty minutes as Niko Kovac put the tie beyond doubt in injury time.
Wolfsbug left FSV Mainz still involved in the relegation battle as they claimed a good 2-0 away victory.
The visitors claimed the win thanks to second half strikes from Thomas Brdaric and Stefan Schnoor.
Bochum claimed an important three points in the race against relegation as they beat Hannover 1-0 at home.
Steven Cherundolo was the reluctant hero for Bochum as he put through his own net on 56 minutes to gift them the win.
Click below for individual match summaries:
Bayer Leverkusen 0-1 Borussia Dortmund
Bayern Munich 2-1 Borussia Monchengladbach
Bochum 1-0 Hannover
Hamburg 1-2 Werder Bremen
Hertha Berlin 3-1 Freiburg
Mainz 0-2 Wolfsburg
Stuttgart 3-0 Schalke
