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Stuttgart up to second as Bayern stumble again
BERLIN (AFP) - VfB Stuttgart coach Armin Veh was delighted by his side's "thankless" 1-0 victory at bottom-side Borussia Moenchengladbach which took them up to second and in sight of the Champions League.
Midfielder Roberto Hilbert's 53rd minute goal was enough to give Stuttgart the three points which allowed them to leapfrog Werder Bremen, who play on Sunday away at Arminia Bielefeld.
"That was a thankless win," said Veh. "Playing the league's bottom side really puts you under pressure and you feel the expectation to get three points.
"'Gladbach stood up very well in defence and were very hard to break down.
"But after we got the crucial goal, we really turned it on in the second half and were a pleasure to watch."
Stuttgart's win means Bayern Munich are now virtually sure to miss out on a Champions League place next season after they lost 2-1 at home to Hamburg.
Bayern's Peruvian Claudio Pizarro gave the home side the lead after 35 minutes, but Hamburg's Dutch midfielder Rafael van der Vaart, who is being courted by Bayern, cancelled out the advantage with a 71st minute goal.
And Hamburg's Jose Paolo Guerrero grabbed the 76th-minute winner.
The defeat leaves Bayern in fourth, seven points behind third-placed Bremen with three games left.
Bayern coach Ottmar Hitzfeld said: "The disappointment is huge. We didn't work hard enough and we were not firm enough in attack, while in midfield we lost too many personal battles.
"We weren't professional enough, Hamburg were more determined and that was the difference."
Hertha Berlin trounced hosts Alemannia Aachen 4-0 to go seventh in the league as Brazilian midfielder Gilberto opened the scoring with a goal after just seven minutes.
Berlin striker Christian Gimenez grabbed a second three minutes after the break to make it 2-0, before Marko Pantelic and Yildiray Basturk grabbed two late goals.
VfL Wolfsburg drew 1-1 at Nuremberg after Polish midfielder Jacek Krzynowek slotted home a left-footed shot after a 40-metre run on 18 minutes for the guests.
But the home side were back level just five minutes later when defender Andreas Wolf headed them on level terms.
Midtable Hanover had Dutch midfielder Arnold Jan Bruggink's right-footed shot for their opening goal in their 2-1 win at second-from-bottom Mainz 05.
And Hanover's Bulgarian midfielder Chavdar Yankov extended their lead to 2-0 with a right-footed shot from a 50th minute corner before Mainz's Egyptian international Mohamed Zidan grabbed a late consolation goal.
And Thomas Doll's Borussia Dortmund moved away from the relegation dog-fight after Swiss international Alexander Frei gave them a 2-0 win at home to Eintracht Frankfurt with two well-struck free-kicks either side of half-time.
Third-placed Werder Bremen now have a golden opportunity to go top on Sunday when they travel to relegation-threatened Arminia Bielefeld after leaders Schalke 04 lost 2-1 at VfL Bochum on Friday.
German international striker Kevin Kuranyi gave Schalke the perfect start with a headed goal on eight minutes, but the guests then squandered their hard fought lead.
Bosnian midfielder Zvjezdan Misimovic equalised with a header for his side on 33 minutes, before the Bundesliga's top-scorer scored his 19th goal of the season, just before half-time to give Bochum the win.
Schalke 04 coach Mirko Slomka said his side now expect to lose their place at the top of the Bundesliga as a result of the defeat, but will keep on fighting.
"We had two quite clear penalties turned down by the referee," said Slomka.
"It is sad that the game was decided in such a way, but we also had enough chances to win the game.
"We lost far too much possession in the midfield and we must assume we won't be league leaders after the weekend."
Mid-table Energie Cottbus are at home to Bayer Leverkusen on Sunday.
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Goals
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53' R. Hilbert
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