Bundesliga wrap: Bayern cut Dortmund lead

31 March 2012 21:41

Bayern Munich moved to within three points of Bundesliga leaders Borussia Dortmund with a 1-0 win over Nuremberg on Saturday.

With Dortmund having drawn 4-4 with Stuttgart on Friday, Bayern went into Saturday's match knowing a win would put extra pressure on the leaders.

The visitors had more possession and shots on goal than Nuremberg but had to wait until the 69th minute to score.

The home side gave the ball away in their own half and Bayern pounced with Frank Ribery's shot saved by Raphael Shafer, before Arjen Robben followed up to fire the ball into the net.

On a day dominated by visiting sides, Freiburg, Hamburg and Mainz also won on the road.

In-form Freiburg picked up their third win in a row with an upset 2-0 win over sixth-placed Bayer Leverkusen.

The visitors took the lead in the eighth minute when Leverkusen's Gonzalo Castro knocked a weak clearance straight to Julian Schuster and the Freiburg captain headed the ball home.

Daniel Caligiuri scored Freiburg's second goal with a powerful strike in the 60th minute.

The victory means Freiburg have earned 13 points from their last five games.

In Bremen, Maxim Choupo-Moting scored twice in the second half as Mainz beat Werder Bremen 3-0.

Adam Szalai opened the scoring for Mainz with a goal in the 19th minute.

Hamburg's 1-0 victory away from home against Kaiserslautern will be crucial in their quest to avoid relegation.

Marcell Jansen's goal after 28 minutes mean Hamburg are now on 30 points, two points clear of the relegation places, while Kaiserslautern are now almost certain to be relegated after a third defeat in a row.

A penalty from Lukas Podolski was not enough for Cologne to avoid a third-straight loss in their game against Augsburg.

Goals from Koo Ja-Cheol and Nando Rafael ensured the promoted club beat Podolski's side 2-1.

Wolfsburg closed out Saturday's action by trouncing Hertha Berlin 4-1 away from home, with Patrick Helmes netting a brace for the victors.