Hamburg defend top spot

After Hamburg's draw against Frankfurt last week and Bayern's third straight league win over Nuremberg left just three points between the two sides, Bayern was in a good position to close the gap on Hamburg coming into Saturday's match.

Hamburg had the advantage of home turf, but were coming off a loss on penalty kicks earlier in the week in the German Cup. Bayern, on the other hand, was fresh of a 5-0 German Cup drubbing of RW Oberhausen and was hungry for a glimpse from the top of the league.

There was no clear favorite for most of the game and the equally matched squads appeared to be headed for a draw until Hamburg's Mladen Petric scored the winning goal in the 72nd minute to tip the game 1-0 to Hamburg.

Bayern coach Louis van Gaal acknowledged that Hamburg had earned the victory.

"It was a great game. We had several chances but we didn't take them. That was the problem - and Hamburg are a top side. The side that gets the goal wins it," he said.

The loss drops Bayern Munich to sixth in the league, and they trail Hamburg by six points.

Leverkusen stays in the hunt

While Hamburg were able to dispatch one challenger to their top position in the table, Bayer Leverkusen remains close on Hamburg's heels with a 1-0 win over FC Cologne.

In Cologne's German Cup match during the week, a 3-2 victory over defending Bundesliga champs Wolfsburg was a glimmer of hope for the team in what has been an otherwise dismal season. Despite holding Leverkusen goalless for nearly the entire game, Leverkusen's Simon Rolfes slipped one into the net in the 82nd minute to put an end to Cologne's short-lived success.

Leverkusen are second in the Bundesliga to Hamburg on goal difference, while Cologne continues to languish in second to last place.

Wins for Wolfsburg and Werder

Schalke 04 trail Hamburg and Leverkusen by four points but managed to move up in the table to third place with a 1-0 victory over Dortmund. The game's only goal came from Peruvian striker Jefferson Farfan in the 31st minute.

The highest scoring match of the day was a 4-2 win for VfL Wolfsburg against Hanover. Last year's Bundesliga champs used four different scorers to dispatch Hanover. Zvjezdan Misimovic, Christian Gentner, Makoto Hasebe, and Edin Dzeko all found the back of the net, and Wolfsburg's Alexander Madlung even gave a goal away, scoring an own-goal in the 50th minute. Hanover's other goal came from Hanno Balitsch.

Wolfsburg have been hit and miss so far this season, winning four and losing three. They are currently in fifth place and tied on points with Werder Bremen, who beat Mainz 3-0 on two goals from Claudio Pizarro and one from Aaron Hunt.

Rounding out Saturday's matches, VfB Stuttgart blanked Eintracht Frankfurt 3-0 thanks to two goals from U-21 national striker Julian Schieber in the 17th and 31st minute. Thomas Hitzlsperger added the third insurance goal for Suttgart in the 54th minute. In Friday's only game, Bochum beat Nuremberg 1-0.

The Bundesliga's seventh game day continues Sunday as Freiburg try to keep their momentum going against Borussia Moenchengladbach after beating Hertha Berlin 4-0 last week. Hertha Berlin take on Hoffenheim and can only hope to end a five-game losing skid that has left them at the bottom of the table.

mz/dpa/Reuters
Editor: Andy Valvur