Sunday Bundesliga
January 30, 2011
SC Freiburg heaped more misery on struggling VfB Stuttgart in Sunday's early Bundesliga match, beating the relegation-threatened club 1-0 away from home.
Freiburg central midfielder Johannes Flum scored the lone goal of the game midway through the first half when he met a through ball from Romanian Maximilian Nicu to guide his shot under Stuttgart keeper Sven Ulreich.
Stuttgart substitute Martin Harnik wasted the chance of the game in the 89th, when he missed an open goal and hit the post after Freiburg goalkeeper Oliver Baumann spilled the ball.
The loss will add to the pressure mounting on Stuttgart coach Bruno Labbadia, who is coaching at his fourth club in four years.
The three points helped Freiburg move up one place to sixth on 33 points in the Bundesliga standings, while the result left Stuttgart mired in the relegation zone in 17th place, on 16 points along with bottom-placed team Borrusia Mönchengladbach but ahead on goal difference.
Surprise win for Gladbach
Mönchengladbach, meanwhile, picked up a much-needed three points with a surprise 1-0 victory at Frankfurt in Sunday's late game. The home team had been looking for a lift in form to return to the winning streak they enjoyed earlier in the season, but are still without a goal following the winter break.
The game looked to be heading for a draw before naturalized Belgian striker Igor de Camargo snatched a goal for Gladbach in the 84th minute.
Frankfurt’s best chance came in the first half when midfielder Caio was denied by the right post. The loss means Frankfurt remain in ninth place on 26 points, with Schalke, Nuremberg and Wolfsburg looking over their shoulder.
On Saturday, Bayern Munich came back from one goal down to beat Werder Bremen 3-1, pushing Bayern up to third in the league standings.
Elsewhere, league leaders Dortmund won 3-0 against host Wolfsburg, while title contenders Bayer Leverkusen jumped to second place after defeating Hanover 2-0 on Friday.
In other games over the weekend, Hoffenheim beat Schalke 1-0, Hamburg lost away to Nuremberg 2-0, St. Pauli beat Cologne 3-0 and Mainz defeated Kaiserslautern 1-0, pushing them up to fourth.
Author: Darren Mara (Reuters, AFP)
Editor: Kyle James