BERLIN: Hoffenheim missed out on reclaiming second place in the Bundesliga after yesterday’s 1-1 draw against strugglers Hamburg while leaders Bayern Munich finished the weekend four points clear after hammering Werder Bremen.
Hoffenheim took an early lead when striker Anthony Modeste coolly slotted home in the 15th minute, but hosts Hamburg, who are third from bottom, hit back when Pierre-Michel Lasogga showed superb finishing on 34 minutes.
The former Germany Under-21 international had several chances in the second-half and clipped the crossbar with 10 minutes left to leave Hoffenheim, Bayern, Mainz and Moenchengladbach as the league’s only unbeaten teams.
The point lifts Hamburg up to 16th, while Hoffenheim are third after Borussia Moenchengladbach moved up to second with Saturday’s 3-0 win at Hanover 96 when Germany striker Max Kruse scored twice.
The weekend’s results mean first plays second when Gladbach host Bayern Munich in the league’s top game next Sunday.
Paderborn moved up to seventh with a 3-1 comeback win against Eintracht Frankfurt, who dropped to eighth.
Defender Uwe Huenemeier and striker Stefan Kutschke put the result beyond doubt after Marvin Ducksch’s stunning volley put Paderborn level after Frankfurt captain Alex Meier gave the guests a first-half lead.
Roberto di Matteo got off to a winning start as Schalke 04 coach when the Royal Blues picked up only their third win of the season with a 2-0 victory at home to Hertha Berlin.
The 44-year-old, who won the 2012 Champions League title during his eight-month reign at Chelsea, is looking for his second win when Schalke host Sporting Lisbon on Tuesday in Europe.
Netherlands striker Klaas-Jan Huntelaar put Schalke ahead with a long-range header on 19 minutes before Germany midfielder Julian Draxler made it 2-0 with a well-taken goal on 65 minutes.
The result lifts Schalke to ninth while Borussia Dortmund’s horror league run continued as they lost 2-1 at Cologne to go five Bundesliga games without a win.
It was their third defeat in a row ahead of Wednesday’s Champions League clash at Galatasaray.
Cologne took a 1-0 lead as midfielder Kevin Vogt fired home on 40 minutes.
Although Dortmund striker Ciro Immobile equalised, Simon Zoller netted Cologne’s winner on 74 minutes after a mix-up in the Dortmund defence to seal their first home victory against Borussia since 2003.
The result leaves Dortmund 14th — just a point above the bottom three — while Cologne are 11th.
Bayer Leverkusen, who host Zenit St Petersburg in the Champions League on Wednesday, threw away a three-goal lead in their 3-3 draw at plucky VfB Stuttgart.
A win would have seen Leverkusen go third, but the draw saw them drop to sixth. AFP
