VfB Back in Title Race

Stuttgart moved up to third two points behind Schalke with a 1-0 win courtesy of Brazilian forward Cacau's strike after just six minutes which gave the hosts the early initiative. VfB failed to add to the solitary goal and just held on for their eighth win of the season.

Despite the victory goalkeeper Timo Hildebrand was far from happy. "We just sat back in the second half and pleaded for the equalizer," said Hildebrand. "We were lucky to get the three points."

For Gladbach it was another setback and the club stay fourth from bottom as the pressure increases on new manager Jupp Heynckes. "He is a good coach but he is just not having much luck," said Gladbach president Rolf Konig. "He is the right man to form this team."

The heat has also been on Bayer Leverkusen coach Michael Skibbe but he received some welcome relief with a 3-1 win over Energie Cottbus.

Leverkusen looked listless in the UEFA Cup in midweek with a 1-0 home reverse against Tottenham Hotspur, but goals from Sergei Barbarez, Simon Rolfes and Andrei Voronin gave them a much-needed lift against Cottbus.

"The pressure is always there for us especially when you have been playing like we have been doing over the past few weeks," said Rolfes. "We were rewarded for a good match here though."

Bayern condemn Hamburg; Werder maintain pressure

Champions Bayern Munich came from behind at beat struggling SV Hamburg while Miroslav Klose struck twice for Werder Bremen against Arminia Bielefeld to keep the pressure on Bundesliga leaders Schalke 04 Saturday.

A first-half penalty by Hamburg midfielder Rafael van der Vaart was cancelled out by Bayern's Roy Makaay in the second half before Claudio Pizarro struck a 79th-minute winner to prevent struggling Hamburg earning a first win at home since April 19.

Meanwhile Klose's two first-half goals and a 75th-minute strike from Aaron Hunt gave Werder a comfortable 3-0 win over Bielefeld to end the visitors' run of eight games without defeat.

Schalke, who beat Bochum 2-1 on Friday evening, stay on top on 29 points, two points clear of Werder and three ahead of Bayern. VfB Stuttgart could go back above Bayern if they beat Borussia Mönchengladbach at home on Sunday.

Suffering continues in Hamburg

Second-from-bottom Hamburg, looking for only their second league win this season, were full value for their half-time lead against Bayern, but the champions were transformed after the break to maintain the misery for Thomas Doll's side.

A foul by Martin Demichelis on Boubacar Sanogo earned Hamburg a penalty and a yellow card for the Argentina defender, and Dutch midfielder Van der Vaart converted in the 18th minute with a shot that beat goalkeeper Oliver Kahn to go in off the post.

Bayern had looked lackluster for most of the half, but came out blazing after the break to level through Dutch striker Makaay in the 57th minute thanks to a defense-splitting pass from half-time substitute Sebastian Deisler.

"We did not have a good first half but we showed what we could do in the second half. We dominated Hamburg for 45 minutes and deserved to win," said Makaay, whose goal tally this season improves to eight.

Hamburg goalkeeper Stefan Waechter, who had saved Hamburg from going further behind, said, "We wanted to get a second goal but Bayern were stronger in the second half and we allowed ourselves to be pushed back."

Hamburg stay rooted in 17th place on just 11 points with only Mainz -- 1-0 losers at Hanover -- two points behind them.

Berlin's championship hopes still alive

Fifth-placed Hertha Berlin kept their title ambitions alive with a 2-1 defeat of Alemannia Aachen.

Ashkan Dejagah heading the 62nd-minute winner for Hertha after Marko Pantelic had scored his ninth goal of the season to put the home side in front in the 41st minute before Aachen pulled level through Matthias Lehmann on the stroke of half-time.

Nuremberg picked up a 1-1 draw win at Wolfsburg in a mid-table meeting. Juan Carlos Menseguez grabbed the equalizer in the 76th minute after Russian Ivan Saenko put the visitors into an eighth-minute lead.

Polish striker Evi Smolarek netted 11 minutes from time to rescue a point for Borussia Dortmund at Eintracht Frankfurt who had led since a 38th-minute close-range volley from Sortirios Kyrgiakos.