Monchengladbach 0-1 Bochum
Leverkusen 1-1 Eintracht
Bayern 1-0 Karlsruhe
Stuttgart 2-0 Hertha
Arminia 0-3 Wolfsburg
Dortmund 1-0 Bremen
Energie 0-2 Cologne
Hoffenheim 2-2 Hannover
Schalke 1-2 Hamburg
Another week, another defeat for Schalke and, finally, patience has finally run out on Fred Rutten. Andreas Moller had previously gone from his role as sporting director - Oliver Kahn is being lined up for that job - after being accused of overseeing "the most expensively assembled flop" in German history. The straw that broke the camel's back was the 2-1 home defeat to Hamburg, a result which leaves Martin Jol's side right in there at the pointy end. A cagey opening was edged by Hamburg, but after the break, the northerners dominated, though it took a calamitous bit of goalkeeping to help Hamburg into the lead. Manuel Neuer decided to come out for a header, but fluffed it horribly and collided with one of his defenders. The ball dropped invitingly for Paolo Guerrero who walked it in with the debate raging behind him. Guerrero grabbed the second in more stylish fashion before Jefferson Farfan pulled one back, though Frank Rost's reluctance to give the Peruvian forward the ball back led to an unedifying wrestle in the goal which lead to both players being booked. But 2-1 it remained and Rutten paid with his job.
Bayern remain in the hunt, though they were utterly unconvincing in beating rock bottom Karlsruhe. With Miro Klose and Luca Toni injured, Landon Donovan's loan spell finished and Lukas Podloski seemingly already back in his beloved Cologne, it was left to Argentine nipper José Sosa to tuck home Franck Ribéry's delightful ball through late in the first half. Karlsruhe had keeper Markus Miller to thank for keeping them in it, but they had the bulk of the chances in the second half as misfiring Bayern clung on. Hertha continue to lead, but went down 2-0 in Stuttgart. Andriy Voronin missed a great chance to put Hertha ahead and, once there, you'd fancy they'd hold out. Instead, Stuttgart grabbed two goals in seven second half minutes to win it. Cacau and Sami Khedira got them and Mario Gomez pulled all the strings and could have had a couple himself but for some good defending. Wolfsburg's amazing run goes on, though they didn't have it all their own way against Arminia. Christian Gentner gave the Wolves an early lead, but Bielfeld had chances only to find the outstanding keeper in the league, Diego Benaglio, in top form. Some of his saves were right out of the top drawer and the Swiss is in the running for the player of the year. Make no mistake about that. Inevitably, Wolfsburg them hammered the point home and, almost equally as inevitably, it was Grafite who did with his 18th of the season. Ashkan Dejagah wrapped it up late on. Hoffenheim drew yet again and their title challenge looks all but over. The squad simply isn't there at this point and building for next season and a more concerted effort may now be their priority.
Bochum won the big game at the bottom thanks to a wonder-strike from Dennis Grote in the first half. Gladbach couldn't find a way through, though shots rained in with Michael Bradley, Tobias Levels and Marko Marin prominent. That gives Bochum a three-point cushion back to the drop zone, leaving Gladbach in it. Cologne look safe after beating Energie, who don't, 2-0 at the Freundschaft. Eintracht took a point from their trip to Leverkusen which helps them a little, but it all but finished Leverkusen as a genuine contender. Dortmund won the battle of the mid-table underachievers through an Alexander Frei penalty. With Schalke showing a ruthless streak in dismissing the manager they pulled all stops out to hire in the summer, Thomas Schaaf will be hoping that his bosses at Bremen are more charitable.
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