Leaders Schalke beaten, W. Bremen held to draw

Bundesliga leaders Schalke 04 suffered a 1-0 defeat at home to Bayer Leverkusen yesterday when they were hit by a Stefan Kiessling sucker punch five minutes from time.

Schalke (49), looking to go seven points clear, missed a string of chances and an excellent finish from Kiessling meant they failed even to claim a point.

They could also face a disciplinary problem after Brazilian playmaker Lincoln received a red card after the final whistle for apparently landing a punch on Leverkusen's Bernd Schneider.

The immediate damage was at least limited with title rivals Werder Bremen (43) being held to a 2-2 draw away to Borussia Moenchengladbach, who grabbed their second equaliser four minutes into added time through Nando Rafael.

The only winners among the big teams were Bayern Munich, who saw off VfL Wolfsburg 2-1 at the Allianz Arena on Saturday.

Bayern remain in fourth place on 40 points, now just three points away from the Champions League places and, with 11 games left to play, still not completely out of the reckoning for a third successive title.

"It's always tough for us when we play at home," said Schalke coach Mirko Slomka after yesterday's loss. "Leverkusen just came to play on the break."

Werder's draw against Moenchengladbach was another missed opportunity, with a late lapse in concentration costing Thomas Schaaf's side.

They led through Pierre Wome's long-range blast in the 11th minute before Michael Delura levelled the scores six minutes later when he took a wonderful pass from Peer Kluge and slotted in.

Werder were ahead six minutes from time with a deflected shot from Jurica Vranjes only for Rafael to snatch a point with a fine finish from a tight angle at the far post.