Van Nistelrooy on the mark

Ruud van Nistelrooy came on as a second-half substitute and scored two quick goals, his first for the club, to give Hamburg a 3-1 win at Stuttgart in the Bundesliga yesterday.

The Dutchman entered the fray in the 65th minute with the score at 1-1 and struck twice in a three-minute spell to give Stuttgart their first competitive defeat under former Tottenham manager Christian Gross.

Leaders Bayer Leverkusen stayed unbeaten in the league when they beat holders Wolfsburg 2-1 thanks to Stefan Reinartz and an own goal by Andre Lenz.

In the late kick-off, Bayern Munich moved back level with Leverkusen and improved their goal difference in the process with a solid 3-1 win over Borussia Dortmund.

Mohamed Zidan put Borussia Dortmund ahead in the fifth minute but Mark van Bommel equalised midway through the opening period.

Arjen Robben put Bayern 2-1 up five minutes into the second half before Mario Gomez's goal ensured there is now only one goal between Leverkusen and Bayern at the top of the table.

Hamburg, who have suffered a catalogue of injuries to forwards this season, took a 23rd-minute lead through Marcus Berg but Christian Traesch levelled for the hosts 10 minutes after half-time.

Van Nistelrooy, who made his debut as a 90th-minute substitute against Cologne a week ago, made an almost immediate impact as he swung the game Hamburg's way.

Ten minutes after the Dutchman came on, Marcell Jansen headed the ball into Van Nistelrooy's path and he tapped the ball home at the far post.

Two minutes after that, he side-footed past Jens Lehmann from 10 metres after Berg laid the ball into his path.

Helping hand

Leverkusen, who dropped two precious points at Bochum last week, were given a helping hand by hapless Wolfsburg goalkeeper Lenz as they returned to winning ways.

Reinartz put Leverkusen ahead three minutes after the break, lobbing the ball over Lenz after he failed to hold a Toni Kroos free-kick.

Having atoned with two fine saves, the goalkeeper put through his own goal when Eren Derdiyok's header struck the crossbar and bounced off his foot and over the line.

Bosnia forward Eden Dzeko pulled one back with his 10th goal of the season but could not stop Wolfsburg from completing their 12th game without a win in all competitions.