Hoffenheim comfortably beat relegation-threatened Energie Cottbus 2-0 yesterday to reclaim top spot in the Bundesliga and keep their title hopes in their debut season alive.

Demba Ba opened the scoring with his eighth goal of the season after 28 minutes before Boubacar Sanogo marked his debut with a second on 63 after joining on loan from Werder Bremen last month.

Hoffenheim, without top scorer Vedad Ibisevic who is out for the rest of the season with a ruptured cruciate ligament, put in another solid performance as they resumed their title chase in their first top-flight season.

Hoffenheim lead with 38 points, two ahead of Hertha Berlin who nicked ahead of Hamburg SV on goal difference thanks to a Marko Pantelic brace in a 2-1 win over Eintracht Frankfurt.

Champions Bayern Munich lost 1-0 to Hamburg on Friday and dropped to fourth on 35.

Hoffenheim started new signings Sanogo and former Germany keeper Timo Hildebrand but missed a spate of good chances with the Ivory Coast striker and defender Matthias Jaissle proving particularly wasteful.

The hosts had to wait only half an hour though to celebrate their first league goal in their newly-opened Rhein-Neckar arena when Ba picked up a Selim Teber cross and muscled his way past two defenders before slotting home.

Sanogo added the second when he combined beautifully with Ba to beat keeper Gerhard Tremmel from ten metres.

Hildebrand did not have as enjoyable a debut, having to be substituted in the 60th minute and taken to hospital for x-rays on his injured foot.

Schalke 04's erratic season continued when hosts Hanover scored against the run of play in the 8th minute to leave the Royal Blues in ninth place, while Borussia Moenchengladbach stayed bottom after going down 2-0 to VfB Stuttgart.