Bundesliga leaders Borussia Dortmund needed a late equaliser to seal a 1-1 draw at Hamburg yes-terday to keep on course for their first league title since 2002 with five games remaining.
With second-placed Bayer Leverkusen hosting second-from-bottom St Pauli today, Dortmund’s eight-point lead at the top of the table could be cut to five.
Dortmund fell behind when Mladen Petric was fouled from behind by defender Mats Hummels in the penalty area and Ruud van Nistelrooy fired home from the spot on 39 minutes.
But Borussia’s rising star Mario Goetze had a chance cleared with the ball almost over the line just before half-time and the 18-year-old then headed over the bar after the break.
Hamburg were reduced to ten men when 22-year-old midfielder Aenis Ben-Hatira was sent off for a second yellow card late in the game.
With time almost up, Poland midfielder Jakub Blaszczykowski latched onto the end of a towering pass from Patrick Owomoyela to fire home and give his side a valuable point.
Hanover went third at the expense of defending champions Bayern Munich with a 2-0 win at home to Mainz.
Ivory Coast striker Didier Ya Konan put the hosts ahead with a penalty on the stroke of half-time while Hanover midfielder Sergio Pinto added a second after the break.
With five games to go, Bayern are fourth after they drew 1-1 at Nuremberg in the Bavarian derby.
Germany midfielder Thomas Mueller put the guests ahead after just five minutes, but Nuremberg striker Christian Eigler equalised on the hour mark to share the points. The draw means Bayern are still six points short of second place and a guaranteed Champions League place next season.
Fresh from their 5-2 win at holders Inter in the Champions League, Schalke earned a 1-0 home win over Wolfsburg, whose ex-coach Felix Magath returned to Gelsenkirchen just three weeks after being sacked by the Royal Blues.
The defeat leaves 2009 German champions Wolfsburg third bottom and two points from safety while Schalke are up to ninth.
Results: Hamburg vs B. Dortmund 1-1; Hanover vs Mainz 2-0; Nuremberg vs Bayern Munich 1-1; Freiburg vs Hoffenheim 3-2; Schalke vs Wolfsburg 1-0; Stuttgart vs Kaiserslautern 2-4.
Playing today: 15.30 Borussia M’gladbach vs Cologne. 17.30 B. Leverkusen vs St Pauli.