(MENAFN- Arab Times) BERLIN Oct 19 (Agencies): Hoffenheim missed out on reclaiming second in the Bundesliga after Sunday's 1-1 draw at strugglers Hamburg while leaders Bayern Munich finish the weekend four-points clear after hammering Werder Bremen.
Hoffenheim took an early lead as Anthony Modeste coolly slotted home in the 15th minute but hosts Hamburg who are third from bottom hit back when Pierre-Michel Lasogga showed superb finishing on 34 minutes. The former Germany Under-21 international had several chances in the second-half and clipped the crossbar with 10 minutes left to leave Hoffenheim Bayern Mainz and Moenchengladbach as the league's only unbeaten teams. The point lifts Hamburg up to 16th in the table while Hoffenheim are third after Borussia Moenchengladbach moved up to second with Saturday's 3-0 win at Hanover 96 when Germany striker Max Kruse scored twice. The weekend's results mean first plays second when Gladbach host Bayern Munich in the league's top game next Sunday evening. Pep Guardiola's Bayern maintained their stranglehold on the Bundesliga with their fifth straight victory on Saturday in a 6-0 rout of bottom side Bremen in Munich. The Bavarians warmed up for Tuesday's Champions League clash at Roma as captain Philipp Lahm moved up into the defensive midfield and scored the first double of his career while Germany star Mario Geotze also netted twice. Ex-Liverpool and Real Madrid midfielder Xabi Alonso scored the first goal of his Bayern career when he drove his free-kick under the Bremen wall on 27 minutes after Lahm gave the hosts an early lead. Thomas Mueller put the hosts 3-0 up when he converted a penalty and Goetze made it 4-0 at the break before both he and Lahm added second-half goals. Roberto di Matteo got off to a winning start as Schalke 04 coach when the Royal Blues picked up only their third win of the season with a 2-0 victory at home to Hertha Berlin. The 44-year-old who won the 2012 Champions League title during his eight-month reign at Chelsea is looking for his second win when Schalke host Sporting Lisbon on Tuesday in Europe. Netherlands striker Klaas-Jan Huntelaar put Schalke ahead with a long-range header on 19 minutes before Germany midfielder Julian Draxler made it 2-0 with a well-taken goal on 65 minutes. The result lifts Schalke to eighth while Borussia Dortmund's horror league run continued as they lost 2-1 at Cologne to go five Bundesliga games without a win. It was their third defeat in a row ahead of Wednesday's Champions League clash at Galatasaray. Cologne took a 1-0 lead as midfielder Kevin Vogt fired home on 40 minutes. Although Dortmund striker Ciro Immobile equalised Simon Zoller netted Cologne's winner on 74 minutes after a mix-up in the Dortmund defence to seal their first home victory against Borussia since 2003. Meanwhile promoted Paderborn came from behind to beat Eintracht Frankfurt 3-1 in the late game. Alexander Meier scored with Frankfurt's first shot on goal in the 57th converting Takashi Inui's cross in off the right post. Marvin Ducksch equalized two minutes after coming on as a substitute with a brilliant strike over the Frankfurt goalkeeper inside the far post in the 66th. Paderborn captain Uwe Huenemeier made it 2-1 in the 79th and Stefan Kutschke another substitute rounded the goalkeeper to seal the result with five minutes to play. Standings P W D L GF GA Pts Bayern 8 6 2 0 21 2 20 Gladbach 8 4 4 0 12 4 16 Hoffenheim 8 3 5 0 12 7 14 Mainz 05 8 3 5 0 12 7 14 Wolfsburg 8 4 2 2 13 9 14 Leverkusen 8 3 4 1 16 14 13 Paderborn 8 3 3 2 13 11 12 Frankfurt 8 3 3 2 13 10 12 Schalke 04 8 3 2 3 13 12 11 Hanover 96 8 3 1 4 5 11 10 Cologne 8 2 3 3 6 7 9 Augsburg 8 3 0 5 9 11 9 Hertha 8 2 2 4 11 16 8 Dortmund 8 2 1 5 10 14 7 Stuttgart 8 1 3 4 9 15 6 Hamburg 8 1 3 4 3 9 6 Freiburg 8 0 5 3 8 12 5 Bremen 8 0 4 4 10 22 4 Note: Standins read as played won drawn lost goals for goals against & points.
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