Leverkusen jump ahead of Bremen

BERLIN – Bayer Leverkusen jumped ahead of slumping Werder Bremen into third place behind Bundesliga leaders Bayern Munich and Hamburg SV with a 4-1 home victory against Nuremberg on Sunday.

Bremen started the weekend in second but squandered their chance to capitalise on Bayern’s shock 2-0 defeat at Energie Cottbus on Saturday. Bremen were beaten 1-0 at home by VfL Wolfsburg, their third league defeat in the last four matches.Bayern lead the table with 50 points, Hamburg are second with 45, Leverkusen third with 44 and Bremen, who were also knocked out of the UEFA Cup on Thursday, are fourth on 43.Brazil’s Grafite scored the match winner in the rain for Wolfsburg five minutes after the intermission, firing home from the right at the end of a high-speed one-two with compatriot Marcelinho that began in midfield.”They were handicapped by having to play on Thursday and with all the injuries they’ve had,” Wolfsburg coach Felix Magath told Premiere Television.Wolfsburg have the league’s best record since the winter break with 16 points from seven matches.”But our team played extremely well,” added Magath, whose team face Bayern Munich in the semi-finals of the German Cup on Wednesday.”We had several chances to get the second goal and I think that shows we deserved to win.”Aside from injured Torsten Frings and Tim Borowski, Bremen were also without playmaker Diego and Germany defender Per Mertesacker, both suspended.The defeat capped a miserable week for Bremen, who lost 6-3 at VfB Stuttgart last Saturday.On Thursday they were knocked out of the UEFA Cup 2-1 on aggregate by Rangers despite winning the return leg 1-0.”We’re very disappointed we didn’t get the three points against Wolfsburg,” said Werder sporting director Klaus Allofs.”All the injuries we’ve had are starting to take their toll.It makes it difficult.It would be very bitter for us to finish lower than third with the quality of team we have.But we’ve had good finishes in the past.We just need to stay calm now.”Bayer Leverkusen will take heart from a three-goal second half ahead of their clash next week at Bayern Munich.Zvjezdan Misimovic scored in the sixth minute for Leverkusen before Karim Haggui equalised six minutes later.Vratislav Gresko’s own goal in the 57th minute was followed by strikes from Theofanis Gekas (59) and Stefan Kiessling (82).Nampa-ReutersBremen were beaten 1-0 at home by VfL Wolfsburg, their third league defeat in the last four matches.Bayern lead the table with 50 points, Hamburg are second with 45, Leverkusen third with 44 and Bremen, who were also knocked out of the UEFA Cup on Thursday, are fourth on 43.Brazil’s Grafite scored the match winner in the rain for Wolfsburg five minutes after the intermission, firing home from the right at the end of a high-speed one-two with compatriot Marcelinho that began in midfield.”They were handicapped by having to play on Thursday and with all the injuries they’ve had,” Wolfsburg coach Felix Magath told Premiere Television.Wolfsburg have the league’s best record since the winter break with 16 points from seven matches.”But our team played extremely well,” added Magath, whose team face Bayern Munich in the semi-finals of the German Cup on Wednesday.”We had several chances to get the second goal and I think that shows we deserved to win.”Aside from injured Torsten Frings and Tim Borowski, Bremen were also without playmaker Diego and Germany defender Per Mertesacker, both suspended.The defeat capped a miserable week for Bremen, who lost 6-3 at VfB Stuttgart last Saturday.On Thursday they were knocked out of the UEFA Cup 2-1 on aggregate by Rangers despite winning the return leg 1-0.”We’re very disappointed we didn’t get the three points against Wolfsburg,” said Werder sporting director Klaus Allofs.”All the injuries we’ve had are starting to take their toll.It makes it difficult.It would be very bitter for us to finish lower than third with the quality of team we have.But we’ve had good finishes in the past.We just need to stay calm now.”Bayer Leverkusen will take heart from a three-goal second half ahead of their clash next week at Bayern Munich.Zvjezdan Misimovic scored in the sixth minute for Leverkusen before Karim Haggui equalised six minutes later.Vratislav Gresko’s own goal in the 57th minute was followed by strikes from Theofanis Gekas (59) and Stefan Kiessling (82).Nampa-Reuters