Chinedu Obasi scored in the seventh and 35th minutes, either side of Vedad Ibisevic's 13th-minute strike, to put the home side out of sight before half-time.

The win lifts Ralf Rangnick's team above Hamburg, who had led the standings going into the weekend, and a point above Bayer Leverkusen who are now in second.

Martin Jol's side now find themselves in third place after suffering their first defeat in four league games.

Mario Gomez bagged two goals in three minutes to give Stuttgart a 2-0 victory at home to Bochum.

The Germany striker struck in the 80th and 83rd minutes to continue Stuttgart's winning streak at the Mercedes-Benz Arena.

Armin Veh's team have now won four games in a row on their own patch, and all by at least two goals.

This latest win moved them up to fourth in the Bundesliga table with 16 points, three behind leaders Hoffenheim.

Bochum, in contrast, have collected just three points from five games and lie 15th, with only goal difference keeping them out of the relegation zone.

Borussia Dortmund came from behind to claim their third consecutive draw at home to Hertha Berlin.

Cicero's penalty after 31 minutes had given the visitors the lead, but Sebastian Kehl equalised with 19 minutes remaining to ensure the points were shared.