Bastian Reinhardt hit the crucial goal for Hamburg 10 minutes from time after Patrick Ebert had looked to have earned the visitors a point by cancelling out Paolo Guerrero's early opener.

Werder Bremen remain hot on the heels of Hamburg following their 1-0 win over Hansa Rostock. Hugo Almeida struck the game's only goal six minutes before half-time.

Bayer Leverkusen were the day's biggest winners in the German top flight as they triumphed 4-0 against Arminia Bielefeld.

The game was all but over at the interval following first-half goals from Sergei Barbarez and two from Theofanis Gekas, with Barbarez's second 10 minutes from the end sealing the rout.

A miserable week continued for cup holders Nurnberg as they suffered a 1-0 defeat at home to champions Stuttgart.

Hans Meyer's side, who went out of the DFB-Pokal to second division Carl-Zeiss Jena on Wednesday, were condemned to another loss by Mario Gomez's 25th-minute strike.

Hannover were 2-1 winners against Borussia Dortmund thanks to second-half goals from Szabolcs Huszti - from the penalty spot - and Christian Schulz. Florian Kringe's effort 11 minutes from time proved nothing more than a consolation for the visitors.

On Friday night, Energie Cottbus picked up their first win of the season with a battling display in a 1-0 victory over Schalke.

Christian Bassila's 46th-minute strike was enough for the Bundesliga's bottom side in a scrappy affair in which both teams were guilty of some poor finishing.

The weekend's action concludes on Sunday when high-flying Karlsruhe host lowly Duisburg and Bochum meet Wolfsburg.