Werder were given a helping hand when Ivan Saenko was dismissed after 20 minutes and needed just 10 minutes to take advantage with Markus Rosenberg putting them 1-0 up.

That is how the score remained until nine minutes from time when Ivan Klasnic's header made it two.

Bayern can restore their three-point lead when they travel to Hannover tomorrow.

A 2-2 draw at Karlsruhe was enough to move Bayer Leverkusen into third - although they would have expected to claim all three points when they led 2-0.

Stuttgart also let a two-goal lead slip at Duisburg - but struck took three points, courtesy of former Aston Villa midfielder Thomas Hitzlsperger's last-minute strike.

Struggling Hansa Rostock beat Eintracht Frankfurt 1-0 and Hertha Berlin snatched victory by the same scoreline against relegation-threatened Arminia Bielefeld, while two goals by Mladen Petric handed Borussia Dortmund an important 2-0 victory over Energie Cottbus in the fight against relegation.