Leaders Schalke had to be patient before finally breaking down a stern Nurnberg defence in the 64th minute through Kevin Kuranyi to clinch a 1-0 win.

The Germany frontman had chances for a hat-trick, but the one goal was enough in the end as Nurnberg, who ended the game with 10 men following Tomas Galasek's 81st-minute red card, could not provide an answer.

Stuttgart remain right on Schalke's heels thanks to a 2-0 triumph over Mainz.

Fernando Meira gave the hosts the lead in the 26th minute and Roberto Hilbert doubled their advantage in the 65th.

It was a sixth successive win for Armin Veh's team, who remain just a point behind Schalke with two games to go.

The victory also means they are 10 points clear of fourth-placed Bayern Munich, meaning a spot in next season's Champions League is now secure.

Bayern's hopes of qualifying for European football's premier club competition, on the other hand, are all but dead after they were held to a 1-1 draw at bottom club Borussia Monchengladbach.

Roy Makaay put Bayern ahead in the 12th minute but Peer Kluge answered for the already-relegated hosts in the 50th.

The draw leaves Ottmar Hitzfeld's team in fourth place on 54 points with two games remaining - six points less than Werder Bremen, who occupy the third and final Champions League spot. Bremen visit Hertha Berlin on Sunday.

Eintracht Frankfurt went some way to easing their relegation fears and plunged 10-man Alemannia Aachen deep into the mire with a comprehensive 4-0 win at the Commerzbank-Arena.

The hosts dominated from start to finish in front of a sell-out crowd of 55,000, as goals from Benjamin Huggel, Aleksander Vasoski, Naohiro Takahara and Benjamin Kohler saw off a lacklustre challenge from Aachen, who had Alexander Klitzpera sent off in the second half for a reckless challenge.

Wolfsburg's survival hopes were dealt a huge blow after goals from Ebi Smolarek and Nelson Valdez gave Borussia Dortmund a straightforward 2-0 win.

The hosts were behind after only 12 minutes when Smolarek latched onto Paulo Cesar Tinga's pass and curled a fine effort past Simon Jentzsch.

And with time running out, substitute Valdez picked the ball up and took on the Wolfsburg defence before producing a neat finish beyond the home keeper.

Klaus Augenthaler's side are now only three points above the relegation zone with two games left.

Bochum put to bed any lingering relegation fears with an emphatic 3-0 triumph over Hamburg at the AOL Arena.

Theofanis Gekas, Dennis Grote and Zvjezdan Misimovic put their names on the scoresheet as the visitors romped to victory over a lacklustre home team and kept alive their hopes of playing European football next season.