Bundesliga: Stuttgart 4 Werder Bremen 1

A Martin Harnik double helped Stuttgart consolidate fifth place in the Bundesliga with a 4-1 home win over Werder Bremen on Friday.

Visiting Werder led at Mercedes Benz Arena when Markus Rosenberg latched on to a Marko Marin cross to give his side the advantage after 25 minutes.

It took Stuttgart 12 minutes to level, and they did so in style when Christian Gentner fired a 25-yard strike past Bremen goalkeeper Tim Wiese.

Austrian international Harnik gave his side the advantage on the stroke of half-time when he headed home from close range.

The Stuttgart top goalscorer completed his double eight minutes after the restart, converting Tamas Hajnal’s cross for his 17th goal of the season.

Substitute Cacau sealed a telling victory in the 89th minute as Stuttgart extended their unbeaten run to nine matches.

Bruno Labbadia’s side move five points clear of sixth-place Bayer Leverkusen and within four of the final Champions League qualification slot, held by Borussia Moenchengladbach.

Werder, winless in six matches, stay eighth but can drop to as low as tenth after the weekend fixtures.