Bundesliga wrap: Vital win for Stuttgart, Hannover falter

Stuttgart moved a step closer to Bundesliga survival with a 3-1 win at Cologne on Saturday, while European hopefuls Hannover were held.

A three-goal burst in the second half sealed the result for Stuttgart, sending the relegation-threatened club four points clear of the drop zone with four games to play.

Midfielder Christian Trasch burst clear on 51 minutes and blasted a well-aimed shot beyond Cologne goalkeeper Michael Rensing, and two minutes later striker Martin Harnik finished off Serdar Tasci’s good work for a 2-0 lead.

Serbian midfielder Zdravko Kuzmanovic cashed in Pedro Geromel’s handball with a penalty on the hour mark – a goal that was soon matched by Milivoje Novakovic’s consolation strike for the hosts.

Elsewhere, Hannover’s push for a Champions League berth stalled with a 0-0 draw at Hamburg.

The result means Hannover could finish the weekend outside of the top three if Bayern Munich can topple Bayer Leverkusen on Sunday.

Nuremberg moved within two points of the Europa League places with a 2-0 defeat of Kaiserslautern, owing to goals from Christian Eigler and substitute Robert Mak.

Eigler got his head to Timothy Chandler’s whipped-in cross in the 34th minute, and had a hand in Mak’s goal when he blocked an attempted clearance from the Kaiserslautern defence and the ball fell for the Slovakian striker in stoppage time.

In other results, relegation battlers St Pauli and Wolfsburg fought out a 2-2 draw that leaves both four points adrift of safety.

Eintracht Frankfurt hover above the drop zone following a 1-0 loss at mid-table Hoffenheim, while Schalke marginally improved their chances of beating the drop by holding on for a 1-1 draw at Werder Bremen.