Hamburg 2 Werder Bremen 1: Lasogga at the double to increase Werder worries

A first-half brace from Pierre-Michel Lasogga gave Hamburg a 2-1 win over Bundesliga strugglers Werder Bremen.

Lasogga opened the scoring from a fifth-minute corner and doubled his tally after the half-hour, heading home Matthias Ostrzolek’s cross from close range.

Werder midfielder Florian Grillitsch wasted a one-on-one opportunity between those goals and the visitors spurned an even more inviting opportunity when Claudio Pizarro won a 57th-minute penalty.

The veteran Peru forward drew a foul from Johan Djourou but his poorly struck spot kick was saved by Jaroslav Drobny.

Substitute Anthony Ujah turned in after Dronbny saved his initial effort in the 65th minute but there would be more misery from Pizarro as he headed agonisingly wide in stoppage time.

The result lifts Hamburg up to 10th in the standings – 10 points clear of second-bottom Eintracht Frankfurt, who have four matches remaining.

Frankfurt’s final game of the season against third-bottom Bremen could yet prove to be pivotal, with Viktor Skripnik’s side four points better off in the relegation play-off place after their second-half rally went unrewarded.