Late strikes put Leverkusen top as Bremen crumble

Werder Bremen's defence leaked two late goals in quick succession to hand Bayer Leverkusen a 2-0 victory and three points to put them top of the Bundesliga on Tuesday night.

The game was heading for a 0-0 draw until Bayer's Brazilian midfielder Renato Augusto put in a cross and a mix-up in the Bremen defence allowed midfielder Arturo Vidal a simple tap in.

And after the Chilean's goal on 71 minutes, another mistake in the Bremen defence allowed Germany defender Manuel Friedrich to lob Bremen goalkeeper Christian Vander just nine minutes later to leave Bremen red faced.

“It was great the way the game worked out for us,” said Leverkusen coach Bruno Labbadia.

“We were very good in defence and barely allowed them any chances.

“We showed a lot of patience and took our chances when they came our way.

“Up until now, we have played very well this season, but we are not getting euphoric just yet, there is still a long way to go this season.”

Hoffenheim have the chance to reclaim top spot providing they beat VfL Bochum on Wednesday night, but Bayer are now two points clear of the rest of the table.

Schalke are now up to third after their impressive 3-0 win at ten-man Karlsruhe.

The Royal Blues were untroubled as they raced into a 2-0 lead thanks to a shot from Brazilian captain Marcelo Bordon after 15 minutes and a Kevin Kuranyi header four minutes later.

Karlsruhe were reduced to ten men when defender Maik Franz was shown a second yellow card on 56 minutes for gesturing to the Schalke bench and stormed from the pitch, kicking over a chair and pushing away team-mates on the way.

Kuranyi then turned goal provider when he put in a cross for Peru striker Jefferson Farfan to head home on 67 minutes.

Having been beaten 4-2 at Bayern Munich on Saturday, Wolfsburg were back to winning ways as they grabbed a 3-0 win at home to Borussia Moenchengladbach.

And bottom club Energie Cottbus gained a valuable point at Arminie Bielefeld thanks to a 1-1 draw.

German giants Bayern Munich can go third in the table if they pick up their fourth straight win at Eintracht Frankfurt on Wednesday and other results go their way.

Jurgen Klinsmann-coach Bayern slumped to 11th in the table before last weekend and the Munich coach will demand another battling performance from his team.

Friedhelm Funkel's resurgent Frankfurt have come from behind to win twice in a row and have pulled clear of the drop zone.

“Frankfurt will be much more difficult than Wolfsburg – it will be a battle against them,” said Klinsmann.

And Bayern's Germany midfielder Tim Borowski – who scored against Wolfsburg – says they will need plenty of running.

“They're strong and prepared to fight, and they'll set out to stop us playing,” said Borowski.

“We need lots of running, the will to win, and hunger for the three points. That's the way we'll extend our run.”