Pizarro hits Bremen hat-trick, Wolfsburg on top

Striker Claudio Pizarro hit a hat-trick on Sunday as Werder Bremen hammered Hanover 4-1, but the biggest Bundesliga shock of the weekend saw Bayern Munich crash 5-1 to new leaders Wolfsburg.

Ex-Chelsea forward Pizarro has now scored 15 goals and he is the fourth highest goal-scorer in the league behind leader Grafite from Wolfsburg who has netted 20 times.

“It was great to get the hat-trick,” said Pizarro, who was asked if he can match Grafite. “I don’t know about that, but why not? I will certainly try.”

Hanover’s Germany goalkeeper Robert Enke had kept his team in the game when he saved midfielder Diego’s second-half penalty with the scores level on 1-1.

But the Brazilian had the last word as he put Bremen ahead when he stabbed his shot past Enke on 77 minutes before Pizarro hit two goals in the last ten minutes to keep Bremen tenth in the league.

Bayer Leverkusen are seventh after their 2-0 win at struggling Cologne while the relegation battle between bottom three sides Karlsruhe and Borussia Moenchengladbach ended 0-0.

But the shock of the weekend came Saturday when Wolfsburg strikers Edin Dzeko and Grafite both struck twice to inflict the heaviest defeat on defending champions Bayern Munich for seven years.

“That was an unusual game for us, because it is not every day you get such a result against Bayern Munich,” said Wolfsburg coach Felix Magath.

“In the first half, Bayern were better, but we got a lot stronger after the break and played some heady football. But our goal remains to finish the season in the top five.”

The last time Bayern were beaten 5-1 in the Bundeliga came in 2002 against Schalke 04 and Wolfsburg went top of the table after handing out their mauling at the Volkswagen Arena.

“We need to look forward and turn the corner as quickly as possible,” said Bayern coach Jurgen Klinsmann, whose side face Barcelona in the Champions League quarter-final on Wednesday.

“We have to swallow this bitter pill for now. Obviously, we’ll discuss the mistakes we made, but we’ll turn our focus to Barcelona immediately.

“We’re all professionals and we have to pick ourselves up, even after you’ve taken a beating. We’ll get back on our feet, and we’ll play much better in Barcelona.”

With the scores level at 1-1 after an hour, Dzeko struck twice in two minutes – showing top-class finishing for his second goal – to end the match with 15 goals for the season to floor Bayern.

Not to be outdone, Grafite underlined his place as the league’s top scorer with two goals in three minutes to seal Bayern’s humiliation.

His second on 77 minutes saw him beat three defenders and goalkeeper Michael Rensing before back-heeling into an empty net to leave Bayern red-faced.

For Wolfsburg’s ex-Bayern coach Felix Magath it was sweet revenge against the club which sacked him in February 2007 while Dzeko and Grafite have now scored 35 goals between them in 41 league games this season.

Bayern drop to fourth in the table while Hertha are now third after they lost 3-1 at Berlin’s Olympic Stadium.

Hamburg now have 51 points, the same as Wolfsburg, and are only second in the table on goal difference after their 1-0 win over Hoffenheim, who go sixth. Stuttgart are up to fifth in the table after their 2-1 win at Bochum.

On Friday night, troubled Schalke 04, who sacked both team manager Andreas Mueller and coach Fred Rutten last month, are eighth in the table after their 2-0 win at Arminia Bielefeld.