Wolfsburg held as Real target Dzeko blows chance

Real Madrid target Edin Dzeko fired a second-half penalty over the bar on Saturday as Steve McClaren’s Wolfsburg were held to a goalless draw at home by Werder Bremen.

The hot-shot striker is believed to be a Real target to replace the injured Gonzalo Higuain in the winter transfer window with German daily Bild claiming Madrid are ready to table 25 million euros (33.5 million US dollars) for the Bosnian.

But the 24-year-old, who has scored nine league goals this season, fired his penalty over the bar on 77 minutes just minutes after Bremen captain Torsten Frings had also missed a spot-kick with Wolfsburg goalkeeper Diego Benaglio making the save.

The result leaves Bremen 10th and Wolfsburg 13th after they suffered their fourth-straight league draw.

With Bundesliga leaders Dortmund playing Nuremberg on Sunday, and defending champions Bayern Munich taking on struggling Schalke 04 in Gelsenkirchen later Saturday, second-placed Mainz blew their chance to close the gap at the top.

They suffered their fourth league defeat in their last six games when they were beaten 2-1 by Eintracht Frankfurt.

The league’s top scorer Theofanis Gekas netted a penalty in the 84th minute, his 13th of the season.

Hanover are third after they won 2-1 at bottom side Borussia Moenchengladbach, who were reduced to 10 men after Argentina’s Raul Bobadilla was sent off at the end of the first-half for kicking an opponent.

Ivory Coast striker Didier Ya Konan scored his seventh goal of the season in the 74th minute to seal the win for Hanover.

A bizarre goal by Freiburg’s Papiss Cisse after just three minutes sealed his side’s 1-0 win over Hamburg.

The Senegal striker scored his 11th goal of the season when he fired past Hamburg goalkeeper Frank Rost, only to see his shot hit both posts before he finally stabbed the ball home.

The result leaves Freiburg fifth in the table while Hamburg are ninth and coach Armin Veh is in increasing danger of losing his job after his fifth defeat in seven games.

VfB Stuttgart were held to a 1-1 draw by 10 man Hoffenheim.