Džeko treble keeps Wolfsburg on course

Edin Džeko's 12-minute hat-trick helped VfL Wolfsburg lay down the gauntlet to their rivals once more as they maintained their place at the top of the German table with a 4-0 win against fading TSG 1899 Hoffenheim.

Quick-fire treble
With Hertha BSC Berlin, who went into the weekend in second place, facing a tough trip to fellow title contenders Hamburger SV on Sunday, Felix Magath's men ensured that they will go into next week at the top of the table. The 23-year-old Džeko took his tally to 19 Bundesliga goals for the season with strikes in the 66th, 74th and 78th minutes for Felix Magath's side. Grafite, who had set up Džeko's second and third goals, made it 4-0 a minute from time after Andreas Beck had seen red for Hoffenheim.

Bayern victorious
FC Bayern München, in their first game since Jupp Heynckes took over from Jürgen Klinsmann as coach, secured a 2-1 win at home against VfL Borussia Mönchengladbach to lift them above Hertha for at least one night. In a one-sided encounter, Bastian Schweinsteiger and Hamit Altıntop scored first-half goals either side of a Filip Daems penalty for the visitors to keep the Bavarians' title hopes afloat.

Stuttgart stutter
Elsewhere, a 2-2 draw at DSC Arminia Bielefeld saw VfB Stuttgart drop off the pace a little at the top of the table, while BV Borussia Dortmund won 2-0 at Eintracht Frankfurt to take sixth place from FC Schalke 04, who lost 2-1 at home against Bayer 04 Leverkusen. Karlsruher SC, meanwhile, remain bottom of the table after a 0-0 draw at home against FC Energie Cottbus.