Hungry Wolfsburg head clear

By Mark Bennett

VfL Wolfsburg opened up a three-point gap at the top of the Bundesliga with a 3-0 win against third-placed VfB Stuttgart while nearest challengers FC Schalke 04 slipped to a 3-1 home defeat by Hertha BSC Berlin.

Brdaric breakthrough
Wolfsburg were always in charge at the Volkswagen Arena and their positive approach paid dividends three minutes before half-time as German international Thomas Brdaric broke the deadlock. Bulgarian international Martin Petrov doubled the lead midway through the second period and capped an impressive display with his second goal seven minutes later.

Schalke stumble
Second-placed Schalke were unable to keep pace with the leaders, falling behind against Hertha after 42 minutes as Marcelinho put the visitors in front. Although Gerald Asamoah equalised early in the second half, Hertha regained the lead 19 minutes from time thanks to Nando Rafael's strike. Niko Kovac wrapped up the win with seven minutes left, moving Hertha up to ninth position.

Hannover successful
Stuttgart remained third despite their defeat, but Hannover 96 joined Matthias Sammer's side on 23 points with a 2-0 win against 1. FSV Mainz 05, Thomas Christiansen and Silvio Schröter scoring either side of the break.

Hopefuls draw
UEFA Champions League contenders Werder Bremen and Bayer 04 Leverkusen shared an exciting 2-2 draw in the Weserstadion, Miroslav Klose giving the champions a first-half lead. Goals from Andriy Voronin and Dimitar Berbatov early in the second period turned the match in Leverkusen's favour, but Nelson Valdez's 72nd-minute equaliser gave Bremen a point.

Buckley double
In Saturday's other matches, 1. FC Kaiserslautern defeated BV Borussia Dortmund 1-0 thanks to Ferydoon Zandi's second-half penalty. Two goals from Delron Buckley helped DSC Arminia Bielefeld to a 3-2 win at SC Freiburg and VfL Borussia Mönchengladbach earned a 2-1 success against 1. FC Nürnberg.

Bayern chance
FC Bayern München can close to within one point of Wolfsburg with victory at VfL Bochum 1848 on Sunday, when FC Hansa Rostock face 15th-placed Hamburger SV.