Džeko fires Wolfsburg to brink of glory

An Edin Džeko hat-trick helped VfL Wolfsburg move a giant stride closer to a maiden Bundesliga crown as their 5-0 win at Hannover 96 coincided with a damaging 2-2 draw at TSG 1899 Hoffenheim for closest pursuers FC Bayern München.

Grafite double
Two points clear of the defending champions, Wolfsburg know victory at home against Werder Bremen in their final fixture next Saturday will see them over the line – and few would bet against them if Džeko can continue his current run of form. The Bosnia-Herzegovnian international helped himself to his second treble in four games and his ninth overall in that spell with efforts on 14, 53 and 80 minutes. That took him second in the scoring charts behind team-mate Grafite, who left his own mark with contributions on 33 and 36 minutes.

Hoffenheim hurdle
Bayern needed to win to keep pace and they began well with Franck Ribéry's 16th-minute opener. Demba Ba (21) and Carlos Eduardo (29) then turned the match around for Hoffenheim, and although Luca Toni levelled just before half-time, the visitors were unable to produce a winner. Consequently, they now find themselves level on points with VfB Stuttgart, who recorded an eighth triumph in nine outings, beating 17th-placed FC Energie Cottbus 2-0. Hertha BSC Berlin can now count themselves out of the race, in contrast, after their goalless draw with FC Schalke 04.

Relegation battle
Hamburger SV dropped to sixth and out of the UEFA Europa League berths after losing 1-0 at home to 1. FC Köln, while BV Borussia Dortmund passed them in the table by defeating DSC Arminia Bielefeld 6-0. Bottom side Karlsruher SC kept their survival hopes alive by winning 3-1 at UEFA Cup finalists Bremen, meanwhile, lifting themselves to within a point of Arminia. VfL Borussia Mönchengladbach, in 15th, are not clear of danger yet after they succumbed 5-0 at Bayer 04 Leverkusen, however Eintracht Frankfurt are safe despite going down 2-0 at VfL Bochum 1848.