Frontrunners win as race for fourth heats up

The race for fourth place in the Bundesliga has intensified as Eintracht Frankfurt defeated current incumbents FC Schalke 04 1-0, meaning five teams are separated by just two points.

Marco Russ's towering header from a corner shortly before half-time proved decisive in Frankfurt, though the heroics of Macedonian goalkeeper Oka Nikolov were equally important. The No1 made a string of notable saves from Marco Höger, Raffael and Michel Bastos – and denied the latter from the penalty spot – to lift his side sixth, a point behind Jens Keller's outfit.

A first-half double from Rafael van der Vaart handed Hamburger SV a 2-1 win against Fortuna Düsseldorf which also keeps them in the hunt. Thorsten Fink's eighth-placed team are two points adrift.

Meanwhile, champions FC Bayern München continue to demonstrate their goalscoring prowess; Mario Gomez and Claudio Pizarro – the Peruvian playing his 350th Bundesliga match – each scored twice in a 6-1 win at Hannover 96.

Borussia Dortmund eased past 1. FSV Mainz 05 2-0, while Bayer 04 Leverkusen consolidated third place with an emphatic 5-0 victory against TSG 1899 Hoffenheim. The struggling visitors suffered a blow in Eugen Polanski's 23rd-minute dismissal, and Stefan Kiessling and André Schürrle took full advantage, both scoring twice. Hoffenheim stay 17th, six points adrift of safety.