Nuremberg moved within a point of fourth-placed Bayern Munich and a possible place in next season's Champions League as a goal from Michael Beauchamp secured a 1-0 victory over Energie Cottbus on Sunday in the German Bundesliga.
In the day's other match, VfL Bochum moved out of the relegation zone thanks to a 3-1 win at Arminia Bielefeld.
Nuremberg went into the game against Cottbus looking to take full advantage of Bayern's shock 1-0 loss on Saturday at Alemannia Aachen but were made to fight for all three points against a resolute Cottbus side.
PHOTO: AP
Robert Vittek came closest to scoring for Nuremberg in the first half but the Slovakian saw his shot from 15m hit the bar.
Cottbus came closest to breaking the deadlock when striker Francis Kioyo saw his header come back off a post on 51 minutes.
But the visitors hopes of taking a point took a severe blow when they were reduced to 10 men with 18 minutes remaining when substitute Daniel Ziebig was sent off after picking up two yellow cards within five minutes.
Less than a minute later Nuremberg were in front when Cottbus goalkeeper Tomislav Piplica spilled the ball and Beauchamp was on hand to take full advantage and help his side register a fourth win in five league matches this year.
"I am very happy," said Beauchamp after scoring the first goal of his professional career. "I was standing in the right place at the right time."
Bochum got off to the perfect start in Bielefeld with Theofanis Gekas putting the visitors two up with a brace in the first 10 minutes.
Artur Wichniarek pulled one back for Bielefeld on 26 minutes before Christoph Dabrowski made it 3-1 six minutes after the restart to secure a vital win for Bochum.
In Saturday action, Bundesliga leaders Schalke 04 missed the chance of extending their lead at the top to seven points as VfL Wolfsburg came from two goals down to salvage a 2-2 draw.
Werder Bremen's title chances took a severe blow after a third defeat in succession, this time a 2-0 home loss to SV Hamburg, who move off the bottom as a result.
Schalke now have 49 points, five clear of Stuttgart, who demolished Eintracht Frankfurt 4-0 in the Friday night game. Bremen stay third on 42 points with Bayern fourth on 37 points, one clear of Nuremberg.
Borussia Moenchengladbach dropped to the bottom of the table after going down 1-0 at Dortmund. In Saturday's other matches, Mainz 05 came from behind to beat Hertha Berlin 2-1 and Bayer Leverkusen crashed 1-0 at home to Hanover.
Palermo held to draw
Third-placed Palermo continued a patchy run in the Serie A on Sunday after being held to a 1-1 draw by struggling guests Chievo Verona.
The leading position remains firmly in the hands of unbeaten title holders Inter Milan, on 63 points from 23 games, who beat Cagliari 1-0 on Saturday for a 16th straight win that sets a new continental record.
Also on Saturday, second-place Roma were upset 1-0 at fourth-place Empoli, sliding 14 points from the top, while penalized AC Milan, now sixth on 33 points, took home a 4-3 win from Siena.
Palermo have now 43 points, having notched just four in as many games, and hold an eight-point lead on Empoli, with a game in hand like all the other teams except Catania.
The north-eastern side steered by former Palermo coach Luigi Del Neri did not falter after David Di Michele put the Sicily hosts one up on 23 minutes thanks to a defensive blunder.
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