Germany striker Mario Gomez was both goal scorer and provider as VfB Stuttgart came from behind to beat Karlsruhe 3-1 at home on Sunday to go third in the Bundesliga as Schalke 04 finished the weekend on top of the table.
The shock of the weekend was defending champions Bayern Munich’s 5-2 defeat at home to Werder Bremen on Saturday, which saw the German giants drop from second to eighth.
Gomez led Stuttgart’s recovery after they fell behind when Karlsruhe striker Sebastian Freis had a free header in the penalty area on eight minutes.
Gomez, who is rediscovering his form after a poor Euro 2008, set up the equalizer for midfielder Sami Khedira on 22 minutes and then put his side ahead on 68 minutes to claim his third goal in five games.
Romania striker Ciprian Marica scored Stuttgart’s third on 87 minutes to seal the win.
“In the first half, we didn’t play so well, but we managed to take our chances when they came,” said Stuttgart coach Armin Veh.
“We were much better after the break, won the individual battles and we deserved the victory,” he said.
Newly-promoted Hoffenheim are up to second after they hammered Dortmund 4-1 at home on Sunday.
“The team played for virtually the whole game with total concentration and knocked the breath out of the opposition,” said coach Ralf Rangnick.
“The boys are smart enough to know we must always play like this if we are to remain successful, so there is no danger of over confidence,” Rangnick said.
Martin Jol’s Hamburg missed their chance to stay top of the Bundesliga when they were blitzed 3-0 at VfL Wolfsburg and the defeat leaves them fourth.
Hamburg began the weekend in first place, but lost top spot after Schalke beat Eintracht Frankfurt 1-0 on Saturday.
Goals by midfielder Ashkan Dejagah, defender Alexander Madlung and Brazilian Grafite left Hamburg on the ropes after just 28 minutes and they never recovered.
“It’s not yet Christmas, but we virtually gave the goals away to Wolfsburg as presents,” Jol said.
Bundesliga
Team P GD PTS
1 Schalke 04 5 5 11
2 TSG Hoffenheim 5 4 10
3 Vfb Stuttgart 5 4 10
4 Hamburg 5 1 10
5 Bayer Leverkusen 5 7 9
6 Wolfsburg 5 4 9
7 Werder Bremen 5 5 8
8 Bayern Munich 5 3 8
9 Hertha Berlin 5 0 8
10 Borussia Dortmund 5 -1 8
11 Vfl Bochum 5 0 5
12 Arminia Bielefeld 5 -2 5
13 Cologne 5 -4 4
14 Hannover 96 5 -5 4
15 Karlsruhe 4 -4 3
16 Borussia M’gladbach 5 -7 3
17 Eintracht Frankfurt 4 -3 2
18 Cottbus 5 -7 2
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