Hamburg SV ended their seven-game losing streak in the Bundesliga by beating Borussia Dortmund 3-0 on new coach Mirko Slomka’s debut on Saturday.
Pierre Michel Lasogga set up Petr Jiracek’s 42nd-minute headed opener and scored in the 58th. Hakan Calhanoglu completed the win with an improbable 45m free-kick in injury time.
Slomka took over on Monday last week from Bert van Marwijk, who was fired after the side lost their previous eight games in all competitions.
“The result is a bit flattering, but we did well in defense over long periods and the team can be proud of these points,” Slomka said. “Today was one of 13 [remaining] games and we’ll never stop working.”
Hamburg climbed one spot into the relegation playoff place, overtaking SC Freiburg, who lost 4-2 at home to Augsburg.
Sandro Wagner scored late for Hertha BSC to win 2-1 at VfB Stuttgart, who have lost seven in succession.
TSB 1899 Hoffenheim came from two goals down to draw 2-2 at Borussia Moenchengladbach, and 10-man Nuremberg beat Eintracht Braunschweig 2-1 in a game that featured three missed penalties.
Second-place Bayer 04 Leverkusen’s alarming slump continued in the late game with a 3-1 defeat at VfL Wolfsburg, who stretched their winning run to four games.
Bas Dost got the home side off the mark in the 13th, before Leverkusen winger Sidney Sam equalized just before the break.
Luiz Gustavo restored Wolfsburg’s lead in the 58th and Ricardo Rodriguez made it 3-1 on the rebound in the 73rd after Bernd Leno saved his initial penalty attempt.
It was Leverkusen’s seventh defeat in nine games across all competitions, and means Bayern Munich could stretch their lead to 19 points with a win at Hannover 96 yesterday.
“We have to try something different,” Leverkusen coach Sami Hyypia said.
The home side started well in Hamburg, restricting opportunities for Dortmund, which visits Zenit St. Petersburg in the Champions League tomorrow.
Rene Adler made a host of good saves as Hamburg kept a clean sheet for the first time after 14 games. His side conceded at least three in each of their previous seven games, including the 5-0 German Cup defeat to Bayern Munich.
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