Resurgent Werder Bremen beat Bayer 04 Leverkusen 2-1 on Sunday for a fourth straight German Bundesliga win that lifted them away from the relegation battle for the first time in several months.
The run of results moved Bremen up to eighth place on 26 points, well clear of the danger zone where Borussia Dortmund (on 19 points), SC Freiburg and VfB Stuttgart (both on 18 points) are battling for survival.
Former German champions Bremen took the lead in the 17th minute with a goal out of nowhere when Davie Selke, the talented 20-year-old Germany youth international, connected directly with a deep Fin Bartels cross.
Zlatko Junuzovic then curled a free-kick in from the edge of the area just before the half-hour mark, as Leverkusen struggled to find their rhythm.
The visitors, who are sixth on 32 points, recovered toward the end of the first half, cutting the deficit with a Hakan Calhanoglu rebound header before taking control of the game.
However, despite a largely one-sided second period with Leverkusen pushing for the equalizer, they failed to score, although they did hit the post through Stefan Kiessling before coach Roger Schmidt was sent to the stands for dissent.
In the other game on Sunday, surprise package Augsburg missed a huge opportunity to go third when they squandered a 2-0 lead against Eintracht Frankfurt to draw 2-2.
Augsburg, more used to battling relegation than playing for a Champions League spot, looked set to continue their stellar run this season when they caught their opponents off-guard twice for a 2-0 lead in the first half.
Estonia international Ragnar Klavan slotted home from inside the area and Raul Bobadilla doubled the hosts lead at the far post in the 37th minute after Tobias Werner twice floated free-kicks into the box, which defenders failed to clear properly.
The visitors pulled one back on the stroke of half-time through Stefan Aigner, after a scramble in the box, to reignite their hopes.
With Augsburg losing much of their pace in the second half, Bundesliga top scorer Alex Meier hit them on the break, drawing Frankfurt level when he raced clear to slot in for his 14th goal of the campaign in the 70th minute.
Augsburg remain in fourth place, level on 34 points with third-placed Schalke 04 and nine ahead of Frankfurt, who are ninth on 25 points.
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