The race for fourth place in the Bundesliga has been blown wide open after Eintracht Frankfurt slipped to a 2-1 defeat at home against VfB Stuttgart and VfL Borussia Mönchengladbach edged Hannover 96 1-0.

Frankfurt, the current incumbents of the final UEFA Champions League qualifying berth, passed up the opportunity to move three points clear of the chasing pack despite taking a first-half lead through Stefan Aigner.

Vedad Ibišević pegged the hosts back, scoring his 12th goal of the season from the penalty spot shortly after half-time, before Georg Niedermeier grabbed the winner midway through the second period.

The defeat leaves Frankfurt fourth, ahead of FC Schalke 04 on goal difference and a point clear of three teams on 38 points, among whom are Mönchengladbach.

Lucien Favre's side are mounting a raid on the European places – defeating Frankfurt themselves a fortnight ago – and they extended their unbeaten run to four matches with a narrow win against Hannover. Their match winner in that trip to Frankfurt, Luuk de Jong was again the hero, chipping in the only goal of the game.