Hertha hauled up by Marcelinho

Bundesliga strugglers Hertha BSC Berlin climbed out of the relegation zone with a 3-1 win at Hannover 96, thanks largely to the performance of two-goal hero Marcelinho. The Brazilian midfield player opened the scoring just before half-time and then added the third to secure all three points for the capital club.

Hertha escape
American striker Clint Mathis brought Hannover back into the game with his 67th-minute equaliser, but Berlin's Giuseppe Reina put his side back in front 12 minutes later before Marcelinho put the final result beyond doubt. Hertha are now 15th and just two places behind a Hannover side who have gone four games without a win.

Late winner
In Sunday's other game, 1. FC Kaiserslautern dropped to second from bottom as they succumbed to a 1-0 defeat at SC Freiburg. Georgian international Levan Tskitishvili scored for the home side with a late penalty after Kaiserslautern had Portuguese international José Dominguez dismissed.