Bayern return to Bundesliga summit

By Mark Bennett

FC Bayern München moved to the top of the Bundesliga for the first time since May 2003 with a 3-1 home win against 1. FC Kaiserslautern.

Early shock
With VfL Wolfsburg's match against Hamburger SV not until Sunday, Bayern knew victory would give them a two-point lead, at least for 24 hours. Struggling Kaiserslauten went ahead on seven minutes through a Thomas Riedl goal but Claudio Pizarro swiftly equalised and Torsten Frings put Bayern ahead on 27 minutes. Substitute Paolo Guerrero completed the scoring just after the hour.

Schalke shine 
FC Schalke 04 are level on points with Wolfsburg after their 3-0 win at Bayer 04 Leverkusen. Ebbe Sand scored on 26 minutes and Ailton doubled the lead before the break. Playmaker Lincoln sealed a comfortable win with a perfect free-kick 19 minutes from the end. Leverkusen's first home defeat of the season sees them drop to tenth.

Bremen slip
Defending champions Werder Bremen slipped to a 2-1 defeat at DSC Arminia Bielefeld. Fatmir Vata put Arminia ahead just before the break and Marco Küntzel doubled the hosts' lead midway through the second-half. Ivan Klasnic's goal gave Bremen hope seven minutes from the end, but Werder substitute Nelson Valdez was then shown the red card on 88 minute. Arminia are sixth, having sent Bremen down to eighth.

Stuttgart and Dortmund win 
VfB Stuttgart defeated VfL Borussia Mönchengladbach 1-0 to stay in touch with the leading trio while Borussia Dortmund gained a much-needed 2-0 win against SC Freiburg and moved away from the relegation zone. Bottom side FC Hansa Rostock had to settle for a 1-1 draw at Hertha BSC Berlin after a last-gasp Marcelinho equaliser and FSV Mainz 05 beat VfL Bochum 1848 1-0. Along with Wolfsburg and Hamburg's fixture, 1. FC Nürnberg meet Hannover 96 tomorrow.