Schalke dance to Brazilian tune

By Mark Bennett

Goals from Lincoln and Ailton gave FC Schalke 04 a 2-0 win away to DSC Arminia Bielefeld on Saturday to ensure Ralf Rangnick's side strengthened their grip on second place in the Bundesliga.

Lincoln converts
Schalke went into the match with a new defensive lineup and Ebbe Sand as the only true striker. Rangnick's approach paid off after nine minutes when Brazilian playmaker Lincoln was brought down in the penalty area before converting the spot-kick himself. Bielefeld pressed after the break but Schalke held on and substitute Ailton made sure of only their second win in the last seven games with his last-minute goal.

Makaay hat-trick
Newly crowned Bundesliga champions FC Bayern München extended their winning streak to seven games with a 4-2 win at 1. FSV Mainz 05 thanks to a Roy Makaay hat-trick, his second in as many weeks. The Dutch international opened the scoring on 17 minutes but Benjamin Auer equalised ten minutes from the break. Seven minutes later Michael Ballack restored the champions' advantage but Mainz hit back again and Michael Thurk tied the score again on 59 minutes. Then Makaay took control of the match and sealed Bayern's win with two goals in the last seven minutes - his 18th and 19th in the league this season.

Kuranyi joy
VfB Stuttgart kept their hopes of reaching the UEFA Champions League alive with a 1-0 win over Hannover 96. German international Kevin Kuranyi secured three important points for VfB with the only goal of the game two minutes from the end. Bayern remain eleven points clear of Schalke at the top of the Bundesliga with VfB Stuttgart a further two points adrift in third place.

Berbatov double
Both Hertha BSC Berlin and Bayer 04 Leverkusen took important steps towards the UEFA Cup on Saturday. Hertha came from behind to beat VfL Wolfsburg 3-1 to move into fourth place, while Leverkusen were always in full control of their match against FC Hansa Rostock and were comfortable 3-0 winners thanks to two goals from Dimitar Berbatov to keep them in sixth place.

Bochum trouble
Elsewhere, 1. FC Nürnberg beat VfL Bochum 1848 2-0 to leave the UEFA Cup participants with only a theoretical chance of avoiding the drop. Bochum are five points behind VfL Borussia Mönchengladbach who can sentence Bochum and Rostock to relegation if they beat Hamburger SV on Sunday. Relegated SC Freiburg slipped to a 2-1 home defeat against 1. FC Kaiserslautern.