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Away win keeps Hamburg in hunt

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Hamburger SV closed in on leaders FC Bayern München with an eleventh straight away success as Bayer 04 Leverkusen all but clinched a UEFA Cup place.

Hamburger SV stepped up the pressure on Bundesliga leaders FC Bayern München with another away win while Bayer 04 Leverkusen moved within touching distance of a place in next season's UEFA Cup.

Record success
Hamburg cut Bayern's lead at the top to just two points with a 1-0 win at struggling 1. FC Köln, the visitors setting a new Bundesliga record with an eleventh successive away win. Lukas Sinkiewicz's own goal gave Hamburg a third-minute advantage and, despite a spirited second-half performance from Köln, the visitors held on to reduce Bayern's lead to two points ahead of their home match with VfB Stuttgart on Wednesday.

Lethal Leverkusen
Leverkusen ran out 5-1 winners at Hertha BSC Berlin, who began the evening hoping to overhaul their opponents in fifth position only for three goals in the first 30 minutes to effectively decide the contest. Juan put the visitors in front early on and two goals in quick succession from Dimitar Berbatov increased Leverkusen's cushion to 3-0. Although Marcelinho reduced the deficit, further efforts from Carsten Ramelow and Bernd Schneider completed an impressive night's work for the away side, who stand five points above Hertha with just two matches remaining.

Worries eased
1. FC Nürnberg ended their lingering relegation worries by coming from 2-1 down to overcome VfL Borussia Mönchengladbach. Robert Vittek struck first for the home side but goals from Zè Antonio and Wesley Sonck turned the match in Mönchengladbach's favour before half-time. Nürnberg mounted a spirited comeback and, despite Vittek's failure to convert a penalty, Jan Polák restored parity and goals from Vittek, Ivan Saenko and Stefan Kiessling secured a fine win.

Rosický riposte
Finally, BV Borussia Dortmund ran out 2-1 victors at Hannover 96 although Leverkusen's win elsewhere ended the visitors' hopes of reaching the UEFA Cup. Tomáš Rosický was dropped by Dortmund coach Bert van Marwijk but, after coming on as a substitute, levelled with a majestic free-kick to cancel out Per Mertesacker's header for Hannover. Christian Wörns then headed what proved to be the winner for Dortmund, who were further buoyed by the return, in the 72nd minute, of Rosický's compatriot Jan Koller after seven months on the sidelines with a torn cruciate ligament.

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