Rampant Wolfsburg leave Bayern reeling

VfL Wolfsburg registered their eighth consecutive Bundesliga win with an emphatic 5-1 triumph against FC Bayern München to move top of the table above the champions and Hertha BSC Berlin, losers against BV Borussia Dortmund.

Grafite goals
Third at the start of play and without a league title to their name, the Lower Saxony outfit broke the deadlock a minute before the interval when Christian Gentner headed past Michael Rensing. The lead was fleeting, however, as Luca Toni – making his first appearance since 25 February because of injury – restored parity for the visitors seconds later only for Felix Magath's team to secure the points with a blistering 14-minute spell. Edin Džeko struck twice in three minutes after the hour and, to cap an excellent day for the hosts, Grafite (74, 77) added his 19th and 20th goals of prolific season.

Hamburg second
That took Wolfsburg above Bayern and Hertha, who slip to third after a 3-1 home defeat by Dortmund. Rafael cancelled out Alexander Frei's 25th-minute opener for the visitors but efforts from Sebastian Kehl (63) and Nelson Valdez (82) wrapped up victory for the Ruhr Valley club, now eighth. UEFA Cup contenders Hamburger SV are now Wolfsburg's nearest challengers with Martin Jol's team second by virtue of goal difference after beating TSG 1899 Hoffenheim 1-0 at home thanks to Jonathan Pitroipa's 28th-minute winner.

Stuttgart climb
Meanwhile, Serdar Tasci's first league goal of the season a minute from time earned VfB Stuttgart a 2-1 win at VfL Bochum 1848, a victory which lifts Markus Babbel's side into fifth, three points shy of fourth-placed Bayern and six from the summit. Elsewhere, Eintracht Frankfurt moved seven points clear of the relegation zone by beating second-bottom FC Energie Cottbus 2-1 at home. On Friday, Jefferson Farfán and Kevin Kuranyi scored as FC Schalke 04 won 2-0 at strugglers DSC Arminia Bielefeld.