Bremen, Stuttgart on Top

Tuesday was a good night for the favorites, as the Bundesliga's top two teams both got hard-fought victories. Table toppers Bremen rebounded from a disappointing draw against Cottbus with a 2-1 win against Nuremberg.

Werder jumped out on top in the 32nd minute when midfielder Torsten Frings scored his first goal of the season with a nifty blast from 17 meters out. But the Bavarians didn't go down easily, and Werder were lucky not to concede a penalty after Naldo brought down striker Robert Vittek from behind.

Bremen's new playmaker put the game away in the 79th minute with a precision free kick into the upper-right-hand corner of the net -- it was his sixth goal of year. Ivica Banovic pulled one back for the hosts with a penalty in added time, but that was too late to prevent Nuremberg from losing their second match in a row.

Late Goals for Lucky Stuttgart

Guests Hamburg were no walk in the park for second-placed Stuttgart either. The Northern Germans had more of the ball throughout the match and could have taken the lead on a pair of long-distance shots by Piotr Trochowski, but Stuttgart keeper Timo Hildebrand was able to keep a clean sheet.

The turning point in the match came in the 80th minute when striker Mario Gomez notched his seventh goal of the season. Midfielder Thomas Hitzlsperger also found the back of the net after a corner kick five minutes later to give Stuttgart the 2-0 win.

The victory ensures that Stuttgart stay in second place until the weekend, while Hamburg absorb their second loss in a row. Despite assurances to the contrary from team management, Hamburg coach Thomas Doll needs to produce some results soon or risk unemployment.

In the night's other two matches, Aachen and Dortmund played to a goalless draw, and Mainz stayed in the relegation zone after going down 2-1 at home to Wolfsburg.