Hansa Rostock climbed out of the bottom three in the Bundesliga with a 2-0 win at home to fellow strugglers VfL Bochum

Played on Sunday:

HANSA ROSTOCK 2 VfL BOCHUM 0

Rostock scored with two first-half headers, the first from Kai Buelow and the second from Sebastian Haehnge, to clinch a victory that means they will spend the winter break out of the relegation places.

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MSV DUISBURG 0 EINTRACHT FRANKFURT 1

Frankfurt clinched victory from an uninspiring game when Ioannis Amanatidis struck right-footed five minutes before the break.

Defeat for Duisburg leaves them bottom of the table with just 13 points from the opening 17 matches.

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Played on Saturday:

ARMINIA BIELEFELD 2 VfB STUTTGART 0

Bielefeld, playing under a caretaker coach after Ernst Middendorp was sacked this week, rounded off the first half of the season with a great win over the champions, who had Mexicans Pavel Pardo and Ricardo Osorio sent off.

Pardo's red card for a second booking in the 74th minute tilted the match Bielefeld's way, with Jonas Kamper soon making it 1-0 with a thumping right-foot finish.

Osorio was sent off for a foul on Artur Wichniarek in the 86th minute and it was Wichniarek who got the second late on. Michael Frontzeck has been appointed as the new Bielefeld coach.

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HERTHA BERLIN 0 BAYERN MUNICH 0

Bayern were well below their best for the second weekend in succession and it was all they could do to grab the draw they needed to secure the 'winter championship' on goal difference from Werder Bremen.

Michael Rensing, starting in goal for Bayern after OliverKahn's suspension by the club this week, was hardly troubled.

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KARLSRUHE 1 HAMBURG SV 1

Hamburg have looked tired of late and were grateful to come away from their final league match of 2007 with a draw.

Christian Timm threaded in a shot to put the home side ahead at the start of the second half and it looked like being enough until Ivica Olic was left unmarked to head the equaliser in injury time.

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SCHALKE 04 2 NUREMBERG 1

Schalke celebrated qualification for the last 16 of the Champions League with a victory that takes them back to within seven points of the leaders.

Gerald Asamoah headed Schalke into the lead from a Heiko Westermann cross in the 14th minute and Marco Engelhardt put a Rafinha cross past his own keeper to double the lead 10 minutes before the break.

Angelos Charisteas pulled one back for Nuremberg with a header from a corner early in the second half.

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VfL WOLFSBURG 4 BORUSSIA DORTMUND 0

Wolfsburg surged clear of the relegation places with this comprehensive win.

The home side were 2-0 up by the 11th minute. Marcel Schaefer got the first with a low half-volley before Ricardo Costa tapped in the second.

Christian Gentner made it 3-0 when he touched in a cross at the far post before Edin Dzeko scored the pick of the goals 12 minutes from time, chesting the ball down, turning a defender and chipping the keeper.

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WERDER BREMEN 5 BAYER LEVERKUSEN 2

Werder recovered from a slow start to end up comfortable winners and join Bayern at the top of the table at the end of the year.

Tranquillo Barnetta put Leverkusen ahead in the sixth minute and the visitors looked comfortable until Ivan Klasnic equalised with his first goal since returning from two kidney transplant operations earlier in the year.

Diego put Werder ahead at the start of the second half and three further goals in an 11-minute spell, from Clemens Fritz, Klasnic and Markus Rosenberg, made the game safe.

Stefan Kiessling got one back for the visitors with 14 minutes to go.

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Played on Friday:

ENERGIE COTTBUS 5 HANOVER 96 1

Cottbus produced a stunning performance to move off the bottom of the table.

They went in front with a header from Christian Bassila in the 11th minute and further goals from Dennis Sorensen and Dimitar Rangelov made it 3-0 by halftime.

Daniel Ziebig added a fourth before Thomas Kleine got one back for Hanover. But Rangelov's second in the 70th minute restored the home team's four-goal lead.

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Reuters