Bayern stumble as rivals close in

Bayern Munich’s title charge hit a hurdle when they were held to a goalless draw by Stuttgart.

The sending-off of Bayern midfielder Sebastian Deisler for a kick at Ludovic Magnin was the main talking point and the setback allowed Hamburg to trim Bayern’s lead to four points by beating

Cologne 3-1.

Former Tottenham defender Timothee Atouba, Benjamin Lauth and Sergej Barbarez were all on the mark for Thomas Doll’s side with Bjorn Schlicke netting for Cologne.

Werder Bremen are third a further two points off the pace after a 2-0 win at home to Duisburg secured by Nelson Haedo Valdez and Tim Borowski.

Christian Poulsen’s goal earned fourth-placed Schalke a 1-0 win at Arminia Bielefeld while Marek Nikl helped Nurnberg do the same to Borussia Monchengladbach despite the late sending-off of Bartosz Bosacki.

Hannover eclipsed Borussia Dortmund 2-0 thanks to goals from Steve Cherundolo and Christoph Dabrowski.