Werder reclaim top spot

Werder Bremen returned to the top of the Bundesliga standings on the back of a 3-0 victory over Hannover.

Tim Borowski got the ball rolling for the home side after five minutes, with second-half strikes from substitute Hugo Almeida and Per Mertesacker sealing the win.

Miroslav Klose also missed a penalty for Werder but it made little difference to the final result.

The win moves Werder above Schalke on goal difference with defending champions Bayern Munich six points behind the leading two.

Bernd Schneider scored his first two goals of the season as Bayer Leverkusen remained in the running for a UEFA Cup berth with a 3-2 victory at Alemannia Aachen.

The hosts went two goals ahead following Laurentiu Reghecampf’s penalty and a Vedad Ibisevic strike, but Leverkusen cut the deficit just before the break through Schneider.

Andrey Voronin then levelled things in the 54th minute before Schneider struck again with a free-kick to seal the points.