Bremen move level with leaders Bayern

BERLIN, Germany -- Werder Bremen moved level on points with German Bundesliga leaders Bayern Munich when goals from strikers Markus Rosenberg and Ivan Klasnic gave them a 2-0 win at home to Nuremberg.

Rosenberg scored after 30 minutes and Klasnic headed the second eight minutes from time to put Bremen on 40 points. Bayern, who travel to Hanover on Sunday, stay top with a superior goal difference.

Nuremberg sacked coached Hans Meyer early in the week and replacement Thomas von Heesen has not found his task easy. He presided over a 1-0 UEFA Cup loss to Benfica on Thursday and after this defeat they are rooted in the Bundesliga relegation zone

Germany midfielder Thomas Hitzlsperger scored the stoppage time winner for Stuttgart at Duisburg, the 3-2 defeat leaving the home side without a win in five games.

Germany's player of the year Mario Gomez gave Stuttgart the lead with a 16th-minute header and followed with a superb strike four minutes before the break, from Pavel Pardo's pass.

Duisburg pulled one back when Romanian striker Claudiu Niculescu netted a 49th minute free-kick and then Nigerian striker Manasseh Ishiaku equalized after 57 minutes.

Hitzlsperger's strike kept his side tenth.

Hansa Rostock's former Germany midfielder Christian Rahn gave them three precious points by heading the only goal after 76 minutes at home to Eintracht Frankfurt. The win takes Rostock up to 14th.

Brazilian striker Raffael struck in the third minute of stoppage time to give Hertha Berlin a home win over Arminia Bielefeld.

Bayer Leverkusen took a 2-0 lead at Karlsruhe, through Simon Rolfes' sixth minute effort and Steffan Kiesling's 58th minute strike.

Sebastien Fraus clipped the deficit after 60 minutes and Joshua Kennedy earned the home team a point with 12 minutes left.

The draw leaves Bayer in third but means there is now a five point gap between themselves and the top pair.

Energie Cottbus' most famous fan - German chancellor Angela Merkel - was in the stands in the former East German city to see her side lose 2-0 at home to Borussia Dortmund after she was presented as an honorary fan before kick-off.

Croatian international Mladen Petric scored after eight and 85 minutes. E-mail to a friend