(CNN) -- Patrick Helmes scored a hat-trick on Friday night to lead Bayer Leverkusen to a 4-0 win over Hannover to claim second place in the Bundesliga ahead of the full weekend fixture list.
Helmes (center) is congratulated by teammates on his way to a hat-trick.
The win gives Leverkusen nine points from five matches to trail leaders SV Hamburg by one point.
The home team took the lead after just five minutes through Simon Rolfes, while Helmes scored his first in the 19th to make it 2-0.
Tranquillo Barnetta came close to increasing the lead but struck the crossbar just after the halftime break.
Helmes then sealed three points for the home side in the 59th minute and completed his hat trick seven minutes later.
Hannover remain on four points after failing to score for the fourth time in five games.
Martin Jol's Hamburg travel to VfL Wolfsburg on Sunday.
The clash of the weekend sees champions Bayern Munich hosting Werder Bremen on Saturday.
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