Bundesliga wrap: Bayern cut gap to Dortmund, Moenchengladbach lose

24 March 2012 20:44

Bayern Munich closed the deficit on Bundesliga leaders Borussia Dortmund to two points with a 2-1 win over Hannover on Saturday.

Toni Kroos and Mario Gomez struck for Jupp Heynckes' men at Allianz Arena, before Didier Ya Konan pulled a goal back for the visitors.

The win, Bayern's third straight in the league, saw them put the pressure on champions Borussia Dortmund, who visit Cologne on Sunday.

Bayern broke the deadlock in the 36th minute after Franck Ribery flicked a pass to Arjen Robben.

Dutchman Robben back-heeled to Kroos, who chipped over the advancing Ron-Robert Zieler to open the scoring.

The in-form Gomez got his goal on 68 minutes when he latched onto a Kroos pass, made space from Christian Pander, and tucked his finish inside the far post.

Hannover reacted positively following Bayern's second goal, and pulled one back within six minutes as Mame Biram Diouf nodded a cross towards substitute Ya Konan, who struck an overhead volley into the net, but Bayern held on for an important win.

Elsewhere, Borussia Moenchengladbach suffered a surprise 2-1 loss at home to Hoffenheim.

Marco Reus opened the scoring for the hosts in the 38th minute, but the game turned in Hoffenheim's favour in three second-half minutes.

Midfielder Roberto Firmino equalised before Boris Vukcevic struck a 79th-minute winner to see his side to the shock win.

In other matches, lowly Kaiserslautern's struggles continued as they slumped to a 2-0 loss at Freiburg, who had Karim Guede and Cedric Makiadi on the scoresheet.

Augsburg snatched a 1-1 draw at Werder Bremen thanks to Paul Verhaegh's 90th-minute equaliser, which came after Niclas Fuellkrug had opened the scoring.

Hertha Berlin took another step towards moving out of the relegation zone with a 3-1 win at Mainz.

A brace from Colombian striker Adrian Ramos and an Anis Ben-Hatira goal saw Hertha to the vital win, which lifted them to within a point of safety.

In the late kick-off, a brace by Klaas-Jan Huntelaar earned Schalke the points at home to Bayer Leverkusen and moved them to third place on 53 points, six behind leaders Borussia Dortmund.

Dutch striker Huntelaar struck in the 18th and 86 minutes, adding to his already impressive tally of 20 goals for the Champions League-chasing club.