LOWLY WERDER BREMEN made the most of an empty Gelsenkirchen stadium as they clawed within touching distance of relegation rivals with a 0-1 win over Schalke.

Leonardo Bittencourt’s first-half goal settled the match. And though the result leaves Bremen second from bottom, they are now within two points of 16th place Dusseldorf who take on Bayern Munich this evening.

15th place Mainz lost at home to Hoffenheim with Ihlas Bebou claiming the only goal of the game. Their lead over Bremen is down to three points.

The game of the day was in Wolfsburg where Kevin Mbabu’s powerful equalising header midway through the second half wasn’t enough to thwart Eintracht Frankfurt. Andre Silva gave the visitors a first-half lead from the penalty spot and though they were pegged back, they sealed the 1-2 win five minutes from time through Daichi Kamada.

In Berlin, Javairô Dilrosun put the hosts on course for a victory as Hertha seen off fellow mid-table men Augsburg. Per Skjelbred struck late to cement a 2-0 win.

In the Frauen Bundesliga earlier today, Ireland’s Claire O’Riordan helped Duisburg keep a clean sheet as they returned to competitive action to claim a vital three points with a win over Bayer Leverkusen.

The 0-2 away victory puts daylight between Duisburg and the relegation zone as they sit five points clear of Amber Barrett’s FC Köln, who lost 4-0 to Wolfsburg yesterday. Diane Caldwell’s SC Sand, meanwhile, lost 3-1 away to Frankfurt.