Hamburg  - Schalke 04 advanced to third in the German Bundesliga with a 2-1 victory at bottom club Cologne while Werder Bremen were held to a goalless draw by visiting Hanover on Sunday.

Jefferson Farfan and Levan Kobiashvili struck for Schalke who move to 10 points, three behind leaders SV Hamburg and Bayer Leverkusen, while Cologne remain last with four defeats out of five games.

Farfan dived to head in at the near post in the second minute, only for Lukas Podolski to level four minutes later with a crisp left-foot shot.

But Cologne were caught cold a minute after the break when Kobiashvili found himself with space in the area from a Farfan pass and neatly finished with the outside of his left foot.

It could have been worse for the home side 10 minutes into the half when Farfan was upended by Petit in the box but Schalke's strong claims for a penalty were turned down.

Werder Bremen moved to sixth after a disappointing goalless draw and are now level on eight points with fifth-placed Bayern Munich, Hoffenheim and Mainz, all a point behind Eintracht Frankfurt.

On Saturday, Hamburg defeated VfB Stuttgart 3-1, Leverkusen were 3-2 winners at champions Wolfsburg, Bayern thrashed Borussia Dortmund 5-1 away while Frankfurt enjoyed a 2-0 win at Freiburg.

In the other games, Hoffenheim downed Bochum 3-0, Mainz came from behind to defeat Hertha Berlin 2-1, and Nuremberg defeated Borussia Moenchengladbach 1-0.

Hanover could thank reserve goalkeeper Florian Fromlowitz, standing in for the ailing Robert Enke, for keeping out Bremen who enjoyed a more threatening spell after the break following a dull first half.

Defender Per Mertesacker saw a header cleared off the line by Steven Cherundolo just after the interval, while Fromlowitz had to parry a Marko Marin long-range effort and twice foiled Claudio Pizarro in quick succession in Bremen's best chances.

But overall it was a lacklustre performance by the home side who lacked the precision to break down a disciplined Hanover side.

"A lot was missing from our game today," Bremen coach Thomas Schaaf said.

"There were some chances and a goal would have settled us but we didn't score and as a result we lacked the calm and assurance we needed." (dpa)