Bayern leave it late at Bochum as Stuttgart's woes deepen

The win sees unbeaten Bayern move on to 26 points, six clear of second-placed Hamburg and Werder Bremen, 3-2 victors over Hertha Berlin. Stuttgart, meanwhile,languish down in 13th spot on 10 points, just one point above the drop zone after a sixth league defeat in 10 games.

 Bochum took a surprise lead after just 10 minutes at home to Bayern when Dennis Grote curled an unstoppable shot past Bayern goalkeeper Michael Rensing.

 Ottmar Hitzfeld's side equalized in the 35th minute through record signing Franck Ribery after some good build up work from Miroslav Klose.

 However, Bayern struggled to break down a resilient Bochum side in the second half until Schweinsteiger's strike 12 minutes from time secured all three points.

 Hamburg ensured the gap to Bayern didn't widen as Ivica Olic netted a hat-trick in a comprehensive victory that heaps the pressure on under-fire Stuttgart coach Armin Veh.

 Olic opened the scoring for Hamburg after just seven minutes and the Croatian international took full advantage of complete confusion in the Stuttgart defence after 22 minutes to double the home side's lead.

 Olic completed his hat-trick 10 minutes before the break, calmly slotting home a cross from David Jarolim.

 Stuttgart's nightmare day continued when Pavel Pardo saw a straight red for kicking out at Jarolim just before the half-time whistle.

 Defender Joris Mathijsen headed home Hamburg's fourth on 59 minutes with the Stuttgart defence, and goalkeeper Raphael Schaefer in particular, once again badly at fault. Serdar Tasci pulled one back for Stuttgart 17 minutes from the end.

 "The victory was a fair result," said a disappointed Veh. "We were completely insecure."

   Schalke 04 stay fifth on 17 points after playing out a 1-1 draw with Hansa Rostock. Germany international Gerald Asamoah put Schalke in front but Marc Stein equalized to leave Schalke now nine points behind Bayern with less than a third of the season gone.

 In other Saturday action, Bayer Leverkusen and Borussia Dortmund played out a 2-2 draw while Nuremberg thumped Eintracht Frankfurt 5-1 to move out of the relegation zone.

 MSV Duisburg beat bottom club Energie Cottbus in the Friday night game while on Sunday Hanover 96 entertain VfL Wolfsburg and Karlsruhe can regain second spot with a victory over Arminia Bielefeld.By Tom Merton, dpa