VfB Stuttgart kept their unbeaten record under coach Christian Gross with a 3-1 victory over VfL Wolfsburg on Saturday to seal their first Bundesliga win since September.
Former Tottenham Hotspur boss Gross took over after Markus Babbel was sacked last month and having put his side in the Champions League’s last 16, Gross recorded his first Bundesliga win and it came against the defending champions.
With former Germany goalkeeper Jens Lehmann serving a three-match ban, 21-year-old Sven Ulreich guarded Stuttgart’s goal, but was taken to hospital after the game as a precaution after suffering from concussion.
This was Stuttgart’s first win in 11 games and goals by Robert Hilbert and Pavel Pogrebnyak put the home side 2-0 up, before Wolfsburg striker Edin Dzeko pulled a goal back on 58 minutes.
Dzeko, who was linked to Manchester United before the winter break, then hit the post with five minutes left only to see forward partner Grafite fire over the bar as the visitors pushed for the equalizer.
Substitute Timo Gebhart put the result beyond doubt, however, with an 87th-minute goal to put Stuttgart 12th in the league, while Wolfsburg are ninth.
The win will buoy Gross’ side, with Stuttgart set to face defending European champions Barcelona in the last 16 of the Champions League next month.
Earlier, Bayer Leverkusen came from behind to beat mid-table Mainz 4-2 and reclaim top spot after Bayern Munich had temporarily taken charge.
Bayern’s 2-0 win over Hoffenheim on Friday had given them a one-point advantage, but Leverkusen regained pole position and hit back after conceding an early goal when Mainz defender Tim Hoogland put his side into an early lead.
Leverkusen began the fight back when Czech defender Michal Kadlec netted their first after 15 minutes, before Swiss international midfielder Tranquillo Barnetta scored a second just four minutes later to make it 2-1.
Rising star Toni Kroos then volleyed home the third from directly in front of goal on 30 minutes, before Mainz pulled back a consolation goal through defender Niko Bungert on 67 minutes.
Swiss striker Eren Derdiyok made sure Leverkusen went back to the top with their fourth goal on 88 minutes.
Bottom side Hertha Berlin got their year off to a great start as they enjoyed a 3-0 win at Hannover 96 in what was only their second win since the opening day of the season.
Polish midfielder Lukasz Piszczek netted in the 30th minute to get the capital club on the way, before Brazil’s Raffael made it 2-0 after 33 minutes.
Greek striker Theofanis Gekas then slotted home a third with 10 minutes remaining.
Berlin are still three points from nearest rivals Nuremberg and eight points from escaping the bottom three, but the win will have boosted their confidence.
Hamburg SV are third after their 2-0 win at home to Freiburg. Germany midfielder Marcell Jansen and Croatia striker Mladen Petric scored either side of halftime.
Werder Bremen are sixth after their 1-0 defeat at Eintracht Frankfurt — their fourth straight league defeat.
In Saturday’s other game, VfL Bochum won 2-1 away at Borussia Moenchengaldbach. Stanislav Sestak and Zlatko Dedic scored for the visitors, while Fabian Backer scored a consolation for the hosts.
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