Cologne, Germany – Hoffenheim missed out on a chance to jump 0 defeat at Cologne.
Four wins from its last five games had Hoffenheim entering the match in good form, but Mato Jajalo's first-half goal put Cologne in front and Lukas Podolski increased the lead with a goal midway through the second half, giving Cologne three wins from its last four matches.
Jajalo started the move on the opening goal when he stole the ball from Sebastian Rudy and played it to Podolski. The Germany international promptly returned the ball and Jajalo beat goalkeeper Tom Starke.
Podolski was involved throughout the match and he struck the side netting with a shot in the 52nd minute before doubling Cologne's lead in the 64th.
Christian Eichner's long ball found Podolski on the left wing and he faked a pass before smashing a shot inside the near post.
Podolski came close to extending the lead further as well with a free kick that narrowly sailed over the crossbar.
Werder Bremen 2, Hertha Berlin 1
Bremen, Germany - Claudio Pizarro's goal in stoppage time helped Werder Bremen to a 2-1 win over Hertha Berlin, which had two players sent off in the second half.
Gustavo Ramos scored in the third minute to hand Hertha an early lead, but Pizarro canceled out the opener midway through the first half.
Things fell apart for Hertha after the break as Christian Lell received his second yellow card in the 57th minute, while Ramos also saw red six minutes later, leaving the visitors with nine men for the final 27 minutes.
Hertha was able to hold out until stoppage time, but a corner kick was flicked on by Markus Rosenberg, allowing Pizarro to nod home the late winner.
Receive your weekly recap of all the happenings around the world of sports.