Gelsenkirchen, Germany – Schalke moved seven points clear in 1 defeat at the Veltins Arena on Sunday.
The hosts entered the match having lost three of their last four games, but jumped out to a 3-0 lead inside of 35 minutes to take control.
Teemu Pukki's header from Atsuto Uchida's cross was enough to put Schalke in the lead five minutes into the game.
Christoph Metzelder followed with his first league goal of the season midway through the opening half when he scored from the middle of the penalty area after Jose Jurado's corner kick.
Things got worse for the visitors in the 33rd minute when Heiko Westermann fouled Schalke's Klaas-Jan Huntelaar inside the penalty area, allowing the Dutchman to convert his 19th league goal of the campaign from the spot.
Gojko Kacar pulled a goal back for Hamburg right before halftime, but it wasn't enough to prevent the team from a third loss in four games.
Werder Bremen 3, Hannover 0
Bremen, Germany - Werder Bremen snapped a two-game losing skid at the Weserstadion on Sunday by handling Hannover, 3-0, to improve its hopes of European qualification.
Bremen has had its share of trouble at home in recent matches but grabbed the lead just after the half-hour mark when Claudio Pizarro finished off a free kick from Mehmet Ekici.
Sebastian Prodl doubled the advantage early in the second half with Ekici once again playing provider from a free kick.
Pizarro set up the third tally seven minutes later with a through ball that Markus Rosenberg collected and fired past goalkeeper Ron-Robert Zieler.
Hannover has claimed one point from its last three games and sits in seventh, while Bremen moves four points clear with the win.
