Bayer Leverkusen are now second in the Bundesliga standings after a 4-2 victory at Hamburg on Saturday. Leverkusen maintained their unbeaten away record to advance to 32 points, eight points behind Dortmund.

Sidney Sam put Leverkusen ahead after 30 minutes, but Arturo Vidal scored an own-goal three minutes after the break. He made up for it later with a goal in the 61st minute. Renato Augusto then scored twice to secure the win for Leverkusen.

Hamburg responded through substitute Eljero Elia, but Leverkusen's victory was never in doubt.

Bayern back on track

Last season's champions Bayern Munich meanwhile enjoyed a comfortable 3-0 victory over visiting St. Pauli, whose goalkeeper Thomas Kessler was sent off.

Bayern moved to fifth, six points behind Leverkusen, after goals from Hamit Altintop, Philipp Lahm and Franck Ribery.

The visitors went down to 10 men when goalie Kessler was shown a red card for bringing down Thomas Mueller.

Meanwhile it was announced that Bayern player and World Cup hero Bastian Schweinsteiger has extended his contract with the reigning champions until 2016.

Grabbing the stadium microphone minutes after their 3-0 win over St Pauli, Schweinsteiger told the jubilant fans: "I have extended my contract and will stay here until 2016. Long live Bayern!"

No stopping Dortmund

Borussia Dortmund maintained their winning momentum with a 2-0 victory over Werder Bremen in Saturday's late game. They are now 11 points clear at the top of the Bundesliga.

Nuri Sahin scored in a ninth-minute free kick, and Shinjo Kagawa netted the second with twenty minutes remaining.

It's the seventh successive league victory for Dortmund, fresh from a 3-0 Champions League win over Inter Milan.

In the day's other games…

In Saturday's other action, struggling Cologne picked up a 1-0 win against Frankfurt, but remain third from bottom in the standings, while the game between Kaiserslautern and Wolfsburg ended in a goalless draw.

Sixth-placed Hoffenheim lost ground, drawing 1-1 with Nuremberg.

Author: Joanna Impey (AFP, dpa, Reuters)
Editor: Ben Knight