Bayern Munich's midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger saved his team from breaking their 18-match-long undefeated run Saturday with a second-half equalizer, ending the game in a 1-1 draw at Cologne.

Cologne's Lukas Podolski, who formerly played with Bayern Munich, set his opponents up for defeat when his direct goal kick 32 minutes in passed goalie Hans-Jorg Butt's hands and gave Cologne the lead.

But Schweinsteiger's rescue in the 58th minute kept the Bavarians at the top of the Bundesliga with 53 points from 25 games.

Meanwhile Schalke moved to second place from third over the weekend, just two points short of the lead, after a stunning 4-1 win against Eintracht Frankfurt. Bayer Leverkusen, trailing one point behind in third place, could make it back on top if they win by enough goals against second-to-last Nuremberg on Sunday.

Late-game goals

Werder Bremen made a last-minute comeback by scoring two goals in the final 15 minutes against Stuttgart, tying their opponents 2-2, and Wolfsburg quashed early fears of losing at home to Bochum when they scored four goals in the final half hour, ending with a comfortable 4-1 victory.

Hanover managed to move just above the relegation zone after beating fellow strugglers Freiburg 2-1, and Hertha Berlin remained stuck at the bottom of the table after a 1-0 loss at Hamburg.

In Saturday's late game, Dortmund defeated Moenchengladbach thanks to a brace from Mohamed Zidan.

acb/AFP/Reuters
Editor: Andreas Illmer