Bayer Leverkusen were unable to get the breathing room they were looking for Saturday when they drew 0-0 with Cologne at home.

Leverkusen, now at 50 points, remain atop the German Bundesliga but could yield the slot if Bayern Munich, one point behind, beat SV Hamburg on Sunday.

Earlier Saturday, Werder Bremen defeated Mainz 2-1, coming within a point of qualifying for next season's Europa League.

Bremen are now sixth with 38 points, just one point behind Borussia Dortmund. Dortmund fell to Schalke 2-1 on Friday night.

"We have achieved a good result and that is very important for us at this stage," said Thomas Schaaf, Werder Bremen coach. “We could have played differently, but at the end of the day we got the three points."

Cacau continues streak

Stuttgart celebrated a 2-1 win over Eintracht Frankfurt at home with two goals by striker Cacau, bringing his weekly total to seven.

"I am very happy, I am quite tired. The team showed morale to come back after going behind," said the Brazilian-born player. With the win, Stuttgart move to eighth with 34 points from 24 games.

In other Saturday soccer, Hertha Berlin fell to 1899 Hoffenheim 2-0, Borussia Moenchengladbach and Freiburg tied at 1-1 and Bochum and Nuremberg remained deadlocked at 0-0.

cmk/dpa/Reuters
Editor: Andreas Illmer