Thanks to two goals by striker Kevin Kuranyi and a convenient loss by Bayern Munich, Schalke have taken the lead in the German Bundesliga. Schalke played on the road over the weekend against third-place Bayer Leverkusen.

Bayern came into the weekend at the top of the table and played hosts to Stuttgart on Saturday. Despite the home field advantage and being the first team to score, Bayern lost the match 2-1.

That left the door open for Schalke to overtake Bayern in the standings in the later game on Saturday. Kuranyi scored both goals in the first half, becoming the league's top scorer with 17 goals. Schalke have a two point lead over Bayern, who move to second with 56 points. Leverkusen remain in third and trail Bayern by three points.

"That [defeat] really hurt," said Bayern coach Louis van Gaal. "It is always hard to play against a good defensive side, but Stuttgart held onto the ball well."

Bayern also lost to Eintracht Frankfurt last week.

Bayern will face Manchester United at the Allianz Arena on Tuesday in the Champions League quarter-final first leg.

Bremen extends streak

Saturday's other games saw Werder Bremen beat Nuremberg 4-2, extending their run of undefeated games to seven. Bremen remain in fifth place - a single point behind Borussia Dortmund, who drew 0-0 against the league's worst team, Hertha Berlin.

Berlin is struggling to climb out of the relegation zone but is gaining some momentum following last week's 5-1 win against Wolfsburg.

Meanwhile Hanover 96 suffered another setback in their struggle to stay clear of relegation. Playing at home against Cologne, Hanover fell behind 3-0 by halftime and ended up losing 4-1. They fall to 17th place in the 18 team league.

Rounding out Saturday's games, Wolfsburg blanked Mainz 2-0.

In Friday's only match, Frankfurt beat Bochum 2-1.

Well-earned points for Gladbach

While Freiburg missed an opportunity to move out of the relgation zone after only earning a single point from a 1-1 draw against Hoffenheim on Sunday, Borussia Moenchengladbach managed to snatch three points from Hamburg.

A single goal from defender Roel Brouwers was all it took for 12th place Moenchengladbach to upset Hamburg, who are currently sixth in the league. The win all but secures Moenchengladbach a spot in the Bundesliga next season.

mz/cmk/AFP/dpa/Reuters
Editor: Sonia Phalnikar