Burgstaller scores late for Schalke to go 2nd in Bundesliga

Guido Burgstaller scored late for Schalke to beat visiting Hamburger SV 2-0 and move second in the Bundesliga on Sunday.

Franco di Santo’s early penalty got the home side underway as it stretched its unbeaten run in the league to six games.

Hamburg’s Gideon Jung gave away the spot kick in the 16th minute with a clumsy challenge on Yevhen Konoplyanka.

The visitors pushed hard for an equalizer and went closest before the hour-mark, when Aaron Hunt struck the post after being brilliantly played through by the 17year-old Jann-Fiete Arp.

Hamburg’s hopes of an equalizer were effectively ended when Konoplyanka set up Burgstaller to seal it with just over ten minutes remaining.

That score pushed Schalke ahead of Leipzig on goal difference. Both sides trail Bayern Munich by six points after 12 rounds.

Winless Werder Bremen was hosting Hannover later yesterday.

Max Kruse hat-trick earns Bremen first win of the season against Hannover

GERMANY Bundesliga

Werder Bremen striker Max Kruse hit a second-half hat-trick to inspire his side to a thumping 4-0 victory at home to Hannover, giving the Green-Whites their first Bundesliga win this season.

The opening exchanges were evenly balanced at the Weser Stadium, with both teams committing men to a packed midfield battle. However, the course of the game changed in the 39th minute when Kruse’s superb throughball into the box set up Fin Bartels to score the opener with a delicate chip over goalkeeper Esser.

That allowed the hosts to play with greater freedom after the break and as Hannover tried to come out of their shell, Bremen ruthlessly exploited gaps at the back. Kruse netted twice in quick succession to break the visitors’ resolve, before completing his hat-trick late on to secure a muchneeded victory. Yesterday Schalke-Hamburger SV .................... 2-0 SV Werder Bremen-Hannover ......... 4-0

Standings

P W D L F A Pts Bayern M. 12 9 2 1 30 8 29 Schalke 12 7 2 3 16 10 23 RB Leipzig 12 7 2 3 20 15 23 B. M’gladbach 12 6 3 3 21 21 21 Dortmund 12 6 2 4 29 16 20 Hoffenheim 12 5 5 2 21 15 20 E. Frankfurt 12 5 4 3 14 12 19 Hannover 12 5 3 4 15 15 18 Bayer Lev. 12 4 5 3 25 18 17 FC Augsburg 12 4 4 4 16 14 16 VfB Stuttgart 12 5 1 6 12 15 16 FSV Mainz 05 12 4 3 5 13 17 15 Wolfsburg 12 2 8 2 16 17 14 Hertha Berlin 12 3 5 4 16 19 14 Hamburger SV 12 3 1 8 10 20 10 Werder Brem. 12 1 5 6 8 14 8 SC Freiburg 12 1 5 6 7 24 8 FC Koln 12 0 210 4 23 2