BERLIN: Borussia Moenchengladbach edged past Freiburg 1-0 courtesy of a Raffael tap-in on Sunday for their fifth successive win to tighten their hold on fourth spot in the Bundesliga.
Raffael completed a quickfire move in the second half to lift his team four points clear of fifth-placed Schalke 04 and within striking distance of Borussia Dortmund in third.
Gladbach, who secured their seventh home win in a row, also hit the crossbar in the first half but had trouble breaking through the Freiburg defence.
They finally did so with a stunning quick passing move, Patrick Herrmann sending Oscar Wendt into the box and he cut the ball back for Raffael to score.
Hanover 96 snapped their seven-game run without a win when they beat 10-man Eintracht Frankfurt 2-0 thanks to goals from Szabolcs Huszti and Mame Diouf.
Frankfurt had Martin Lanig sent off following a second booking and their coach Armin Veh was also sent to the stands for dissent in the 66th minute, angry over what he thought was a penalty for his team.
Hanover scored their second goal a minute later to seal the win that moved them up to ninth on 17 points.
Frankfurt, who advanced in the Europa League in midweek, dropped into the relegation playoff spot on 11 points.
On Saturday Bayern Munich protected their four-point lead at the top with a 2-0 victory over bottom-placed Eintracht Braunschweig. Bayer Leverkusen and Dortmund, in second and third respectively, also won to stay in the hunt. (Reuters)
