Werder Bremen thrashed Schalke 5-1 Saturday to move back to second place behind Bayern Munich in the German Bundesliga. ( dpa )
Headed goals from Frank Baumann, Boubacar Sanogo and Markus Rosenberg before a brace from substitute Ivan Klasnic ended a two-game losing spell at home for Bremen.
Bremen are on 50 points, seven behind Bayern who play Sunday.
It was the biggest defeat of the season for Schalke who drop to third on 48 points, a point ahead of SV Hamburg, who slumped to a 1-0 home defeat to struggling MSV Duisburg.
Duisburg move off the bottom thanks to midfielder Ivica Grlic's winner nine minutes into the second half.
The results again favoured leaders Bayern who could increase their lead at the top to 10 points if the beat Borussia Dorrmund at home on Sunday.
At the lower end of the table, Energie Cottbus secured a third successive league win for the first time in their Bundesliga history by beating fellow strugglers Arminia Bielefeld 1-0.
Hansa Rostock clinched a 2-1 victory at SC Karlsruhe to end a series of seven games without a win, Hanover beat Eintracht Frankfurt 2-1, and Bochum and Hertha Berlin finished 1-1.
In Sunday's other game, defending champions VfB Stuttgart in fifth place visit Bayer Leverkusen, who are lying sixth.
Nuremberg are now bottom, two points adrift of Bielefeld and Duisburg.
Their match Friday evening with visiting VfL Wolfsburg was abandoned at half-time after torrential rain left the pitch waterlogged.