Stuttgart pick up fourth straight win

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BERLIN, Jan 31, 2010 (AFP) - Stuttgart coach Christian Gross picked up his fourth straight win and remains undefeated after seven games in charge as his Bundesliga side beat Borussia Dortmund 4-1 on Sunday while Bayern remain top.

Former Tottenham Hotspur boss Gross has now steered Stuttgart from the relegation zone up to 10th in the table since taking over from Markus Babbel, who was sacked in December.

Goals by Russia forward Pavel Pogrebnyak and Serbian striker Zdravko Kuzmanovic put Stuttgart in charge before Romanian striker Ciprian Marica and Christian Traesch scored late goals to put the result beyond doubt.

Before kick-off, Germany midfielder Thomas Hitzlsperger announced he had signed for Italian side Lazio to guarantee himself first-team football, under advice from national coach Joachim Loew, with his World Cup place at stake.

Stuttgart took the lead when Pogrebnyak stabbed the ball home under pressure from the Dortmund defence after 14 minutes.

Marica then hit the crossbar after Dortmund defender Patrick Owomoyela gave away a penalty just two minutes after the break.

Borussia fought back when midfielder Kevin Grosskreutz squared the ball to striker Lucas Barrios who scored his tenth league goal of the season on 55 minutes.

Stuttgart's Kuzmanovic then hit a direct free-kick with less than 15 minutes remaining before Marica and Traesch struck in the game's closing stages.

The result means the home side have now claimed 12 points from their last four league games with Spanish giants Barcelona beckoning in the Champions League last 16 clash on February 23.

Later on Sunday, Bayer Leverkusen have the chance to regain the lead from Bayern Munich, who beat Mainz 3-0 on Saturday, when they take on strugglers Freiburg.

Schalke 04 are third after their 2-0 win over Hoffenheim on Saturday with goals by striker Kevin Kuranyi and midfielder Lukas Schmitz while the defeat leaves Hoffenheim ninth in the table.

The Royal Blues are now level on 41 points with second-placed Leverkusen, just one behind Bayern, before Sunday evening's final game of the weekend.

Dutch winger Arjen Robben, Germany striker Mario Gomez and defender Daniel van Buyten all scored in Bayern's win over Mainz in snowy conditions.

Elsewhere, Bremen coach Thomas Schaaf is in a precarious position as his side have now gone seven German league games without a win after they went down 4-3 at midtable Borussia Moenchengladbach.

Second from bottom Nuremberg picked up only their second win in their last 10 games when they won 3-1 at Hanover and the result leaves bottom side Hertha Berlin five points adrift after a scoreless draw with Bochum in the capital.

Cologne are up to 13th after their second consecutive win having beaten Eintracht Frankfurt 2-1.

Defending champions Wolfsburg's 1-1 draw at Hamburg on Friday leaves the team from the Hanseatic city fifth in the table.