Schalke beat Cologne to remain in title hunt

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BERLIN, Feb 14, 2010 (AFP) - Third-placed Schalke maintained their title push with a 2-0 win over Cologne on Sunday to put them three points behind leaders Bayer Leverkusen and Bayern Munich.

Joel Matip set Schalke on the right road in first-half injury-time, with Jefferson Farfan ensuring the victory in the 81st minute.

In Sunday's late kick-off, Eintracht Frankfurt defeated SC Freiburg 2-1 with Halil Altintop scoring the decisive goal in the first minute of time added on.

Pappis Cisse had put Freiburg into a 25th-minute lead with Benjamin Kolher levelling before the break.

On Saturday, Bayern Munich stretched their winning run in the league to nine games and 12 overall with a 3-1 victory over Borussia Dortmund to draw level on points with Bayer Leverkusen, who remain top by the slenderest of margins on goal difference -- 30 to 29.

Leverkusen, who have topped the table since October, held onto the lead with a 2-1 home win over reigning champions Wolfsburg.

It was the perfect result for Bayern ahead of their Champions League round-of-16 first leg date with Fiorentina on Wednesday.

Coach Louis van Gaal reflected: "I'm delighted and satisfied about winning, because Dortmund did very well tactically and were extremely aggressive.

"We made a number of individual errors in defence, and that mustn't happen against Fiorentina in mid-week. We also need much better organisation throughout the team."

Elsewhere on Saturday, former Real Madrid and Manchester United striker Ruud van Nistelrooy was in double form on only his second run-out since joining Hamburg.

The Dutch forward scored in the 75th and 77th minutes to add to Marcus Berg's first-half opener to lift Hamburg to a 3-1 win over Stuttgart that maintained their hold on fourth place.

Down at the foot of the table, Hertha Berlin grabbed a point with a 1-1 draw against mid-table Mainz but remain four points off second-from-bottom side Nuremberg, who lost 2-1 to Borussia Moenchengladbach on Friday.