Dortmund struggling

Dortmund dominated much of their game on Saturday against Hannover, but ultimately suffered their fourth loss in a row in the Bundesliga. Hannover's keeper Ron-Robert Zieler managed to produce a number of thrilling saves throughout the game to keep a clean sheet for the solid guests.

Hannover eventually scored after weathering the storm around the hour mark, with just their second strike of the game from a well-taken free kick Hiroshi Kiyotake. Further chances followed for the visitors before Dortmund eventually found their footing again, and started to pile on the pressure.

But, the team in yellow and black, that has looked so promising in the Champions League - they were even wearing their Champions League jerseys in today's game to give them a confidence boost - just didn't have any luck against a street-wise and defensively sound Hannover.

The win for Hannover is their first win away from home this season, and will have Dortmund fans probably already giving up any hope of winning the Bundesliga this season. After the game Dortmund coach Jürgen Klopp said that his coaching staff has been doing everything it can to reverse the trend in the Bundesliga and that the lack of success is "hard to take."

"We all carry a lot of responsibility and we have to perform better now accordingly," Klopp said to German TV show, Sportschau.

Crazy game in Frankfurt

Armin Veh's return to his old stomping ground, in Frankfurt, didn't start well for the Stuttgart coach. His team fell behind half way through the first half to a Alexander Madlung goal, before Stuttgart got themselves back into the game thanks to two goals from Martin Harnik.

Shortly after the beginning of the second half, Stuttgart then scored again to put the game seemingly beyond doubt. But Frankfurt weren't willling to give up. First, Alex Maier muscled the ball home from a few yards out. Then, shortly thereafter, Stefan Aigner scored for Frankfurt. The hosts then made it 4-3 when defender Madlung scored his second goal of the game.

But the game wasn't over there. Stuttgart scored two more in short succession to miraculously work their way back into the lead. A final surprise came at the end of the game as Haris Seferovic, from Frankfurt, was sent off for insulting the linesman. The 5-4 win, although highly-dramatic, should give Stuttgart a much needed boost.

"My nerves are completely shot now," said goalscorer Martin Harnik after the game to German broadcaster Sky. "It helps though that our team just has great team spirit."

Other games in overview

Hertha Berlin managed a compartively uneventful win at home as they defeated Hamburg 3-0 in the capital's Olympic stadium. The hosts struggled to dominate the hapless Hamburg side for most of the game until they finally broke away in the second half, with two goals to Anis Ben-Hatira and one to new signing Johnny Heitinga.

In south west Germany, Kevin Volland scored a crucial goal to break a game that looked like it was going to end goalless. With the win, Hoffenheim moved to second position on the Bundesliga table, for Saturday night at least. Elsewhere in the south, Augsburg also managed a win at home as they beat Freiburg 2-0.

Hakan The Great

In Saturday's late match, Hakan Calhanoglu converted a trademark free-kick from 25 yards to hand Leverkusen all three points against Roberto di Matteo's Schalke at the BayArena.

Calhanoglu's moment of brilliance, bending the ball outstandingly over the wall and past Ralf Fährmann, was a rarity in a disappointing affair. Schalke struggled to threaten Bernd Leno and couldn't ram home the advantage later in the match after Tin Jedvaj was shown a straight red card with nine minutes left.