Soccer
Bayern close in on Bundesliga title after Bremen held
By DPA
Apr 26, 2008, 17:39 GMT

Hamburg - Bayern Munich can start celebrating a 21st championship title with a victory over VfB Stuttgart on Sunday, although the champagne will have to stay officially on ice.

Werder Bremen's outside hopes of challenging Bayern for the Bundesliga title all but faded completely after they were held to a 3- 3 draw at Karlsruhe Saturday.

Schalke 04 meanwhile earned a 1-0 win at off-form SV Hamburg, but Bayern will be virtually assured of the title with a victory against visiting Stuttgart.

Ottmar Hitzfeld's side would then be 12 points clear with four matches remaining, but with a goal difference which is 17 better than Bremen's and 21 better than Schalke's.

Anything other a league title for Bayern following last week's German Cup title would then be inconceivable.

Hitzfeld said he would be resting several players in view of Thursday's return semi-final UEFA Cup leg at Zenit St Petersburg.

'I am convinced we will be champions. I couldn't really care less when,' he said on Friday.

Bremen's slim title aspirations looked even more remote after they failed to win at Karlsruhe, only just earning a draw thanks to a goal four minutes from time from Boubacar Sanogo.

Karlsruhe's Sebastian Freis scored twice before Edmond Kapllani put the home side 3-2 up in the 69th minute.

Bremen had come from behind to a 15th-minute Freis goal, with Brazilian midfielder Diego equalizing in the 23rd and Mesut Ozil netting six minutes later.

Freis finished off a solo run from his own half to level in the 59th and Bremen were caught open at the back for Kapllani to score 10 minutes later, but Sanogo rescued a point when he bundled the ball over the line from a Diego cross.

'We left the points behind today. We had many clear chances... we only have ourselves to blame,' Bremen coach Thomas Schaaf said.

The result leaves Bremen second, level on 54 points with Schalke, with these two sides remaining neck and neck in the battle for a direct qualifying place for next season's Champions League.

Schalke got off to a perfect start at Hamburg when an unmarked Kevin Kuranyi nodded in a cross from Albert Sreit after just two minutes.

SV Hamburg stay fourth on 48 points but see their hopes of European football next year beginning to fade after six games without a win.

They could drop to sixth depending on Sunday's games, with Bayer Leverkusen also in action at home to Wolfsburg.

The battle to avoid relegation remained tense, with Energie Cottbus coming from behind with 10 men to beat fellow strugglers Hansa Rostock 2-1 with an injury time goal.

Duisburg took the lead at Bochum thanks to a brilliant 30-metre free-kick from Claudiu Niculescu, but the home side hit back with an 84th-minute header from Stanislav Sestak.

Arminia Bielefeld meanwhile came from 2-0 down at Nuremberg to earn a 2-2 draw.

The results leave Duisburg bottom on 26 points, one adrift of Hansa Rostock and Nuremberg.

Hanover failed to hold onto a 2-0 lead to draw 2-2 with Hertha Berlin, while on Friday evening, mid-table sides Eintracht Frankfurt and Borussia Dortmund finished 1-1.