Bayer Leverkusen continued their pursuit of Borussia Dortmund with a 2-0 win over third-placed Hannover.
Dortmund's lead cut to eight points; Hannover suffer setback
Bayer Leverkusen continued their optimistic pursuit of Bundesliga leaders Borussia Dortmund with a 2-0 win that severely damaged Hannover's title challenge.
First-half goals from Arturo Vidal and Simon Rolfes allowed Leverkusen to close the gap on Dortmund to eight points, while they also moved five clear of third-placed Hannover.
Visiting Hannover had the first opportunity after just two minutes, with Mohamed Abdellaoui drilling at Rene Adler from just inside the area when played in by Didier Konan.
But Leverkusen settled after that and Vidal dragged an effort just wide before he opened the scoring after 21 minutes.
Stefan Kiessling's shot was blocked by Christian Schulz but, after the Hannover defence allowed the ball to remain in the area, Schulz chested it into the path of Vidal who slammed a volley in from the edge of the area.
Glorious
The opportunities continued to come for Leverkusen, with Michael Ballack wasting a glorious chance to make it two when he planted a free header wide of the post.
Lars Stindi could have got Hannover back into it when he slipped in after a Sami Hyypia error, but he could only direct his effort at Adler, while at the other end, Kiessling slapped a volley over the bar.
It became 2-0 three minutes before the break when Gonzalo Castro played in Rolfes and the midfielder did the rest, curling beyond Ron-Robert Zieler in the Hannover goal.
Hannover did everything they could to try and forge a route back into the game after the break, with Sergio Pinto snatching at a good chance and Abdellaoui putting a header over after Steve Cherundolo's cross.
Schulz then forced Adler into a fine flying save, while Leverkusen were denied a third when Augusto's lob was tipped over by Zieler.
Dortmund could reclaim an 11-point lead at the top of the table when they visit Steve McClaren's Wolfsburg on Saturday afternoon.
