Schalke goes provisionally 4th in Bundesliga
BERLIN (AP) — Kevin-Prince Boateng scored late for Schalke to beat Wolfsburg 2-1 and move provisionally fourth in the Bundesliga on Saturday, while Hamburger SV slipped further into crisis with a 3-0 loss at Hoffenheim.
Boateng scored in the 81st minute after some good interplay between Leon Goretzka and Roman Neustaedter, restoring the home side's lead after Maximilian Arnold equalized for 10-man Wolfsburg in the 65th.
Felipe Santana opened the scoring in the ninth, when Boateng's effort rebounded off his shoulder and squirmed inside the post after a corner.
Wolfsburg's task was made more difficult when midfielder Daniel Caligiuri was sent off in the 50th. TV replays suggested he had made a remark to the linesman.
Bayer Leverkusen also left it late to come from behind and beat Stuttgart 2-1 and consolidate second place. Eren Derdiyok's 84th-minute header condemned Stuttgart to its fourth successive defeat.
Moritz Leitner opened the scoring for Stuttgart with a fine strike to the top left corner in the 12th, 14 minutes before Stefan Kiessling equalized by beating a defender and curling his shot inside the far post.
Mainz defeated Freiburg 2-0, and Augsburg beat 10-man Werder Bremen 3-1.
Borussia Moenchengladbach could reclaim fourth place later Saturday with a win or draw at Hannover.
Hamburg, the only side to have played every season of the Bundesliga, offered little to suggest it would escape its first relegation in slumping to its fifth successive loss.
Roberto Firmino fired Hoffenheim ahead in the fourth, though TV replays suggested a hint of offside when Kevin Volland played him through.
Poor defending allowed Niklas Suele to make it 2-0 with a header from Sejad Salihovic's cross at the end of the first half, and the visiting fans began leaving when Andreas Beck made it 3-0 on the hour.
Hamburg is in the relegation playoff place and would end the weekend in a direct relegation place if Nuremberg beats Hertha Berlin on Sunday.
Goals from South Koreans Park Joo-ho and Koo Ja-cheol in the 25th and 86th respectively were enough for Mainz to give Freiburg its 10th defeat of the season and leave it just one point ahead of Hamburg.
Augsburg's seven game unbeaten run is a club record.
It started badly against Bremen when Jan-Ingwer Callsen-Bracker headed Zlatko Junuzovic's corner into his own net in the third minute, but Tobias Werner equalized with a deflected shot in the 11th, and the visitors were reduced to 10 men before the break when Santiago Garcia received his second yellow card for a lunge.
The Argentine was incensed with the decision after appearing to make no contact with Matthias Ostrzolek.
Halil Altintop gave Augsburg the lead with a fine volley in the 49th and Andre Hahn capitalized on a defensive mix-up to secure the win six minutes later.
