Mueller strike helps lift Bayern up to fifth

Bayern Munich moved up to fifth in the table as hot-shot midfielder Thomas Mueller helped seal a 2-1 win at Freiburg with a first-half goal on Saturday.

The 20-year-old has made a name for himself with six goals in all competitions this season and the fresh-faced midfielder, who has been tipped for honours with Germany, was set up by Italian World Cup winner Luca Toni.

Toni’s effort on goal was deflected into the path of Mueller and the midfielder slammed home his shot on 42 minutes.

With league leaders Bayer Leverkusen taking on Hamburg on Saturday evening, Bayern are up to fifth in the table – five points behind Leverkusen.

Bayern were without their main strike-force of striker Ivica Olic, plus wingers Arjen Robben and Franck Ribery, but Munich made sure of the three points when Freiburg’s South Korean defender Du-Ri Cha scored an own goal.

Under pressure from Mueller, Cha attempted to pass back to his goalkeeper, but could only watch as the ball rolled into his own net on 68 minutes.

Freiburg hit a consolation goal in injury time when striker Stefan Reisinger met a cross from striker Mohamadou Idrissou two minutes into injury time.

Schalke are third in the table after they sealed a 2-1 win over Stuttgart as ex-Germany striker Kevin Kuranyi hit the second-half winner.

Germany’s Brazil-born striker Cacau equalised for Stuttgart on 73 minutes after Schalke midfielder Ivan Rakitic had put the Royal Blues ahead in the first-half.

But Kuranyi popped up with the winner in the 76th minute with some ice-cold finishing to claim their third straight league win.

Werder Bremen are fourth after they sealed a 2-0 win over Hoffenheim with goalkeeper Tim Wiese the hero of the day after he saved a first-half penalty from Carlos Eduardo after only 14 minutes.

Both goals came just moments later in the first half as Peru striker Claudio Pizarro put his side ahead with a header on 18 minutes before Germany defender Per Mertesacker added a second on 22 minutes.

In Saturday’s other results, Cologne picked up three more valuable points to pull away from the bottom three and up to 14th after their 1-0 win at home to Mainz while Eintracht Frankfurt beat Hanover 2-1.

Hertha Berlin remain rooted to the bottom of the table, and are now five points from safety, as they were well-beaten 3-0 at fellow relegation candidates Nuremberg.

On Sunday, defending champions Wolfsburg are at home to Borussia Moenchengladbach while Borussia Dortmund are at home to Bochum.