HAMBURG: Hamburg’s Matthias Ostrzolek, left, and Moenchengladbach’s Ibrahima Traore compete for the ball during the German Bundesliga soccer match between Hamburger SV and Borussia Moenchengladbach in Hamburg, Germany, yesterday. Hamburg won by 3-2. — AP

BERLIN: Hamburg pulled clear of the Bundesliga’s relegation battle yesterday with a shock 3-2 comeback win at home to Borussia Moenchengladbach to end their six-game winless streak. Bruno Labbadia’s Hamburg won for the first time since the end of November to climb from 13th to 11th, but more importantly, are now six points above the relegation zone. Gladbach took the lead through US international Fabian Johnson on 14 minutes, but hosts Hamburg bludgeoned their way back. Lewis Holtby squandered a golden chance on 18 minutes when the Hamburg midfielder opted to pass with the goal at his mercy.

Then Gladbach defender Martin Hinteregger stabbed the ball into his own net from a corner on 38 minutes to put Hamburg 1-0 up. And just three minutes later, Artjoms Rudnevs landed another blow by gathering Rene Adler’s long-ball from the Hamburg goal and beating Oscar Wendt to make it 2-1 at the break. Midfielder Ivo Ilicevic extended Hamburg’s lead when he headed home from a corner with ten minutes to go. But Gladbach’s Brazilian striker Raffael gave his side brief hope by netting a late goal to make it 3-2 on 88 minutes.

With Bayern Munich at Augsburg on Sunday, Henrikh Mkhitaryan’s second-half goal sealed Borussia Dortmund’s 1-0 win over Hanover 96 on Saturday to trim the champions’ lead to five points. Dortmund were without injured star striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, who missed his first league match of the season after netting 20 goals in as many Bundesliga games. Wolfsburg warmed up for Wednesday’s Champions League, last 16, first leg at Gent with a 2-0 win at home to Ingolstadt. It was their first victory since knocking Manchester United out of the Champions League in December.

Dieter Hecking’s Wolfsburg won for the first time in six games but stay eighth after first-half goals by Germany midfielder Julian Draxler and defender Robin Knoche. Bayer Leverkusen moved up from seventh to third as they bounced back from their shock German Cup exit at the hands of Werder Bremen in mid-week with a 2-1 comeback win at Darmstadt. On a heavy pitch, Sandro Wagner stabbed the ball home to give Darmstadt an early lead, despite Leverkusen goalkeeper Bernd Leno catching him around the throat with his forearm.

Leverkusen drew level when Darmstadt defender Aytac Sulu headed into his own net on 62 minutes before Julian Brandt started the move he finished by tapping in the winner on 77 minutes. VfB Stuttgart’s impressive form continued as they picked up their fifth straight league win to go 10th with a 2-0 win at home to Hertha Berlin. A long-range strike from Ivory Coast defensive midfielder Serey Die and a second-half goal from left winger Filip Kostic sealed the hosts’ win. Hertha suffered their first defeat in nine games since losing 2-0 at Bayern in November to drop to fourth.

The youngest manager in Bundesliga history made his debut when Julian Nagelsmann, 28, was on Hoffenheim’s bench for their 1-1 draw at Werder Bremen in a basement battle. Nagelsmann took over after predecessor Huub Stevens resigned on Wednesday due to heart problems. The result leaves both teams in the bottom three. Eintracht Frankfurt remain just above the relegation places after their 3-1 defeat at Cologne. Midfielder Yannick Gerhardt, defender Dominique Heintz and striker Anthony Modeste scored the hosts’ goals. —AFP