Berlin, Feb 1 (IANS): While Monchengladbach and Schalke started the second half of the campaign with victories, Borussia Dortmund dropped to the bottom despite a draw with Leverkusen in the 18th round of the German Bundesliga.

Fourth placed Monchengladbach increased Stuttgart's relegation worries following a 1-0 away Saturday night, reported Xinhua.

Ten-man Schalke started the second half of the season with a narrow 1-0 victory against Hannover.

The "Royal Blues" opened the scoring at the half hour mark through Macro Hoeger, who capitalised on Christian Fuchs' pass into the box to make it 1-0 on the scoreboard with a long range shot.

Schalke jumped to fourth place with 27 points and Hannover remain in eighth place.

Dortmund shared the spoils with Leverkusen following a goalless draw, but despite earning a vital point, Dortmund slumped to the last place in the standings.

Relegation threatened Freiburg came from behind to stun Frankfurt 4-1 thanks to the hat-trick by new arrival Nils Petersen.

Elsewhere, Mainz humiliated newly promoted Paderborn 5-0 courtesy Yunus Malli's brace, and Cologne's Marcel Risse scored two goals to down struggling Hamburg 2-0.