Berlin, Feb 2 (IANS): Relegation-threatened Werder Bremen beat Berlin 2-0 thanks to Franco di Santo's brace in the German Bundesliga. Augsburg stunned Hoffenheim 3-1 to jump into the top five of the football league.
Bremen reaped their fifth win Sunday, while Berlin suffered their 10th loss of the season to slip in touching distance of the drop zone, reports Xinhua.
Hosts Bremen took the reins from the kick-off yet they lacked ideas to overcome Berlin's well-positioned defence.
As a consequence, the spectators at the Weser-Stadion had to wait until the 43rd minute before striker Franco di Santo broke the deadlock.
Theodor Gebre Selassie's through-ball into the box found Franco di Santo, who slotted home from sharp angle into the far post corner.
After the restart Bremen focused on counter attacks while Berlin were unable to overcome Bremen's bulwark. Bremen grabbed the chance to seal the deal in the 69th minute as Franco di Santo doubled the lead with a sideways scissor-kick.
With the 2-0 victory, Bremen climbed out from relegation to 12th position with Berlin slipping from 13th to 15th position, only a point away from the drop zone.
Augsburg upset Hoffenheim 3-1 to reach the top five in the Bundesliga table.
Both sides needed time to gain a foothold into the game. With 38 minutes into the game, Augsburg opened the scoring thanks to the header by Halil Altintop.
The hosts made use of their momentum to double the lead only four minutes later through Tobias Werner, whose free-kick crossed the goal line untouched.
As if these two quick goals weren't enough, Hoffenheim responded in the dying minutes of the first half when Roberto Firmino headed home a free-kick by Pirmin Schwegler to reduce the arrears to 1-2.
After the interval, Hoffenheim pressed frenetically but Augsburg's defence and their goalkeeper Alexander Manninger repelled all efforts.
Augsburg killed the game with a fast break by Raul Bobadilla in the dying minutes of the match to make it 3-1 on the scoreboards.
Despite the defeat Hoffenheim remain in seventh place whike Augsburg moved from sixth to fifth position.