THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
BERLIN — Ivan Klasnic’s goal helped Werder Bremen beat FC Nuremberg 2-0 on Saturday to gain a share of the Bundesliga lead.
The Croatian forward continued his impressive comeback from two kidney transplants by heading in the second goal in the 81st minute. Bremen led from the 30th, when Sweden forward Markus Rosenberg capitalized on a defensive blunder.
The victory gave Bremen 40 points, pulling it even with Bayern Munich, which faces a tough road match Sunday against Hannover 96.
But Bremen played a weak match against short-handed Nuremberg, handicapped by Ivan Saenko’s 20th minute ejection.
"We played a very bad match, we didn’t have any ideas, but it’s over now," Bremen goalkeeper Tim Wiese said. "Now we have to see how they (Bayern) do tomorrow."
Nuremberg appeared tired after losing 1-0 to Benfica in the UEFA Cup on Thursday. Its players also had to deal with coach Hans Meyer’s firing on Monday, which was unexpected despite last year’s German Cup winners tumbling into the relegation zone.
Nuremberg’s first mistake came in the 30th when defender Andreas Wulf tried to clear the ball with a backheel, mishit it and allowed Rosenberg to glide the ball inside the right post.
Klasnic then headed in a long downfield pass, his third goal since returning in November.
Thomas von Heesen, making his debut as Nuremberg coach, blamed the defeat on Saenko’s early red card.
"After that happened in the 20th minute, this game doesn’t say much of anything," Von Heesen said.
Two players boosted their chances of making Germany’s 2008 European Championship squad with their performances Saturday — Bayer Leverkusen goalkeeper Rene Adler and VfB Stuttgart forward Mario Gomez.
Gomez scored two goals to run his total to 12 in nine matches in all competitions as Stuttgart edged MSV Duisburg 3-2. Thomas Hitzlsperger scored an injury-time winner.
Gomez, 22, out to prove he should be Germany’s starting forward, is now one of the Bundesliga’s top scorers with 10 goals despite limited action due to injuries.
Adler, 23, made a string of stops to salvage Leverkusen’s 2-2 draw against Karlsruher SC, including a leaping injury-time save to deny a close-range header from Karlsruhe’s Maik Franz.
"Those last actions were exasperating," Franz said. "We could have — I could have — scored."
Simon Rolfes in the sixth minute, and Stefan Kiessling in the 58th, scored for Leverkusen. Karlsruhe charged back with Sebastian Freis’ 60th-minute goal, then Australian Joshua Kennedy tied it in the 78th minute with his third goal in as many games.
Karlsruhe remains the most successful promoted side in a decade. At sixth, the small club is just two points off a Champions League berth. Against Leverkusen, it had a 11-1 edge in corners.
"Even when we were ahead 2-0, I wasn’t sure we could hold the lead," Leverkusen coach Michael Skibbe said. "Karlsruhe applied a huge amount of pressure."
Also on Saturday, it was: Energie Cottbus 0, Borussia Dortmund 2; Hansa Rostock 1, Eintracht Frankfurt 0; and Hertha Berlin 1, Arminia Bielefeld 0.
On Friday, VfL Wolfsburg edged Schalke 2-1.