FRANKFURT — Hamburger SV took advantage of Mainz mistakes to win 2-1 in the Bundesliga on Sunday and give itself some breathing space in the fight against relegation.
In the late match, Alexander Meier scored twice to lead Eintracht Frankfurt past Werder Bremen 5-2 for his team’s third consecutive victory.
Defender Cleber notched his first Bundesliga goal in the 32nd after Mainz captain Nikolce Noveski failed to clear a corner and the Brazilian pounced on the loose ball to drive home.
Noveski handled the ball to give away a penalty that was converted by Rafael van der Vaart in the 54th, but Hamburg had to live through some tense moments late in the match after Shinji Okazaki’s eighth goal of the season in the 88th had cut the deficit.
The third straight home victory allowed Hamburg to leave the danger zone, while Mainz is without a win in six consecutive matches.
In Frankfurt, Eintracht coach Thomas Schaaf saw his new team take a big victory against the side he had played for and coached for four decades. The two teams hit the post seven times between them.
The win propelled Frankfurt to seventh place, while Bremen stayed next-to-last.
Meier tops the league with 10 goals and has scored five in the last four games.
The attacking midfielder opened the scoring in the 34th after pouncing on a rebound off the post.
Defender Theodor Gebre Selassie tied the match shortly before halftime with a header but Haris Seferovic restored Frankfurt’s lead for good in the 52nd. Bremen goalkeeper Raphael Wolf collided with Seferovic, dropped the ball and the striker managed to prod it home.
Wolf was injured in the move and replaced by Richard Strebinger, who immediately made a good save before being beaten by Stefan Aigner’s shot. It bounced off the post and Meier again used the rebound to score.
Aigner himself made it 4-1 before Luca Caldirola pulled one back for Werder.
Marc Stendera completed Frankfurt’s victory with a spectacular volley.
