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March 29, 2010

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Kuranyi brace sends Schalke top as Bayern slips

SCHALKE 04 beat fellow title contender Bayer Leverkusen 2-0 away thanks to striker Kevin Kuranyi's two goals to move two points clear at the top of the German Bundesliga on Saturday.

Kuranyi, hoping for a Germany recall ahead of the World Cup, fired the visitors ahead in the 11th minute from close range and notched his 17th goal, his best tally in a season, by heading in a pinpoint cross from Peruvian Jefferson Farfan in the 27th.

Bayern Munich had earlier lost 1-2 at home to VfB Stuttgart, dropping to second on 56 points from 28 matches.

Lackluster Leverkusen saw its title hopes severely dented following a second straight league loss that left it in third place on 53 points.

Schalke did not seem affected by the extra-time defeat by Bayern in the German Cup semifinal in midweek and was the better side from the start.

"This was a beautiful win and a strong performance after 120 minutes of Cup football (against Bayern)," said Schalke coach Felix Magath.

Schalke faces Bayern this weekend and Magath, who won the Bundesliga with VfL Wolfsburg last season, said only a win against the visiting Bayern side on Saturday would do if Schalke was to have a shot at the title. "If we beat Bayern then we could have a chance at winning the title," he told reporters.

With Germany coach Joachim Loew watching from the stands, Kuranyi silenced the home crowd by firing into the net from 10 meters after a low Heiko Westermann cross sailed across the box into his path.

Kuranyi, who stormed off from the national team in 2008 after being left out of the squad for a game and was told he would never be picked again by Loew, headed home his second goal from a Farfan cross.

Bayern paid the price for its busy schedule in three competitions, suffering its second successive league loss, this time to Stuttgart, with Ciprian Marica scoring the winner five minutes into the second half.

Bayern, which hosts Manchester United in a Champions League quarterfinal tomorrow, took the lead through Ivica Olic in the 32nd before Stuttgart pulled level nine minutes later through a deflected shot from Christian Traesch.

Elsewhere, Werder Bremen beat Nuremberg 4-2, Cologne won 4-1 in Hannover, Wolfsburg was a 2-0 winner in Mainz and Borussia Dortmund drew 0-0 at Hertha Berlin.



 

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