Hoffenheim edged Berlin 1-0 thanks to the winner from Niklas Suele and Cologne overcame 10-men Hamburg 3-0 by courtesy of Anthony Modeste's hat trick in the German Bundesliga action.
Hoffenheim equalled their club record of five straight wins after beating third placed Hertha Berlin, whose five-game unbeaten streak came to an end on Sunday, reports Xinhua.
Both clubs were offensively-minded going into the encounter, as Fabian Lustenberger cleared Niklas Suele's header from the goal line with just three minutes played before Allan Rodrigues de Souza tested Hoffenheim goalkeeper Oliver Baumann with an effort from 16 meters.
As the match progressed, Hoffenheim took the reins and controlled the proceedings on the pitch. Berlin's custodian Rune Jarstein defused Lukas Rupp's shot on target and Pavel Kaderabek rattled the woodwork with his header before Suele broke the deadlock at the far post following a free kick cross in the 31st minute.
After the restart, Berlin grabbed a better start, but Vedad Ibisevic was unable to overcome goalkeeper Baumann. Hoffenheim focused on fast breaks, but neither Sandro Wagner nor Andrej Kramaric were able to double the lead despite promising counterattacks in the closing period.
With the result, Hoffenheim ousted Hertha Berlin, who slipped from 3rd place to fifth position in the standings.
Elsewhere, Cologne saw off 10-men Hamburg 3-0 as Bundesliga top scorer Anthony Modeste provided three second-half goals.
Both sides staged an evenly-balanced first half. Nevertheless, the hosts had the chance to open the scoring in the 41st minute but Modeste squandered a foul play penalty to the left post.
It remained a close affair after the break, but Bobby Wood's straight red card for violent conduct proved a momentum changer.
Cologne benefited on their superior numbers and marked the opener through Modeste, who flicked on Simon Zoller's cross into the far-post corner in the 61st minute.
Modeste wasn't yet done with the scoring, and added another two goals to down Hamburg single-handedly 3-0, extending his goal tally to 11 goals in nine games.
Cologne climbed from fifth to fourth place, whereas Hamburg suffered their seventh loss of the season to remain bottom-dwellers in the Bundesliga.
--IANS
ajb/bg
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