Terrier stunner helps Leverkusen win derby; St Pauli end rot

Martin Terrier scored with a stunning scorpion kick as Bayer Leverkusen claimed a prestigious 2-0 Bundesliga derby victory against Cologne on Saturday.

Terrier netted the acrobatic goal with his heel in the 66th minute, and Robert Andrich got the second in the 74th as Leverkusen returned to winning ways after two league defeats and rose to fourth.

The 2024 champions are ahead on goal difference over Hoffenheim, who continued their strong season with a 4-1 demolition of SV Hamburg, and two clear of Eintracht Frankfurt, who edged Augsburg 1-0.

Terrier paves way for Leverkusen win

Chances were sparse in the first half but the hosts should have led shortly after the restart when Malik Tillman stole the ball from Sebastian Sebulonsen but incredibly aimed high with only goalkeeper Marvin Schwäbe to beat.

The opener finally came in the 66th when Terrier looped a cross from Arthur over Schwäbe into the far left corner with his heel for what surely will be one of the goals of the season.

Leverkusen continued to press and Andrich headed the second off Aleix Garcia's corner kick to assure them of full points after previous defeats against Borussia Dortmund and Augsburg.

While Leverkusen are back on track, promoted Cologne in ninth are winless in five games of which they have lost three.

"If you lose twice you have to win the next game. Not just because it is the derby. We needed these three points," Leverkusen managing director for sport Simon Rolfes told Sky TV.

Cologne defender Eric Martel said: "It was difficult. We had our chances but you could see a gap in class and we suffered a deserved defeat."

Hoffenhein and Frankfurt win cruise

Grischa Prömel, Ozan Kabak, Tim Lemperle and Fisnik Asslani were on target as Hoffenheim got their fourth home win in a row while Rayan Philippe got a consolation goal for Hamburg before firing a late penalty over.

A week after crashing 6-0 at RB Leipzig, and after a narrower 2-1 Champions League defeat at Barcelona, Frankfurt steadied the ship with a 1-0 over Augsburg from Ritsu Doan's deflected shot.

The visitors had two goals nullified upon review, an early effort from Chrislain Matsima and an 87th-minute tap-in from Noahkai Banks.

St Pauli end rot

In the lowlands, St Pauli ended a miserable run of 11 league games without victory, which included 10 straight defeats, since beating Augsburg in mid-September with a 2-1 over fellow strugglers Heidenheim.

Martijn Kaars smashed the opener into the top right corner in the 35th minute, and struck again on the counter in the 53rd. Marvin Pieringer tapped Heidenheim back into the game and St Pauli goalkeeper Nikola Vasilj made a huge late save against Mathias Honsak.

The hosts had Eric Smith harshly sent off for a last-man foul against Pieringer shortly before half-time but still climbed past Heidenheim, who had won their previous two matches, on goal difference into third last place.

"The match was so important for us. To win and score two goals is unbelievable," Kaars said.

Wolfsburg win

Visiting Wolfsburg ended Borussia Mönchengladbach's run of five games without defeat with a 3-1 success, helped by a Patrick Wimmer brace and two Christian Eriksen assists. The Wolves now have seven points from three games under caretaker coach Daniel Bauer.

The other fixtures

On Sunday, Bayern Munich can extend their eight-point lead at the top when they host bottom club Mainz, and Dortmund can move into second with victory in Freiburg. The day's other match is Werder Bremen v VfB Stuttgart.

Second-placed RB Leipzig lost 3-1 at Union Berlin on Friday.