Stuttgart beat Leipzig in top four battle, strugglers Bremen lose

Deniz Undaz continued his sparkling run of form with the only goal as fourth-placed VfB Stuttgart beat Bundesliga rivals RB Leipzig on Sunday to edge closer to a Champions League berth.

Leipzig, in fifth, slipped three points behind the hosts in the race for the top four after Undav - trying to force his way back into the Germany squad - scored his 16th league goal of the season.

A poor ball out from Leipzig goalkeeper Maarten Vandevoordt eventually led to Undav nonchalantly scoring on 56 minutes.

"It was an important win for us, Leipzig are a top team," Undav, second top scorer in the Bundesliga behind 30-goal Harry Kane, told DAZN. "I think we gave a very good team performance today."

Stuttgart had the most chances but Leipzig's Christoph Baumgartner wasted a golden opportunity when he blazed over at 0-0. The visitors also hit the post twice.

Germany has fallen behind Spain in the battle for a fifth Champions League place based on UEFA co-efficients, leaving Leipzig fretting that they will miss Europe's top competition next term unless they improve in the last eight games of the season.

Stuttgart, level on points with third-placed Hoffenheim domestically, lost 2-1 at home to Porto in midweek and must overhaul the Portuguese on Thursday to reach the Europa League quarter-finals.

Lee shines for Mainz

Mainz moved away from the drop zone after goals from Paul Nebel and Lee Jae Sung clinched a 2-0 win at strugglers Werder Bremen.

Mainz nudged up to 13th, three points above the relegation play-off spot. Bremen are two points behind their conquerors.

Midfielder Nebel met Phillipp Mwene's cross with a diving header to send the ball just underneath the bar in the sixth minute.

The scorer then paid tribute to team mate Silas by holding up his jersey after the forward broke his leg in the 0-0 Conference League draw at Sigma Olomouc in midweek.

Nebel told reporters: "The goal was just instinct. Phillipp's ball was great, I made good contact and I'm happy to have set us on our way. We wanted to win, above all for Silas. We dedicated the victory to him with his shirt."

Urs Fischer's side will go into Thursday's last 16 second leg with renewed confidence after their showing against Bremen. They were bottom when the Swiss took over in December, but have since won five and drawn six in the Bundesliga under the former Union Berlin boss.

Leonardo Bittencourt almost levelled for Bremen straight after Nebel's opener with a similar effort, yet struck the woodwork.

The hosts also started the second half brightly but South Korea's Lee stunned the Weserstadion when he bundled in Sheraldo Becker's cross.

Bremen had won two on the bounce under Daniel Thioune but now face a crucial trip to second-bottom Wolfsburg next Saturday.

Another South Korean winner for Union

Union jumped four points above Mainz after a late 1-0 win at Freiburg, who stay eighth and now have slim hopes of a European place. The Berliners sit just three points below in ninth after a impressive league debut from partly injured keeper Matheo Raab.

Jeong Woo Yeong made it a special day for South Koreans in the Bundesliga with a fine finish in stoppage time. Freiburg, trailing Genk ahead of their Europa League last 16 second leg on Thursday, later had a good shout for a penalty ignored.

On Saturday, nine-man Bayern Munich drew 1-1 at Bayer Leverkusen and second-placed Borussia Dortmund beat Augsburg 2-0. But the Bavarians still top the table by nine points as a 13th title in 14 years nears.