German: Hoffenheim drops FC Cologne to reclaim lead in Bundesliga

FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) -- Vedad Ibisevic scored twice Saturday to take his season tally to 16 goals as 10-man Hoffenheim won 3-1 at 10-man FC Cologne to reclaim the lead in the Bundesliga.

Ibisevic scored twice in the final 23 minutes to give Hoffenheim a seventh victory in its last eight games, taking the league lead with 31 points to move three ahead of Bayer Leverkusen and Bayern Munich.

Leverkusen lost 2-1 at Arminia Bielefeld, remaining winless at Bielefeld since November 1999 and losing the league lead. Bayern won 4-1 at home over Energie Cottbus to extend its unbeaten run to eight games.

"We're very proud to be where we are. It is very difficult to play here in Cologne. There were some pretty hot emotions, but we kept our cool,'' Hoffenheim defender Marvin Compper said.

Bielefeld led 2-0 after Artur Wichniarek scored in the 53rd and Daniel Halfar in the 69th minutes. Patrick Helmes pulled a goal back with 12 minutes remaining, but Leverkusen then lost Sascha Dum to a red card in the 88th minute.

Bielefeld had its first win in nine games and snapped Leverkusen's six game undefeated streak.

"We only have ourselves to blame,'' Helmes said. "We controlled most of the match and then they scored their two goals from a tight angle and on a mistake by (goalkeeper Rene) Adler and won. We just need to regroup and get ready for our next match.''

Demba Ba gave Hoffenheim a 1-0 lead in the 32nd. Both teams then lost a player within four minutes, as Cologne's Kevin McKenna was shown a red card in the 52nd and Hoffenheim's Luiz Gustavo received a second yellow in the 56th.

Ibisevic made it 2-0 in the 67th minutes only to see Petit pull a goal back for Cologne with 12 minutes left. But Ibisevic, the Bundesliga's leading scorer, struck again in the 88th.

"This is not normal. But the way the team is playing, it's great to be on this team,'' said Ibisevic, who scored at least two goals for the fifth time this season.

At Munich, last-place Cottbus led 1-0 in the 25th when two Bayern players missed Ervin Skela's free kick that went in untouched after beating goalkeeper Michael Rensing.

Franck Ribery, wearing pink boots, equalized in the 29th with a curling free kick from 18 meters (yards) into the top corner. And Juergen Klinsmann's Bayern took the lead in the 38th minute when Martin Demichelis headed home a long ball into the box.

Ribery was instrumental in a goal in the 54th, sending a high ball into the box for Miroslav Klose to easily head into goal.

Bayern striker Luca Toni made it 4-1 in the 59th with a right-footed volley from a corner that hit the crossbar and went in.

"We can be satisfied with our performance today. We reacted directly after they took the lead and really dominated the game,'' Bayern coach Uli Hoeness said.

Hertha Berlin won 3-2 at VfL Bochum after leading by three goals at halftime to move up to fourth place with 27 points.

Halil Altintop collected two goals as Schalke beat Borussia Moenchengladbach 3-1, while Grafite and Edin Dzeko each scored twice in the second half in Wolfsburg's 4-1 home victory over Stuttgart.

Nikos Liberopoulos also scored two goals as Eintracht Frankfurt won 4-0 at home over Hannover.

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