Saturday 31 January 2015 16:45, UK
Borussia Monchengladbach cut the gap between them and second-placed Wolfsburg to seven points with a 1-0 win at Stuttgart which sends the Swabians into the relegation zone.
Patrick Herrmann scored the only goal of the game in the 71st minute to move the Foals back to within seven points of the Wolves, who beat Bayern Munich 4-1 on Friday night.
Stuttgart had chances to get something out of the game, but despite the efforts of their fans to lift them, they were beaten at home for the sixth time this season to boast the worst home record of all 18 Bundesliga clubs.
Gladbach started strongly and they almost had the lead after only three minutes when Martin Stranzl's header brought an excellent save out of Sven Ulreich.
Fabian Johnson saw his shot deflect just wide of the post as Stuttgart's struggles from the first half of the season looked set to continue.
They slowly managed to relieve themselves of pressure, though, with captain Christian Gentner's cross taking a deflection onto the top of the crossbar, prompting a positive reaction from the fans.
And the home side ended the first half stronger with Timo Werner's volley from just outside the penalty area saved by Yann Sommer, who was able to pounce on the loose ball before one of two Stuttgart players could reach the rebound.
Georg Niedermeier should have given Stuttgart the lead early in the second half, but he lifted the ball over the crossbar from only a few yards out.
Midway through the half, Branimir Hrgota took the ball past Ulreich, but defender Timo Baumgartl turned the ball behind.
It was a warning sign for the hosts, who fell behind just a few minutes later when Herrmann was put through and he shot first time, generating enough power to beat Ulreich even though the Stuttgart custodian got a hand to the ball.
The goal was harsh on Stuttgart, whose fans did as much as they could to lift the players' spirits.
For all their efforts, though, they could not find an equaliser with substitute Vedad Ibisevic going closest in stoppage time, but his effort was cleared off the line, summing up Stuttgart's day and season so far.
