BERLIN, Oct 20: Hamburg striker Ivica Olic smashed a first-half hat-trick as his side hammered 10-man VfB Stuttgart 4-1 on Saturday to go third while Bundesliga league leaders Bayern Munich extended their lead.

Bayern had to come from behind to win 2-1 at strugglers VfL Bochum, which puts them six points clear, but the shock of the day was at Hamburg’s HSH Nordbank Arena as defending Bundesliga champions Stuttgart were demolished.

Olic needed just 28 minutes to complete his hat-trick before Dutch defender Joris Mathijsen’s well-timed header made it four on 59 minutes until Stuttgart’s Serdar Tasci grabbed a consolation goal on 73 minutes.

Armin Veh’s side were reduced to 10 men when Mexican midfielder Pavel Pardo was shown a straight red after a clash with midfielder David Jarolim just before the half-time whistle.

This was Stuttgart’s eighth defeat in 11 games to leave them 13th in the league, while Hamburg are now up to third.

At Bochum, the home side took an early lead over Bayern when German under-21 striker Dennis Grote gave the hosts a surprise lead on 11 minutes.

It was not the start Bayern wanted with second-string goalkeeper Michael Rensing deputising for captain Oliver Kahn who is recovering from an elbow operation.

But the German giants were back on level terms after 35 minutes when French star Franck Ribery equalised with a deft touch as he flicked striker Miroslav Klose’s pass past diving Bochum ‘keeper Jan Lastuvka.

And German international Bastian Schweinsteiger came off the bench to seal the win with a strike on 78 minutes.

Werder Bremen claimed second place with a convincing 3-2 home win over Hertha Berlin. And last season’s runners-up Schalke 04 were held 1-1 at Hansa Rostock as striker Gerald Asamoah scored on 33 minutes for the Royal Blues before defender Marc Stein equalised for the hosts.

German Cup holders Nuremberg stay in the bottom three, despite picking up their first win in 10 games when they hammered Eintracht Frankfurt 5-1 while Bayer Leverkusen drew 2-2 with Borussia Dortmund.

Duisburg enjoyed a 2-1 win at bottom side Energie Cottbus on Friday night as Bosnian midfielder Ivica Grlic smashed home his free-kick late in the second-half as the visitors picked up only their third win of the season.

On Sunday, Karlsruhe hunt their fourth consecutive win at Arminia Bielefeld while Hanover are at Wolfsburg.—AFP