A second-half brace by Vedad Ibisevic helped Hoffenheim outclass FC Cologne 3-1 in the Bundesliga on Sunday to occupy the table's summit with 31 points. Having netted twice, the 24-year-old has brought his goal tally to 16 to consolidate his place on the top of the scoring charts. Hoffe's Demba Ba scored the opener on 32 minutes, and seven minutes past the hour mark the Bosnian striker hit his first goal. Portuguese midfielder Petit scored the hosts' only goal on 79 minutes, and the newly-promoted side restored their two-goal cushion when Ibisevic tucked in his second goal in the dying minutes. Meanwhile, Bayer Leverkusen couldn't keep pace with Hoffenheim at the top after being condemned to a 2-1 defeat by Arminia Bielefeld. After a goalless first half, Artur Wichniarek put the home side ahead eight minutes after the restart, and Daniel Halfar doubled the lead on 69 minutes.
Klose leaves his mark Patrick Helmes struck 12 minutes from the final whistle, but the visitors couldn't draw. Bayern In Contention Elsewhere, Bayern Munich romped to an easy 4-1 home win over Energie Cottbus to catch up with second-placed Leverkusen. Cottbus took the lead when Ervin Skela opened the scoring on 25 minutes, but the defending champions' stars retaliated fiercely. French ace Franck Ribery leveled four minutes later, Martin Demichelis scored the second six minutes from the interval. In the second half, Miroslav Klose slotted the third on 54 minutes and Luca Toni put the icing on the cake on the hour mark. Now the German champions lie third with 28 points, several goals behind Leverkusen.
