BERLIN: Bayer Leverkusen crushed Hertha Berlin 4-1 on Saturday to move back into first place in the Bundesliga, overtaking Werder Bremen who lost at home to VfB Stuttgart.

Leverkusen, unbeaten in five matches, moved to 22 points, one ahead of Stuttgart who stayed unbeaten with a 3-1 win over previous leaders Bremen.

Borussia Dortmund went to third with a 6-2 win over Hanover 96 and Bayern Munich fell to fifth after a goalless draw at Borussia Moenchengladbach.

Leverkusen, with seven victories in nine matches, sent winless Hertha into last place with the lopsided victory in Berlin's Olympic stadium and further raised speculation that Hertha coach Huub Stevens would be fired by the end of the weekend.

Leverkusen, 2002 Champions League finalists before narrowly escaping relegation last season, dominated the nervous Berlin side who were still suffering from their shock exit from the UEFA Cup in the first round this week against Poland's Groclin Grodzisk.

Brazilian striker Franca beat Berlin's porous defence in the 11th minute. Germany striker Freddie Bobic scored in the 47th minute but Leverkusen produced three more goals, from Dimitar Berbatov, Bernd Schneider and Marko Babic.

"Berlin is a wounded boxer and we knew it would be tough to play the match the way we wanted to," said Leverkusen trainer Klaus Augenthaler, whose team were in first place through the early weeks of the season. "We're delighted to come away from here with three points. It was a well-deserved victory."

Toughest situation

The Berlin crowd chanted "Fire Stevens" but the manager who won the UEFA Cup with Schalke 04 said he was not leaving.

"I'm not going to quit," Stevens said when asked after the match if he would resign before possibly being fired. "I've always been a fighter and I'm always going to be a fighter. This is the toughest situation in my life."

In Bremen, the clash between the league-leading attack and Stuttgart's top defence lived up to its pre-match billing with Stuttgart scoring twice midway through the first half - Imre Szabics in the 31st and Kevin Kuranyi three minutes later.

Bremen cut the lead in half with a goal from striker Angelos Charisteas in the 59th minute that ended goalkeeper Timo Hildebrand's record of 885 minutes without a goal. It was the first goal that Stuttgart had conceded in nine matches this season.

Agencies via Xinhua

(China Daily 10/20/2003 page8)