Borussia Dortmund slip further after fourth defeat

Berlin: Borussia Dortmund`s horror run of Bundesliga results continued on Saturday as they lost 1-0 at home to Hanover 96 to drop to 15th after a fourth straight defeat.

Dortmund`s terrible domestic form is in stark contrast to their Champions League campaign, where they top their group with three straight wins after Wednesday`s impressive 4-0 victory at Galatasaray.

But seven days before they face Bundesliga leaders Bayern Munich away, Dortmund are now winless in their last six league games and just a point above the relegation zone.

"We have to keep going -- and ensure that we no longer feel like this after games," insisted Dortmund coach Jurgen Klopp.

"We turned all the screws and still we`re left empty-handed. That`s tough.

"We can`t do more, but we can do things better. We aren`t in a good situation in the Bundesliga and that`s something we haven`t come to terms with until now.

"We`ll continue to fight, the opponent made a lot out of little, we made nothing out of a lot."

Klopp was left fuming on the sidelines at their Westfalenstadion as Japan`s Hiroshi Kiyotake curled in a free kick to score Hanover`s first goal for 416 minutes following three straight defeats.

Mid-table Hanover finished with 10 men after Turkey midfielder Ceyhun Guelselam earned a red card for his second booking after a clumsy challenge on Dortmund winger Marco Reus on 89 minutes.

Hertha Berlin claimed a 3-0 home win against Hamburg with Tunisia`s Anis Ben-Hatira netting twice as Hamburg remain in the bottom three.

VfB Stuttgart leap-frogged Dortmund into 14th place after their stunning 5-4 victory at Eintracht Frankfurt.

Stuttgart captain Christian Gentner scored the 84th-minute winner when he stabbed the ball home at close-range from a free-kick to claim only their second win of the season.

Frankfurt finished with 10 men after Swiss striker Haris Seferovic was sent off five minutes from time for miming that the referee`s assistant needed glasses.

With league leaders Bayern at Borussia Moenchengladbach on Sunday in the weekend`s top fixture, Hoffenheim took Gladbach`s place in second with a 1-0 win at Paderborn.

Right-winger Kevin Volland pushed his claim for a place in the Germany squad for next month`s internationals with his first goal of the season.

Augsburg moved up to ninth with a 2-0 win at home to Freiburg with Dutch defender Paul Verhaegh and Turkey`s Halil Altintop scoring the goals.

Roberto di Matteo attempts to pick up his third straight win as Schalke 04 coach later on Saturday when his side play at Bayer Leverkusen.

VfL Wolfsburg host Mainz on Sunday afternoon with both teams on the verge of a top three place.

Bottom side Werder Bremen sacked coach Robin Dutt on Saturday, less than 24 hours after his side`s 1-0 defeat at home to Cologne left them winless after nine games.

The 49-year-old is the third Bundesliga coach sacked this season after Mirko Slomka (from Hamburg) and Jens Keller (Schalke 04).

Bremen`s Under-23 coach Viktor Skripnik has been appointed as caretaker coach, with ex-Germany midfielder Torsten Frings during the search for Dutt`s successor.