Hamburg beat rivals Bremen 2-1 in German Bundesliga

Hamburg overcame Werder Bremen 2-1 at the 104th Northern derby to kick-off the 31st round in Bundesliga on Friday.

The brace from Pierre Michel Lassoga was enough to reap three crucial points in the relegation battle meanwhile Bremen' s relegation worries increased after suffering the 16th loss of the season.

Hamburg ensured a fairy-tale start on home soil as Nicolai Mueller' s square pass to the far post found Lasogga, who ended his 666-minute goal drought by tapping home the opener with five minutes into the game.

Bremen were unable to gain a foothold into the match whereas Hamburg' s Michael Gregoritsch tested Bremen goalkeeper Felix Wiedwald with a free kick in the 24th minute.

The visitors created their first chance moments later, as Zlatko Junuzovic' s effort forced Hamburg custodian Jaroslav Drobny to make a safe. However, just when Bremen settled in Hamburg doubled the lead through Lasogga, whose header following Matthias Ostrzolek' s pinpoint cross made it 2-0 on the scoreboards in the 32nd minute.

Viktor Skripnik' s men tried hard before the break but neither Claudio Pizarro nor Fin Bartels were able to make use of their promising chances.

Bremen had nevertheless the chance to reduce the arrears after the break. Johan Djourou brought down Pizarro to cause a foul play penalty with 55 minutes played. Pizarro stepped up but goalkeeper Drobny defused the weak attempt from the spot.

Despite the missed penalty, Bremen piled on the pressure to press the hosts into defence. The visitors got finally rewarded for their efforts when substitute Anthony Ujah nodded home from close range to make it 2-1 in the 65th minute. Bremen pressed frenetically for the equalizer but all their efforts lacked in accuracy in the closing period.

With the result, Hamburg climb from the 12th to the 10th spot for now while Bremen remain on the 16th place, which is a relegation play off spot, with two points to safety.

The following fixtures are scheduled for Friday: Berlin encounter front-runners Bayern, Stuttgart host runner-up Dortmund, Wolfsburg see Augsburg, Cologne meet newly promoted Darmstadt, newly promoted Ingolstadt face last-placed Hannover and Schalke clash with third placed Leverkusen.