Goals from German international midfielder Torsten Frings and Brazilian Diego made it 16 points from a possible 18 for league leaders Bremen who pile the pressure on Bayern.

"You cannot always turn on the style and sometimes tight games like this are decided by individuals," said Bremen coach Thomas Schaaf. "Two great goals were enough for us to secure the points."

Bayern have a game in hand but must defeat bottom side Hannover at home on Wednesday to move back to within three points of Werder.

VfB Stuttgart stay second, two points behind Bremen, after a 2-0 home victory over SV Hamburg on Tuesday.

"We have been convincing over the past few matches but Hamburg were a strong opponent and we are just glad to take the points to be honest," said Stuttgart goalkeeper Timo Hildebrand.

Bremen, champions in 2004, were touted as title challengers this season and continue to look the part after a 2-1 triumph over Nuremberg.

Frings, a key member of Germany's World Cup squad, broke the deadlock on 32 minutes, faking to shoot with his left foot before shifting the ball to his right and driving the ball in off the post.

Brazilian Diego then curled an exquisite 79th minute free-kick in for his sixth goal of a fantastic debut season.

Stuttgart, a disappointing ninth last season, continued their revival under manager Armin Veh with a 2-0 win over Hamburg.

German Under-21 international Mario Gomez scored his seventh goal of the season in the 80th minute and Thomas Hitzlsperger added a second five minutes later.

It was another setback for Hamburg, third last season, who are fourth from bottom in the table with one win to their name and the pressure continues to mount on manager Thomas Doll.

"We had our chances but once again failed to win. That seems to be the story of our season," said Hamburg captain Rafael van der Vaart.

Elsewhere Borussia Dortmund coach Bert van Marwijk is also under pressure after a 0-0 home draw with Alemannia Aachen. Dortmund, champions in 2002, languish in mid-table anonymity after 11 games.

"We had about 20 corners and attacked them for the full 90 minutes," said van Marwijk. "But we need to score a goal and that is what is missing at the moment."