Midfielder Roberto Hilbert's 53rd minute goal was enough to give Stuttgart the three points which allowed them to leapfrog Werder Bremen, who play on Sunday away at Arminia Bielefeld.

"That was a thankless win," said Veh. "Playing the league's bottom side really puts you under pressure and you feel the expectation to get three points. "

Stuttgart's win means Bayern Munich are now virtually sure to miss out on a Champions League place next season after they lost 2-1 at home to Hamburg.

Bayern's Peruvian Claudio Pizarro gave the home side the lead after 35 minutes, but Hamburg's Dutch midfielder Rafael van der Vaart, who is being courted by Bayern, cancelled out the advantage with a 71st minute goal.

And Hamburg's Jose Paolo Guerrero grabbed the 76th-minute winner.

The defeat leaves Bayern in fourth, seven points behind third-placed Bremen with three games left.

Bayern coach Ottmar Hitzfeld said: "The disappointment is huge. We didn't work hard enough and we were not firm enough in attack, while in midfield we lost too many personal battles."

Hertha Berlin trounced hosts Alemannia Aachen 4-0 to go seventh in the league as Brazilian midfielder Gilberto opened the scoring with a goal after just seven minutes.

VfL Wolfsburg drew 1-1 at Nuremberg after Polish midfielder Jacek Krzynowek slotted home a left-footed shot after a 40-metre run on 18 minutes for the guests.

But the home side were back level just five minutes later when defender Andreas Wolf headed them on level terms.

Midtable Hanover had Dutch midfielder Arnold Jan Bruggink's right-footed shot for their opening goal in their 2-1 win at second-from-bottom Mainz 05.

And Hanover's Bulgarian midfielder Chavdar Yankov extended their lead to 2-0 with a right-footed shot from a 50th minute corner before Mainz's Egyptian international Mohamed Zidan grabbed a late consolation goal.

And Thomas Doll's Borussia Dortmund moved away from the relegation dog-fight after Swiss international Alexander Frei gave them a 2-0 win at home to Eintracht Frankfurt with two well-struck free-kicks either side of half-time.

Third-placed Werder Bremen now have a golden opportunity to go top on Sunday when they travel to relegation-threatened Arminia Bielefeld after leaders Schalke 04 lost 2-1 at VfL Bochum on Friday.