"The team fought against the tiredness and were rewarded in the end," said Leverkusen coach Sami Hyppia, referring to his side's 4-0 Champions League win over Shakhtar Donetsk on Wednesday.
Mainz defeated bottom side Eintracht Braunschweig 2-0, thanks to goals in either half from Japan striker Shinji Okazaki.
Hannover had an afternoon to forget against Hoffenheim, losing 4-1 at home and finishing with nine players.
Mame Biram Diouf was shown a yellow card for protesting a penalty decision in the 10th, and the Senegalese was sent off two minutes later when he got another yellow for diving. TV replays showed it was a debatable decision. Marcelo was sent off in the second half for his furious reaction to Roberto Firmino's second goal in three minutes.
"We have to keep our tempers better under control. We have to talk about that," Hannover coach Mirko Slomka said.
Wolfsburg defeated Werder Bremen 3-0 in the late game, and moved to provisional fifth, pending Borussia Moenchengladbach's game with Eintracht Frankfurt on Sunday.
