BERLIN, April 6 -- Newly-promoted Hannover returned to winning ways, beating Werder Bremen 2-1 at the 29th round opener in Bundesliga on Friday.
Hannover's five-game losing streak came to the end as first-half goals from Martin Harnik and Felix Klaus snapped Werder Bremen's three-game winning run.
The "Reds" had a perfect start on home soil as Martin Harnik opened the scoring with the game's first chance after tapping home Miiko Albornoz square pass at the near post with 17 minutes played.
Bremen responded well and produced a promising chance in the 25th minute but Max Kruse pulled wide from 14 meters.
However, the hosts staged a clinical performance in front of Bremen's goal as Felix Klaus doubled the lead after poking home Marvin Bakalorz's rebound that dropped off the post in the 42nd minute.
After the restart, the "Green-Whites" started on the front foot and pushed forward. Even though Bremen piled on the pressure they were unable to beat Hannover goalkeeper Philipp Tschauner early in the second half.
Things changed in the closing period though as Ishak Belfodil headed home Thomas Delaney's low cross to reduce the deficit in the 74th minute.
The striker remained a threat and should have levelled the scores but Hannover goalkeeper Tschauner denied Belfodil the equalizer following a one-on-one in the dying minutes of the game.
Despite a powerful closing period, the visitors were unable to extend their unbeaten run. Meanwhile, Hannover took their ninth victory of the season.
"We did not play well today. We lacked in presence and actions on the pitch. We are therefor disappointed about this loss," Bremen's head coach Florian Kohfeldt said.
The following fixtures are scheduled for Saturday: Augsburg hosts runaway leaders Bayern Munich, who have the chance to clinch the Bundesliga title ahead of schedule, bottom side Cologne face relegation threatened Mainz, Freiburg encounter Wolfsburg, Borussia Monchengladbach clash with Hertha Berlin and last-placed Hamburg see Schalke.