Hamburg  - Brazilian striker Grafite scored both goals as leaders VfL Wolfsburg edged Bayer Leverkusen 2-1 Saturday to stay three points clear of Bayern Munich at the top of the Bundesliga.

A Luca Toni header gave defending champions Bayern a hard-fought 1-0 win at Arminia Bielefeld, while Mario Gomez struck a hat-trick as VfB Stuttgart ran out 3-0 winners at Cologne to move third.

Grafite hit the winner for Wolfsburg five minutes from time to give Felix Magath's side a 10th successive victory - equalling a record set by Borussia Moenchengladbach in 1987.

It was the 22nd league goal of the season for Grafite, the Bundesliga's top scorer, whose 21st came when he put Wolfsburg ahead from the penalty spot in the first half.

Wolfsburg have 57 points, with Bayern on 54, Stuttgart on 51, level with SV Hamburg who play Hanover at home on Sunday.

Grafite was again the man-of-the-match for Wolfsburg, scoring from the spot and coolly slotting a late winner on the break past keeper Rene Adler when it seemed Leverkusen had done enough for a point.

Grafite had himself earned Wolfsburg's first-half penalty when he tumbled in a challenge with Manuel Friedrich. The Brazilian sent Adler the wrong way from the spot, side-footing into the bottom left-hand corner in the 23rd minute.

Leverkusen pulled level nine minutes after the break when Toni Kroos - on loan from Bayern Munich - toe-poked the ball into the net from just inside the area for what looked to be a deserved point.

"It was a hard-fought game," Magath said.

"Not only the players but I had problems with the second half. The first 20 minutes (of the half) were dominated by Leverkusen who were clearly better.

"Everyone wants to win against the leaders and Leverkusen were no exception. They played very well. It was in the end a lucky victory."

Bayern had to fight hard for the points at lowly Bielefeld, and finally broke the deadlock in the 64th minute when Franck Ribery crossed following a short corner and Toni headed in from close range.

"We didn't play well and we needed a bit of luck," captain Mark van Bommel said.

"Bielefeld had the first big chance but then we had several chances and in the end we deserved to win."

General manager Uli Hoeness said the results changed nothing in the league, but Bayern's remaining programme, with four home games and only two away, could help.

Gomez headed VfB Stuttgart in front at Cologne in the 16th minute and notched two from close range in the 55th and 71st minutes as the visitors collected their fourth win in a row.

Improving Borussia Dortmund got the better of the Ruhr derby at Bochum thanks to a first-half header from Patrick Owomoyela and a curling shot from outside the box from Nelson Valdez after the break.

Bottom club Karlsruhe ended an eight-game run without a goal when Sebastian Freis found the net in the 33rd minute in a 2-2 draw against Hoffenheim

Hoffenheim's Sejad Salihovic opened the scoring in the 28th minute and provided the cross for Selim Teber to head the visitors 2-1 up three minutes after the break, but Karlsruhe rescued a point through Giovanni Federico midway through the second half.

Hoffenheim, who have now slipped to eighth after 10 games without a win, finished the game with 10 men after Luiz Gustavo was sent off following a second yellow card in the 89th minute.

Fellow strugglers Borussia Moenchengladbach went down 4-1 at Eintracht Frankfurt and remain in the relegation zone, level on 23 points with second-last Energie Cottbus who were thrashed 4-0 at Schalke 04 on Friday.

In Sunday's other game, fifth-placed Hertha Berlin entertain Werder Bremen. (dpa)