Werder Bremen earned themselves a bit of breathing space near the bottom of the Bundesliga with a 2-1 win over fellow strugglers Ingolstadt at the Weserstadion.

Max Kruse put Bremen in front in the first half, but Markus Suttner brought the visitors level just before the hour.

A game which could have gone either way was eventually decided in favour of the home team with Fin Bartels scoring their second from Claudio Pizarro's assist 14 minutes from time to put five points between the two teams in the league table.

For Ingolstadt coach Maik Walpurgis, it was a first defeat in his third game in charge of the Bavarians, who remain inside the bottom two.