Ballack's early strike gives Bayer victory

Former Bayern Munich and Chelsea star Michael Ballack boosted Bayer Leverkusen's flagging Bundesliga campaign on Friday with the only goal in a 1-0 win at rock-bottom Freiburg. Ballack struck after just two minutes to send his side joint fifth in the table on 17 points along with Stuttgart, Werder Bremen and Borussia Monechengladbach and two behind second-placed Dortmund. Bayern Munich, who host lower mid-table Nuremberg on Saturday, lead the way three points clear of Dortmund, who are in action at Stuttgart. Freiburg meanwhile stay marooned at the bottom, a point behind former European champions Hamburg, who host Kaiserslautern on Sunday.