Gonzalo Castro scored twice as Bayer Leverkusen won 3-1 at Borussia Moenchengladbach on Sunday to rise to second place in the Bundesliga standings.
Michal Kadlec scored with a perfect free kick in the 37th minute, and Castro doubled the lead before the interval.
Martin Stranzl pulled one back for the hosts in the 65th, but Castro calmly lifted the ball over advancing goalkeeper Christofer Heimeroth in the 73rd to seal Leverkusen's victory.
Leverkusen has 36 points, 11 behind Borussia Dortmund, while Moenchengladbach remains last, six points from safety with 13.
Leverkusen midfielder Michael Ballack made his Bundesliga comeback from injury.
Also Sunday, David Alaba scored a last-minute equalizer to earn Hoffenheim a 2-2 draw against visiting St. Pauli.
The Austrian canceled out Gerald Asamoah's 81st minute strike to move Hoffenheim to eighth in the standings with 26 points. St. Pauli is 16th, level with Cologne on 19 points but with an inferior goal difference.
The 34-year-old Ballack came on as a substitute for Leverkusen in the 55th for his first Bundesliga appearance since picking up a shinbone injury against Hannover in September.
"It's a wonderful feeling to be back on the pitch," Ballack said. "We've fought our way back to second place."
Moenchengladbach missed several chances to take the lead against Leverkusen.
Marco Reus' volley came back off the crossbar after he was set up by Mohamadou Idrissou, and recent signing Mike Hanke had a strong effort saved by Rene Adler minutes later.
Kadlec opened the scoring for Leverkusen with a precision free kick into the top corner which gave the Czech his first goal of the season. Castro doubled the lead in the 45th when he was left unmarked to connect with a cross from Arturo Vidal.
Stranzl scored after Thorben Marx punted the ball forward hopefully and the Austrian - in his second game for the club - volleyed from a tight angle to send the ball inside the far post.
In the 73rd, Vidal played a perfectly timed pass to beat the offside trap and Castro lobbed goalkeeper Heimeroth.
Karim Matmour hit the crossbar again for Moenchengladbach with five minutes remaining.
At Hoffenheim, defender Marvin Compper gave the hosts the lead in the 29th when he was left unmarked to prod in a free kick from Sebastian Rudy.
Max Kruse equalized for St. Pauli in the 50th after Fabian Boll played a through ball to Asamoah, who was brought down by Isaac Vorsah. Kruse then reacted before the Hoffenheim defense to sweep the ball low past Daniel Haas.
Hoffenheim's appeals for a penalty were denied when referee Christian Dingert waved play on after Carlos Zambrano appeared to catch Boris Vukcevic in the face in the 58th.
Charles Takyi was unlucky to see his powerful shot crash off the crossbar with Haas beaten with a quarter of an hour remaining.
Asamoah scored when he controlled a deep cross from Oczipka and fired home from close range for his fourth goal of the season.
Alaba's equalizer came in the 90th minute when his shot from 20 meters (yards) deflected off defender Ralph Gunesch.
