Stuttgart's Andreas Beck (L) vies with Hanover 96's Miiko Albornoz during a German Bundesliga match between VfB Stuttgart and Hanover 96, in Stuttagrt, Germany, on March 3, 2019. Stuttgart won 5-1. (Xinhua/Philippe Ruiz)
BERLIN, March 3 (Xinhua) -- Stuttgart have ended their eight-game winless streak as Steven Zuber's and Ozan Kabak's brace overpowered hapless Hannover 5-1 at the closer of the 24th round in Bundesliga on Sunday.
Hannover's relegation worries increased after suffering the third straight loss to sit seven points away from safety.
The hosts grabbed a perfect start in front of home crowd, as Mario Gomez needed only four minutes to break the deadlock from 15 meters.
Hannover were shocked and unable to respond whereas Stuttgart gained momentum to double the lead in the 16th minute when Gonzalo Castro's delivery into the box found Ozan Kabak, who headed home from close range.
The "Swabians" controlled the proceedings on the pitch and pressed the visitors into the defense hence Kabak netted his second goal of the day following the assistance from Gonzalo Castro before the break.
After the restart, Hannover started highly motivated against passive hosts, who lurked for counter attacks.
Hannover eventually reduced the arrears in the 68th minute when Jonathas headed home Genki Haraguchi's pinpoint cross to make it 3-1 on the scoreboards.
The hosts however remained unimpressed and responded well ten minutes later as Steven Zuber restored the three-goal lead.
Zuber wasn't done with the scoring and sealed his brace in the closing period to put the result beyond doubt.
With the result, 16th placed Stuttgart continue in touching distance to safety meanwhile Hannover sit on the 17th position which is a direct relegation spot.
"That was a super important victory for us. The 3-0 lead before the break was crucial," Stuttgart's head coach Markus Weinzierl said.
"This performance has nothing to do with Bundesliga. I have been in the business for a long time but I haven't seen such a performance," Hannover's head coach Thomas Doll said.
Elsewhere, Werder Bremen secured a late 1-1 draw on the road as Max Kruse's equalizer cancelled out John Anthony Brooks opener for Wolfsburg.
