Japan star Shinji Kagawa scored one goal and set up another as Borussia Dortmund edged 10-man Hannover 3-2 in the Bundesliga on Saturday.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang put the visitors ahead in the 19th, only for Leonardo Bittencourt to set up Lars Stindl's equalizer for Hannover in the 31st.
Bittencourt missed a great chance to score three minutes later when he blasted wide with only the goalkeeper to beat. Dortmund, eliminated from the Champions League by Juventus on Wednesday, was second best until former Dortmund player Bittencourt was dismissed with two bookings in quick succession by the 55th.
Kagawa restored Dortmund's lead with a tap-in two minutes later, with Marco Reus providing his second assist, and the Japanese attacking midfielder then set up Aubameyang's second with the outside of his boot in the 61st.
Hannover goalkeeper Ron-Robert deflected Reus' effort onto the post, before Stindl ensured a nervy ending by scoring again with a fine strike to the top corner in the 82nd.
"We started really well and then made life difficult for ourselves," said Dortmund defender Mats Hummels, who had to clear Joselu's effort off the line before Bittencourt was sent off.
Aubameyang preferred to look forward.
"There are only a few more points to the Europa League qualification places. We have to look up from now on," said the Dortmund forward, whose side — bottom in February — is now five points off sixth-place Augsburg with eight games still to play.
In the late game, Karim Bellarabi's 35th-minute rifled shot to the roof of the net from a difficult angle was enough for Bayer Leverkusen to consolidate fourth with a 1-0 win at Schalke.
Augsburg earlier lost 2-0 at Freiburg, which escaped the relegation zone on goal difference from Hamburger SV thanks to second half-goals from Jonathan Schmid and Nils Petersen.
Bottom side Stuttgart also boosted its hopes of avoiding the drop with a come-from-behind 3-1 win over Eintracht Frankfurt.
Haris Seferovic put the visitors ahead in the 51st, only for Daniel Ginczek to score two goals in three minutes by the 66th and Alexandru Maxim to seal the result with 10 minutes to play for Stuttgart's first win at home since September.
Elsewhere, Cologne drew 1-1 with Werder Bremen and Paderborn vs. Hoffenheim ended scoreless. Hoffenheim had defender Ermin Bicakcic sent off in the 65th with his second yellow card.
Before games kicked off, teams displayed messages against intolerance on the Bundesliga's "day against discrimination."
Bundesliga leader Bayern Munich hosts third-place Borussia Moenchengladbach on Sunday, when second-place Wolfsburg visits Mainz.