In a clash fit for the first division, let alone the second tier, two of German football's most historic sides met at the Fritz-Walter-Stadion on Saturday afternoon. Alexander Ring and Philipp Hofmann struck within half-an-hour to give the Red Devils a comfortable early lead. The second-half saw Nürnberg come back into the game and score a consolation goal through Alesandro Schöpf, taking the gloss off an otherwise classy performance.

Kosta Runjaic's side were held to a 0-0 draw last weekend by 1. FC Union Berlin and after SV Darmstadt 98's 5-0 win over the capital club on Friday night, a win was crucial. The Austrian was forced into one change from the team that were held in Berlin, however, with the injured Ruben Jenssen being replaced by Kevin Stöger.

Nürnberg and Rene Weiler were equally eager to pick up three points, having accumulated just one from their last two games. It was a blot on the otherwise immaculate start under Weiler, who felt his attack needed a shake-up.Jürgen Mössmer, Alessandro Schöpf, Robert Koch and Danny Blum were installed into the starting line-up, as Jan Polak, Niklas Stark, Niclas Füllkrug and Peniel Mlapa dropped out.

Stöger almost grabbed his chance in the starting line-up with both hands early on. He danced around the Nürnberg defence, only to fire his shot over from an acute angle. The visitors were struggling to break out of their own half and Kerem Demirbay's deflected shot almost gave the Red Devils the lead.

They didn't have to wait long, however, as Alexander Ring gave them the advantage from the resulting corner. Demirbay's delivery was headed onto the bar by Willi Orban, Patrick Rakovsky couldn't react quickly enough and the Finland international bundled the ball into the net for his sixth goal of the season.

Things got worse for Nürnberg moments later; Danny Blum was having hamstring trouble and was immediately replaced by Sebastian Kerk. Despite the poor start on the pitch, the visiting fans were enjoying their own pyrotechnic show.

When it seemed like nothing else could go wrong for Weiler's men, Kaiserslautern doubled their lead. Rakovsky didn't cover himself in glory once again, as he parried Chris Löwe's initial shot onto the bar which fell straight to Philipp Hofmann. He made no mistake and calmly tucked away the rebound to give the hosts a 2-0 lead.

Happy with their first-half efforts, Runjaic's men played out the remainder of the first half with ease and went into the break with a comfortable advantage.

The second-half was a continuation of the first period, as Kaiserslautern continued to pepper the visiting goal. The changes in attack didn't seem to aid Nürnberg going forward and they rarely looked like troubling Tobias Sippel's goal.

Mlapa did add some substance to the front-line, though he couldn't direct any of his attempts on target. Nürnberg did strike late on through Schöpf, who did well to finish past the onrushing 'keeper. It was merely a consolation goal, however, as Kasierslautern hung on to claim a deserved win.

The Red Devils remain third and keep up the pressure on Darmstadt, ahead of their crucial clash with fourth-placed Karlsruher SC next weekend. As for Nürnberg, defeat means they're now eleven points behind Runjaic's side and surely out of the promotion hunt.