A second-half Christian Kofane goal earned Bayer Leverkusen a 1-0 win at Hamburg to draw them closer to the Bundesliga's top four on Wednesday.
In a match originally scheduled for January but postponed due to winter storms, Kofane collected an Ibrahim Maza pass and and blasted in on the half-volley on 73 minutes.
The win brought sixth-placed Leverkusen, who will face Arsenal in the last 16 of the Champions League, three points behind fourth-placed Stuttgart.
"We could have ended this one earlier," Leverkusen coach Kasper Hjulmand told Sky. "We're happy to have won but it was just one goal – we had one or two goals too few."
Hamburg are 11th, four points clear of the relegation play-off spot.
Injury-hit Leverkusen stumbled into Wednesday's match nursing a bulging injury list, with six first-team regulars ruled out.
After steadying themselves following a summer overhaul, the 2023–24 double winners had hit a dip, taking just one victory from their last four league games as their mounting absences began to bite.
There were few chances in the first half as promoted Hamburg dug deep.
Leverkusen had the ball in the back of the net on 68 minutes but the goal was chalked off for a handball by defender Edmond Tapsoba.
Five minutes later, Maza sliced a ball through the Hamburg defence which Kofane fired home with a fine finish.
Tottenham loanee Luka Vuskovic had a golden chance to snatch a late point but hit a close-range shot straight at Leverkusen goalkeeper Janis Blaswich and headed the rebound over the bar.