Frankfurt's European hopes hit after stalemate

Eintracht Frankfurt's hopes of returning to Europe next season suffered a setback with a scoreless draw at St Pauli in the Bundesliga on Sunday.

The result left Frankfurt in seventh, nine points behind Bayer Leverkusen, who occupy the Europa Conference League spot.

Despite picking up a point, St Pauli fell into the bottom three due to Werder Bremen's late win at Union Berlin.

Frankfurt continued to show improved defensive stability under new coach Albert Riera but were unable to break down the stubborn hosts.

Champions League participants this season after finishing third in the last campaign -- their best result in three decades -- Frankfurt have struggled, particularly away from home.

Frankfurt dominated the ball but Pauli had the better chances in the opening half, with Mathias Pereira Lage and Daniel Sinani both hitting the post.

The visitors were camped out on the edge of St Pauli's box in the dying moments but could not break through, with Jean-Matteo Bahoya heading a late chance over the bar.

Bremen conceded an early penalty but fought back to beat 10-man Union Berlin 4-1 away and lift themselves out of the relegation spots.

Derrick Koehn's 18th-minute spot kick had Union on track but midfielder Andras Schafer was shown a straight red card a minute later, opening the door for the visitors, who scored through Oliver Deman, Jens Stage, Marco Gruell and Patrice Covic.

Bremen, who along with Bayern have played the most top-flight seasons in the Bundesliga era, climbed to 13th after winning two in a row for the first time this season.

Union are three points ahead in 11th.