An excellent solo effort from Bilal El Khannouss lifted Stuttgart to a 1-0 home victory over Heidenheim and into fourth place in the Bundesliga on Sunday.

After their third straight league win, Stuttgart are now six points behind league leaders Bayern Munich and two points back from second-placed Borussia Dortmund.

Smarting after a disappointing Europa League loss to Basel on Thursday, Stuttgart struggled to create chances against a Heidenheim side languishing second-bottom in the table.

In teeming rain, Leicester City loanee El Khannouss collected the ball just outside the area in the 65th minute, cut inside two Heidenheim defenders and curled a perfectly-placed low shot in off the far post.

Stuttgart striker Ermedin Demirovic looked to have added a second in stoppage time with a clever chip, but his effort was ruled out for a foul in the build-up.

Elsewhere, promoted Hamburg thumped struggling Mainz 4-0, with French forward Rayan Philippe nabbing a goal in each half.

Albert Sambi Lokonga and Jean-Luc Dompe also scored as 1983 European champions Hamburg recorded their biggest top-flight victory since 2013.

In their first season back in the top flight since relegation in 2018, six-time German champions Hamburg climbed to eighth with the victory.

Later on Sunday, Freiburg travel to bottom club Borussia Moenchengladbach.