Werder Bremen beat Hamburg 2-1 to jump to the top of the German league table on Saturday.
Bremen have 33 points to Bayern's 31 but Bayern had a game in hand. Hamburg are third with 30.
Against a Hamburg side who are serious title challengers, Bremen held on with a winner from Finnish defender Petri Pasanen midway through the second half.
Ivory Coast's Boubacar Sanogo put Bremen ahead on the quarter-hour after good work by Jurica Vranjes though Hamburg's Rafael van der Vaart equalized on 61 minutes with a superb 25m lob.
Then came Pasanen's winner though it was helped into the net by Hamburg defender Vincent Kompany, meaning Werder took top spot for the first time this season.
Bremen continued their good form from mid September, leaving them unbeaten in their last 10 league outings, even though they were without key players Torsten Frings and Tim Borowski.
Bremen coach Thomas Schaaf said afterwards: "We have managed to get through a difficult week very well," adding his team had been top of their game for several weeks now.
Hamburg coach Huub Stevens also congratulated Bremen.
"The best team won -- the freshest team physically too," said Stevens, whose team beat Rennes in the UEFA Cup 48 hours earlier.
Bayern meanwhile have not been at their best recently and could only manage a 1-1 draw against Portuguese side Braga in the UEFA Cup on Thursday.
Captain and keeper Oliver Kahn said he regretted a "lack of passion" shown by his teammates.
However Bayer Leverkusen have been gaining victory after victory lately and are approaching the leading trio. Leverkusen beat Hertha Berlin 3-0, leaving them six points behind the leaders.
At the other end of the table, Energie Cottbus beat Karlsruhe 2-0 to leave Duisburg bottom.
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