Dark horses Mainz went top of the Bundesliga on Saturday after they shocked Werder Bremen 2-0, while champs Bayern Munich were held to a goalless draw by Cologne.
Fresh from their 2-2 mid-week draw with Tottenham in the Champions League, Bremen were stunned at home as midfielder Marcel Risse netted and teenage striker Andre Schuerrle scored his third goal in three games.
The win leaves Mainz as the only team in the German league with four wins from their first four games.
“That was nothing like what you expect from Werder Bremen,” fumed coach Thomas Schaaf, whose side face Hanover tomorrow in their next match. “It is perhaps for the best that we now have to play again on Tuesday in Hanover.”
Mainz coach Thomas Tuchel said his side showed plenty of self-belief to get a win at Bremen.
“We wanted to defend aggressively and not let Werder come into the game, which we managed very well,” Tuchel said.
“We were very attentive throughout the entire game and stayed focused,” he said. “The leadership in the team has also given us courage to believe we could win in Bremen.”
Defending champions Bayern remain in mid-table after they were held by Cologne at Munich’s Allianz Arena.
Cologne had several chances to win as Bayern goalkeeper Hans-Joerg Butt had a busy afternoon, while Munich only threatened in the game’s closing stages.
The result left Bayern eighth with five points from four games.
Hoffenheim lost their 100 percent record and are now second after they were held to a 2-2 draw by Kaiserslautern.
Iceland midfielder Gylfi Sigurdsson came off the bench on 77 minutes and blasted home a free-kick to rescue a point for Hoffenheim.
Stuttgart ended their three-match losing streak in spectacular fashion by thrashing Borussia Moenchengladbach 7-0, with striker Pavel Pogrebnyak scoring a hat-trick.
Former England coach Steve McClaren picked up his first points in charge of Wolfsburg as Brazilian playmaker Diego and Bosnian striker Edin Dzeko both netted in a 2-0 win over Hanover.
Diego struck first with a superb bicycle kick on 55 minutes, while Dzeko showed his power and pace with a 67th-minute shot that gave Hanover goalkeeper Florian Fromlowitz no chance.
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