Bayern Munich coach Jurgen Klinsmann admitted on Saturday his side and Hamburg had handed the initiative to Bundesliga leaders Wolfsburg after both teams suffered shock defeats.
Bayern’s 1-0 loss at home to Schalke 04 leaves the defending champions in third place and three points off leaders Wolfsburg, who can go five points clear if they beat Energie Cottbus.
Hamburg’s 2-0 defeat at Borussia Dortmund puts Martin Jol’s side back in fifth and level on 54 points with Stuttgart and Bayern, with Hertha Berlin on 55 points.
PHOTO: AP
Before the Schalke 04 game, Bayern Munich president Franz Beckenbauer said he would be content to finish second in the league and the runner-up spot now looks more realistic with five league games left.
Bayern fell behind when Schalke’s Turkey striker Halil Altintop headed home from only 4m after 21 minutes.
With his side 1-0 down at halftime at Munich’s Allianz Arena, Klinsmann was booed by his own fans as he walked to the dressing room.
Schalke were lucky to keep Jermaine Jones on the pitch when he hit Bayern captain Mark van Bommel in the face on 38 minutes and the Germany midfielder was shown a yellow card.
But Jones was not so lucky when he brought van Bommel down again on 70 minutes to earn his second yellow and the consequential red.
Bayern were also reduced to 10 men when French midfielder Franck Ribery was shown a second yellow card after a tackle on Schalke’s Jefferson Farfan on 76 minutes.
Jurgen Klopp-coached Borussia Dortmund have now won five league games on the trot and are up to seventh in the table after their 2-0 win over Hamburg.
Hamburg went behind when the ball was played in from the left and midfielder Sebastian Kehl shot past Hamburg goalkeeper Frank Rost after 32 minutes, with Swiss striker Alexander Frei then converting a 90th-minute penalty.
VfB Stuttgart are fourth in the table after strikers Cacau and Mario Gomez scored in the 2-0 win over Eintracht Frankfurt that keeps them in the five-way title race.
Despite having reached next month’s German Cup final and being set to play in the semi-finals of the UEFA Cup this week, Werder Bremen’s Jekyll and Hyde form looked to be continuing as they fell 2-0 behind at VfL Bochum.
But second-half goals by striker Hugo Almeida, Brazil defender Naldo and midfielder Diego gave them a 3-2 win, which leaves them 10th in the table as they prepare for Thursday’s UEFA Cup clash with Hamburg.
Bottom side Karlsruhe gave themselves a chance of staying up after beating Bayer Leverkusen 1-0 with one of the luckiest goals of the season.
Karlsruhe defender Sebastian Langkamp lunged at the ball on the halfway line to try to win possession, but the ball curled over the Leverkusen defense and goalkeeper Rene Adler into the net.
Mid-table Hannover enjoyed a 2-0 win over Cologne.
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