Day of Surprises in Bundesliga as Big Three Are Defeated

Reigning champions Bayern may have crushed Spartak Moscow 4-0 in the Champions League in midweek but that did not matter to Arminia Bielefeld who pulled off the biggest sensation of the season so far with a 2-1 win.

Danish winger Jonas Kamper scored a brilliant late free-kick to condemn Bayern to their first defeat of the season. "I do not want to make excuses but the match calendar has certainly not helped," said Bayern coach Felix Magath. "I am sure we will find our rhythm soon and not lose games like this."

Nuremberg stay top of the table

Bayern's loss means FC Nuremberg lead the 18-strong Bundesliga for the fourth successive week after a 1-1 draw at home to bottom club VfL Bochum, Jan Polak cancelling out Theofanis Gekas' early effort for Bochum. In Sunday action, Hertha Berlin entertain Schalke 04 with both sides knowing a win will send them top of the table.

Dutch international midfielder Marc van Bommel, a six million-euro signing from Barcelona, put Bayern ahead on his debut just six minutes in with a scrambled goal. And despite continuing to dominate proceedings, Felix Magath's side conceded an equalizer on 25 minutes when Artur Wichniarek ghosted in unmarked at the far post to head in Joerg Boehme's free kick.

Danish dynamite explodes in Bayern's face

The goal seemed to inspire the home side and Bielefeld nearly went in front six minutes before half-time, but Thorben Marx's thumping free kick sailed just over.

Claudio Pizarro almost restored Bayern's lead on the hour mark but his header came back off the woodwork and an increasingly desperate Magath sent on Hasan Salihamidzic and Mehmet Scholl for Bastian Schweinsteiger and Lukas Podolski in search of a winner.

But instead it was Bielefeld who scored, Jonas Kamper firing in an unstoppable shot with seven minutes remaining for a memorable win.

"We conceded two goals from set-pieces and that can happen to any team," said Bayern's German international Philipp Lahm. "We did not allow them many chances but we are guilty of not being purposeful enough going forward."

Bremen take a dive

Fortunately for Bayern, who fell to third in the table, their rivals once again failed to capitalize on their slip with Bremen's miserable run continuing with a 3-2 defeat against VfB Stuttgart. "We had a comfortable 2-0 lead and then we stopped putting tackles in," said a livid Bremen coach Thomas Schaaf. "Now is the time to stop talking and to start taking action."

Bremen, who fall to seventh, hoped to get back on the winning trail after a German Cup loss to third division Pirmasens and a Champions League defeat to Chelsea. They lost their star striker Miroslav Klose through injury shortly before the match but stormed into a two-goal lead with Roberto Hilbert heading into his own goal and Egyptian international Mohamed Zidan producing a cool finish.

But Hilbert scored at the right end in the 32nd minute and it sparked a sensational comeback as goals from Pavel Pardo and Luis Gomez secured a 3-2 win for the visitors. "That should not be allowed to happen," fumed Bremen captain Frank Baumann. "We just invited the opposition to score goals."

… And Hamburg barely keep their heads above water

Title hopefuls SV Hamburg saw their woeful start to the season continue with a 1-0 loss at Borussia Dortmund. "We are wobbling but we just need to keep pushing on and try to win our next match," declared Hamburg boss Thomas Doll.

It was three defeats in a row for Hamburg who had lost in the German Cup and then to Arsenal in the Champions League.

Former German international Christian Worns scored a late winner for Dortmund and Hamburg, third last season, now lie fourth from bottom without a win to their name. Dortmund are the big climbers going from ninth to fourth with the win.

Also Saturday, newly promoted Alemannia Aachen celebrated their second win of the season with a 4-2 defeat of Borussia Moenchengladbach while Mainz 05 lost 2-0 at Energie Cottbus. The only team from the former east and one of this season's newcomers, Cottbus, currently in fourth place, will have to be seen as the big surprise so far.

The two remaining games of round four on Sunday, will see Hertha Berlin and Schalke 04 battling it out to go top of the table while Bayer Leverkusen visit Eintracht Frankfurt.