Bayern go top

With first place in the table on the line, Pep Guardiola fielded an interesting starting XI in Leverkusen. Philipp Lahm lined up in midfield with Thomas Müller at center forward, while Arjen Robben and Mario Mandzukic were on the bench.

This unusual rotation didn’t prevent the Bavarians from getting all over their hosts right from the beginning. Bayern had up to three-quarters of possession and could have scored a half dozen in the initial 45 minutes, but Toni Kroos was the only one to find his range, thumping one in just before the half-hour mark.

Sidney Sam immediately answered, slotting home a rebound on what was practically Leverkusen's first foray into Bayern's half. The score at the break was 1-1, a very flattering result for the hosts.

The second half was much of the same, with Bayern contriving not to convert chances that came by the minute, and Leverkusen - led by their brilliant keeper Bernd Leno - gamely hanging on. Xherdan Shaqiri missed a particular wide-open opportunity in minute 62.

Guardiola brought on Robben and Mandzukic late, but other than a couple of sharply taken shots from the Dutchman nothing came of it. Bastian Schweinsteiger had a last-second header cleared off the line. Bayern had 24 shots on goal to Leverkusen’s four, but the final score was 1-1.

"We want to win games like this," said Bayern captain Philipp Lahm after the match. "It’s no good creating so many chances and then failing to win the match."

One point was certainly a disappointment for the Bavarians, but it was still enough to take them to the top of the table.

Gladbach upset Dortmund

Dortmund coach Jürgen Klopp must have wondered how his team wasn't ahead at half time in Mönchengladbach, and he wasn't alone. The men in yellow and black peppered the Gladbach goal with shots in the first half but were thwarted by an excellent Marc-André ter Stegen and their own inaccuracy.

Their profligacy came back to haunt them. The Foals came out of the dressing room much improved and began to hold their own. For half an hour, the match was a stalemate, but with ten minutes left, Dortmund defender Mats Hummels brought down Max Kruse from behind in the penalty area.

It was a game-changer. Hummels earned a straight red, and Kruse stepped up and rifled home from the spot. Four minutes later, Raffael powered home a low shot to complete the 2-0 upset and topple Dortmund from their perch atop the table.

"In football, anything's possible if your opponent isn't beaten," Klopp said after the match. "Ours was reeling but not knocked out."

The win takes Gladbach to fourth in the table. Dortmund drop to second ahead of Leverkusen on goal difference.

Schalke come back and win

Against Dortmund's great rivals Schalke, minnows Augsburg drew first blood after around ten minutes. Striker Sascha Mölders got on to a deflected ball to score his first goal in 895 minutes.

But Augsburg handed their advantage straight back. Ragnar Klavan hauled down Schalke striker Adam Szalai in the box and got sent off. Kevin-Prince Boateng converted the resultant penalty. Then on the half hour mark, Szalai finished off a nice passing move to hand the hosts the lead.

Schalke were content to rest on their laurels in the second half, while Augsburg pressed for an equalizer despite being short-handed. And a quarter of an hour from time, Szalai punched home a precision cross by Dennis Aogo. Youngster Max Meyer then struck late to complete the 4-1 scoreline.

"Everyone saw what was the key scene in this match," Augsburg coach Markus Weinzierl said. "Before the sending-off and the penalty we're really in this one."

Braunschweig end frustration

Ahead of this weekend, few people gave Eintracht Braunschweig any chance against Wolfsburg. The newly promoted team was bottom of the table with only one point from its first seven matches, and the Wolves seemed finally to be playing up to the hefty price tag of their squad.

Everything went to script for half an hour, as the hosts dominated. Then Mirko Bolland snuck in behind the Wolves' high defensive line and laid off at the last second for Karim Bellarabi, who put the visitors ahead.

Braunschweig's surprising resistance seemed to completely unsettle Wolfsburg, who failed to create a clear chance for an equalizer. Instead, it was Eintracht who got the better looks at goal, and in minute 86 Domi Kumbela sealed the deserved 2-0 win.

"Today we succeeded in doing what we hoped to do in all our Bundesliga matches," said Braunschweig coach Torsten Lieberknecht. "We hardly made a mistake over the full ninety minutes."

The three points temporarily took Braunschweig out of last place in the standings.

Mainz ride roller-coaster versus Hoffenheim

In Mainz, it was also the visitors jumping out to the early lead. Hoffenheim's Kevin Volland marched through five defenders and finished with a hard, low shot. And a short time later, Roberto Firmino doubled Hoffenheim's advantage with a smooth chip.

Mainz played with more defensive concentration in the second half, but for most of the match they seemed miles away from scoring. They got a lifeline, however, from Eric-Maxim Choupo-Mouting, who expertly volleyed into the back of the net. And in injury time a Nikolce Noveski goal gifted the hosts a 2-2 draw.

It only took five minutes for Stuttgart to go up 1-0 at home over Werder Bremen. Martin Harnik snuck in behind Bremen's napping defense after a corner. But Bremen equalized just before half time. Nils Petersen smashed the ball home after some penalty-area ping-pong. There were no goals in the second half, the match ending 1-1.

On Friday, Hanover's perfect home record came to an end when they were held to a 1-1 draw by Hertha Berlin.

Sunday's action features a quartet of slow starters. Nuremberg host Hamburg, while Freiburg lock horns with fellow Europa League participants Eintracht Frankfurt.