German champions Bayern Munich slipped off the Bundesliga summit after a shock 1-0 defeat to lowly VfL Wolfsburg on Saturday and Hertha took advantage to move top on goals difference.

Hertha exited the UEFA Cup to Danish side Odense on Thursday but they remain unbeaten in the league and a hard-fought draw with Stuttgart was enough to take them to the top.

"We are top of the table but we can't be that happy," said Hertha midfielder Andreas Neuendorf. "We would rather have twelve points (instead of ten) and be second or third in the table."

Schalke 04, who crashed out of the UEFA Cup to French side Nancy, could have gone top with a point but fell to a 3-1 defeat against Bayer Leverkusen.

Schalke are one of five teams locked on ten points along with Hertha, FC Nuremberg, Werder Bremen and Bayern.

"We fell apart and that should not happen," said Schalke midfielder Fabian Ernst. "We are giving our all but it is not enough at the moment."

Bayern have a perfect six points in the Champions League after beating Inter Milan in midweek, but their domestic form is poor and a goal from German international forward Mike Hanke condemned them to their second defeat of the season.

Hanke beat the Bayern offside trap before hitting a left-footed shot past goalkeeper Oliver Kahn on 36 minutes.

"We want to be regarded as a big team but a big team would beat Wolfsburg after the massive victory over Inter Milan," said Munich captain Kahn.

Bayern manager Felix Magath was frustrated that his side were unable to penetrate a defence-minded Wolfsburg line-up.

"We saw today that we have problems against teams that adopt a defensive approach," said Magath. "We made it too easy for Wolfsburg and there was a lack of harmony and creativity to break down their defence."

It was a first win of the season for Wolfsburg, managed by former Bayern defender Klaus Augenthaler, and the three points lifted them off the foot of the table.

Last season's runners-up Bremen, who were minutes from defeating European champions Barcelona in midweek, took full advantage of Bayern's slip to move second with a 3-0 thumping of Borussia Monchengladbach.

Bremen scored three goals in five action-packed first half minutes with Aaron Hunt, Christian Schulz and Brazilian Diego all on target.

"I think you could see that the Barcelona game gave us a lot of confidence," explained Bremen chief Thomas Schaaf. "Fortuntately we scored first and that allowed us to kick on and get the three points."

Last season SV Hamburg started strongly but their torrid start to the new season continued on Saturday with a disappointing 2-2 draw at Eintracht Frankfurt.

Hamburg, who lost 1-0 to CSKA Moscow in the Champions League in midweek, twice came from behind to level but still fall into the bottom three.

Hamburg are the only team in the league yet to win this season with five draws from six matches increasing the pressure on manager Thomas Doll.

"The important thing is that we came from behind twice and did not hide," said Doll. "The players deserve a lot of praise for their team spirit.

"We have a break now and it is good for us to regroup and give some of our injured players more time to come back."