Bayern Munich lost only their third game of the season and their first at home in a 1-0 defeat to Werder Bremen.

A single first half goal from Johan Micoud was enough to seal the victory. Bayern coach Ottmar Hitzfeld had to do without eight regulars but even so he was disappointed to see his side’s unbeaten home record go.

“That was an unnecessary loss,’ he said. ‘We played it too cautiously in the first half and left Bremen too much space. Then we missed our chances so we deserved what we got.”

The defeat meant that Stuttgart cut Bayern’s lead at the top to 11 points, following their 3-0 win over Leverkusen. Goals from Amanatidis, Hleb and Ganea earned the points. The result leaves last year’s Bundesliga and Champions League runners-up in serious danger of being relegated and left coach Thomas Horster extremely disappointed with his side’s efforts.

“Stuttgart just pulled the rug from under us and our performance irritated me immensely,” he said.

“The only positive thing is we only lost 3-0!”

Elsewhere Hamburg and Dortmund drew 1-1. Romeo put Hamburg ahead on the hour but a swift response from Jan Koller meant the points were shared. Torsten Frings was also sent off for two bookable offences.

Schalke moved up to sixth with a 3-0 win over bottom side Cottbus. Jorg Brohme hit two goals and striker Ebbe Sand scored his first goal in nearly800 minutes of play to cement Cottbus firmly to the bottom of the league and imminent relegation.

Coach Eduard Geyer admitted he felt his squad was not good enough for the top flight.

“Some of my players simply don’t have the quality to play in the top division and even if the train all the time they wouldn’t succeed” he admitted.

“Now we have to see which players will stay with us as we face a very tough time.”

In the relegation clash of the weekend, Borussia Monchengladbach defeated Nurnberg 2-0. Ivo Ulich and on loan Mikael Forssell grabbed the goals which lifts them out of the relegation zone for the time being.