Four days after thrashing Tottenham in Europe, Bayern Munich suffered their first loss of the season on Saturday with a shock 2-1 home defeat by Hoffenheim in the Bundesliga.
Second-half goals by striker Sargis Adamyan sealed a first-ever win at Bayern for Hoffenheim as Niko Kovac’s side crashed back down to earth following Tuesday’s 7-2 Champions League rout of Spurs.
Bayern keep first place in the table only on goal difference ahead of RB Leipzig, Freiburg, Schalke and Bayer Leverkusen, with the top five teams all on 14 points.
Borussia Moenchengladbach, who are sixth, can finish the weekend top if they beat Augsburg at home on Sunday.
“We didn’t manage to repeat the good performance we had on Tuesday,” admitted Kovac.
“After the break, we made too many mistakes and were never able to put pressure on them. Hoffenheim’s victory is not undeserved.”
Bayern captain Manuel Neuer said the defeat served as “a warning you get nothing for free”.
It was Bayern’s first home league defeat for almost a year.
Robert Lewandowski equalised with his 11th Bundesliga goal this season, scoring for the seventh straight league game before Adamyan clinched the win with his second late on to stun the Allianz Arena.
Hoffenheim deservedly took the lead after Corentin Tolisso lost possession to ex-Bayern midfielder Sebastian Rudy who fed Adamyan to fire past Neuer on 53 minutes.
After Hoffenheim right-back Stefan Posch wasted a chance, Lewandowski equalised on 73 minutes with a towering header.
However Adamyan fired through the legs of Bayern defender Jerome Boateng, as he had also done for the first goal, to seal the surprise win 11 minutes from time.
Adamyan cost 1.5 million euros ($1.6 million) from second-division Jahn Regensburg in May and was playing regional football two years ago.
Schalke foiled by Hector
Schalke stayed fourth after blowing the chance to go two points clear as Germany defender Jonas Hector grabbed a 91st-minute equaliser for Cologne in a 1-1 draw.
Hector’s header just before the final whistle cancelled out Suat Serdar’s second-half goal for the Royal Blues in Gelsenkirchen.
Leverkusen and Leipzig are both also on 14 points following their 1-1 draw as Christopher Nkunku came off the bench to rescue visitors Leipzig.
Following losses to Schalke and Lyon over the past week, Leipzig took out their frustrations by battering the Leverkusen goal, yet it was the hosts who took the lead.
Kevin Volland’s second-half goal, against the run of play, was cancelled out when Nkunku, on for Timo Werner after a fruitless afternoon for the Germany striker, levelled with a superb finish 11 minutes from time.
Freiburg sit joint second with Leipzig after drawing 2-2 at home with Borussia Dortmund, who have drawn their last three league games to drop to seventh.
Dortmund went ahead on 20 minutes when Belgium midfielder Axel Witsel curled a superb volley inside the post from a corner.
Although Freiburg’s strong start to the second-half was rewarded by a Gian-Luca Waldschmidt equaliser, Dortmund regained the lead when a cross by Achraf Hakimi cannoned off defender Lukas Kuebler for an own goal on 67 minutes.
However, Dortmund surrendered a late own goal of their own as centre-back Manuel Akanji failed to deal with a cross, watching in horror as a shot by sub Vincenzo Grifo clipped his ankle and wrong-footed goalkeeper Roman Burki on 90 minutes.
Mainz climbed out of the relegation places with a 2-1 win at Paderborn thanks to an early Robin Quaison goal and a first-half Daniel Brosinski penalty.