Champions Bayern Munich lost the top spot after losing 0-1 to Borussia Dortmund, and Cologne came from behind to beat Monchengladbach 2-1 at the 11th round of Bundesliga football league.
Bayern suffered their first loss of the season as Dortmund edged the German champions with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang's goal here on Saturday, reports Xinhua news agency.
Carlo Ancelotti's men took the reins from the kick-off and pressed Dortmund into defence. Yet, Dortmund's well-positioned defence prevented the visitors from opening the scoring.
As the match progressed, Dortmund stepped up their offensive to mark the opener with just 11 minutes into the game when Aubameyang capitalised on Mario Goetze's square pass to tap in his 12th goal of the season.
With the one-goal lead Dortmund retracted and let Bayern dominate ball possession. However, the title-holders lacked in accuracy as Thiago Alcantara, Joshua Kimmich and Mats Hummels missed the target before the break.
Dortmund grabbed a good start into the second half but Aubameyang was unable to beat Bayern goalkeeper Manuel Neuer from sharp angle in. The Gabon international was in the thick of things moments later when he headed Marcel Schmelzer's cross over the target.
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Bayern's Xabi Alonson almost restored parity but his long effort rattled only the bar in the 61st minute. Aubameyang should have made the game safe when he was one-on-one with Neuer, who defused the striker's shot on target in the 71st minute.
Bayern pressed frenetically to secure at least a draw but all their efforts remained fruitless in the closing period.
With the first loss of the season Bayern dropped to second place while Dortmund jumped on third position.
Cologne reaped a late 2-1 win against league rivals Monchengladbach thanks to Marcel Risse's last-grasp goal.
Elsewhere, Hertha Berlin shared the spoils with Augsburg following a goalless draw.
Mainz overpowered resilient Freiburg as Stefan Bell and Karim Onisiwo ensured the 4-2 victory on home soil.
Schalke extend their unbeaten run to 10 games after edging Wolfsburg 1-0 and struggling Ingolstadt beat Darmstadt 1-0.
--IANS
sam/vt