Bayern Munich had to settle for a goalless draw away to Borussia Dortmund on Sunday, leaving the way clear for Hamburg SV to cut their lead to four points with a 1-0 win at Duisburg.
Bayern struck the bar twice in the first half but were well below their best and had to be content with extending the last remaining unbeaten record in the league.
Hamburg took advantage as a Vincent Kompany goal eight minutes before the end of the first half proved enough to give them victory over Duisburg.
With 11 games played, Bayern lead the standings on 27 points, with Hamburg moving up to second on 23. Werder Bremen, who drew 1-1 away to Schalke 04 on Saturday, are third on 21, with Karlsruhe fourth on 20 and Schalke fifth on 18.
Bayern had played an exhausting UEFA Cup game away to Red Star Belgrade on Thursday and with playmaker Franck Ribery missing through injury it was no surprise they were short of energy and ideas.
"A point from a trip to Dortmund is never bad," said Bayern coach Ottmar Hitzfeld after the game against his former club. "We were very tired after the trip to Belgrade and were only at around 70 percent."
The closest Bayern came was in the 37th minute when Martin Demichelis struck a dipping shot from 35 metres. The ball hit the crossbar and fell to Miroslav Klose, who managed to squeeze in a shot that also hit the bar before rebounding to safety.
Bastian Schweinsteiger wasted a good chance at the start of the second half. The Germany midfielder chested the ball down in the area but he rushed when he might have taken his time and the ball ended up trickling wide.
Lucio and Luca Toni also had decent opportunities before Florian Kringe missed the chance to steal all three points for Dortmund when he struck the post from a few metres.
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