On Sunday, Schalke managed a narrow 1-0 victory over Mönchengladbach thanks to a second-half goal by Spanish striker Raul. The win leaves Schalke level with Munich and Werder Bremen at the top of the table but on goal difference it's Bayern Munich who lead the field.

Bayern finished day four at the top of the Bundesliga for the first time this season after striker Mario Gomez secured FC Kaiserlautern's defeat on Saturday, scoring a hat-trick against the home team.

In the 37th minute Gomez took lead at the Fritz-Walter Stadion, converting a penalty. Bayern went on to dominate proceedings with a subsequent goal from Gomez in the 55th minute when Bayern were awarded a penalty following a foul on Thomas Muller.

Gomez's second spot-kick was saved by goalkeeper Kevin Trapp before last season's Bundesliga top scorer tapped in the rebound.

The Germany international went on to complete his hat-trick in the 69th minute after a Thomas Mueller cross, boosting his tally for the season to four goals.

Bayern have not conceded a goal for five consecutive games in all competitions.

They are leading the table with nine points and on goal difference ahead of Schalke and Werder Bremen who both also have nine points. Bremen beat Hoffenheim on Saturday 2-1.

Hannover are number four in the table after failing to beat Mainz on Sunday afternoon. A victory would have propelled the side ahead of Munich to the top, but the 1-1 draw leaves them trailing the top three by one point. Mainz are now seventh in the standings.

Failed challenge

Bayer Leverkusen and defending champions Borussia Dortmund were bidding to draw level on points with Bayern and Bremen on Saturday. But after a 0-0 draw, both teams remain level on seven points from four games.

Both sides finished the game a man down after Leverkusen's Michal Kadlec and young German international Mario Goetze were shown red cards.

Leverkusen's 19-year-old goalkeeper Bernd Leno made a number of magnificent saves just four weeks after joining the team. He has since played three games without conceding a goal.

Hamburg endured another disappointing afternoon on Saturday, suffering their third loss in four games. After South Korea striker Son Heung-Min took Hamburg to a 3-2 lead against Cologne in the 62nd minute, Christian Clemens shattered Hamburg's hopes with a goal in the 84th minute.

The equalizer was quickly followed by a fourth goal for Cologne just four minutes later. Their 4-2 home defeat left Hamburg firmly rooted at the foot of the table.

Meanwhile Freiburg secured their first win of the season with a 3-0 result at home to Wolfsburg. It was Wolfsburg's third straight defeat, leaving the 2009 champions in 15th place with three points from four games.

In the Saturday's other game Nuremberg won 1-0 at home to Augsburg.

Author: Charlotte Chelsom-Pill (Reuters, AFP)´
Editor: Andreas Illmer