Bayern lose, Wolfsburg tie in German Bundesliga

Leverkusen inflicted newly crowned Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich the third defeat of the season meanwhile Hannover came from behind to share the spoils with runner up Wolfsburg at the 31st round on Saturday.

After wrapping up the 25th Bundesliga title last week injury-hit Bayern Munich suffered their third loss of the season against dominant Leverkusen who earned their 16th win of season thanks to the goals by Hakan Calhanoglu and youngster Julian Brandt.

Leverkusen took the reins from the kick-off against Bayern's second string. Hence, Leverkusen's Stefan Kiessling headed home the first chance at the 10th minute, which was called offside by the referees.

However, the hosts dictated the game yet Bayern almost broke the deadlock against the run of the game but Tom Jedvaj blocked Mario Goetze's shot on the empty target.

After the interval, Bayern again had the chance to score the opener but veteran striker Claudio Pizarro was unable to overcome Leverkusen goalkeeper Bernd Leno from inside the box.

Leverkusen shocked the German giants at the 55th minute when Hakan Calhanoglu curled home a dead ball, over the wall into the top left corner, leaving Bayern keeper Manuel Neuer no chance.

With the 1-0 deficit the "Bavarians" increased the pressure but Mario Goetze squandered another chance from promising position. As a consequence, Leverkusen punished Bayern's poor chance conversion when youngster and substitute Julian Brandt hammered home a solo run by Karim Bellarabi to make the game safe at the 81st minute.

Bayern remain atop the standings with a 14-point advantage while Leverkusen climbed to the third place for the moment.

Wolfsburg squandered a two-goal lead against Hannover at the Lower Saxony derby to record their 8th draw of the season. Hannover avoided their third straight loss but for all that they slipped into the relegation zone as they still wait for their first win in 2015.

The "Wolves" dominated the first half against uninspired Hannover, who were unable to get a foothold into the game. Thus, Wolfsburg broke the deadlock with 24 minutes into the game when Kevin De Bruyne shrugged off two Hannover defenders to cross the ball to the far post where Bas Dost tapped in into the near post corner.

The hosts doubled the lead just before the break through Ivan Perisic, who had all time and space to unleash a hammer from outside of the box into the top right corner.

However, Hannover recovered after the break as Jimmy Briand reduced the arrears two minutes into the second half when he headed home a cross from four meters.

The visitors sniffed the chance to snatch one point on the road therefore they piled on the pressure. Hannover were rewarded for their efforts at the 58th minute when Salif Sane's overhead kick restored parity to make it two all draw on the scoreboards.

With the result, Wolfsburg remain in the second place meanwhile rivals Hannover slumped to the 16th place, a relegation play-off spot.

Schalke returned to winning ways as they overpowered relegation threatened Stuttgart 3-2 thanks to the brace by Klaas Jan Huntelaar, who ended his drought of 1097 goalless minutes.

The "Royal Blues" secured a bright start on home soil when Dutchman Huntelaar poked home a square pass from close range with nine minutes into the game.

Stuttgart remained unimpressed and levelled the scores against the run of the game as Martin Harnik completed a fast break thanks to the through ball by Daniel Ginczek at the 22nd minute. Stuttgart' s Filip Kostic almost turned the tides but Schalke' s defender Benedikt Hoewedes blocked the shot.

Nevertheless, Filip Kostic cut a better figure after the break when he slotted home the 2-1 lead from sharp angle into the far post corner at the 51st minute to turn the tides. It looked like Stuttgart would reap vital points for their relegation battle but Schalke came up with two goals to secure three points on home soil.

Huntelaar sealed his brace at the 78th minute before Kevin Boateng's volley completed the 3-2 victory for the hosts.

With the victory, fifth placed Schalke remain on course for a UEFA Europa League berth while Stuttgart stay on the last place with a three point gap to safety.

Elsewhere, German Cup finalists Dortmund were held to a 1-1 draw at Hoffenheim. Kevin Volland opened the scoring for the hosts before Mats Hummels equalized the scores by header.

Bremen moved in touching distance of an UEFA Europa League ticket as they defeated Frankfurt 1-0.

Relegation threatened and newly promoted Paderborn climbed out of the Bundesliga drop zone by securing a 2-1 comeback win against Freiburg whereas Augsburg shared points with newly promoted Cologne following a goalless draw.

The following fixtures are scheduled for Sunday: Mainz encounter Hamburg and Berlin host Monchengladbach. Endi