Bremen stick eight past Bielefeld as Toni secures a win for Bayern

First took on third at the BayArena in Leverkusen and Miroslav Klose looked to have put Bayern in front after 13 minutes when his shot from the edge of the area rattled off the underside of the bar before clearly bouncing inside the goalline but referee Knut Kircher waved play on.

 Instead, Bayern had to wait until five minutes before halftime before going in front. Klose found Toni unmarked in the area and the striker made no mistake from five metres out.

 Bayern's attacking impetus suffered when Klose went off injured early in the second half to be replaced by Bastian Schweinsteiger but Leverkusen were unable to capitalise.

 "The match was very good. I am very happy that we managed to pick up the three points, it was not easy. I think it was our most difficult game to date," Bayern coach Ottmar Hitzfeld said.

 Leverkusen coach Michael Skibbe remarked that Bayern deserved the victory because they were the more experienced side. "I am still very satisfied with the way my team played. It was a terrific match."

   The result means Bayern remain unbeaten with 20 points from eight games. Schalke 04 sit second on 16 points following a 1-0 win over Hertha Berlin in the Friday night game for a third successive victory.

 Surprisingly, newly-promoted SC Karlsruhe occupy third on 15 points thanks to a 3-1 win over Borussia Dortmund while Boubacar Sanogo scored twice as Werder Bremen moved level with Leverkusen on 14 points after a 8-1 demolition of Arminia Bielefeld.

 Bielefeld coach Ernst Middendorp was shocked by the result. "We allowed them to slaughter us. The team was prepared to allow this desaster. This is the worst day in my Bundesliga career."

   His Bremen compatriot Thomas Schaaf did not want to rub salt in his wounds and merely said: "I hope we can continue going forward as we have been doing."

   SV Hamburg also have 14 points after playing out a 2-2 home draw with VfL Wolfsburg.

 Bastian Reinhardt put Hamburg in front before Grafite equalized from the penalty spot for Wolfsburg. Rafael van der Vaart looked to have secured the points for the home side 19 minutes from time but   Ashkan Dejagah made it 2-2 with two minutes remaining.

 Defending champions VfB Stuttgart lost ground after suffering their fourth defeat of the season, a 2-1 loss at newly-promoted Hansa Rostock.

 Tobias Rathgeb put Rostock in front on 16 minutes with a superb free kick and Orestes made it 2-0 two minutes later. Although Mario Gomez pulled one back for Armin Veh's side late in the second half, Rostock held on to register their third win in succession to move out of the relegation zone for the first time this season.

 Also Saturday, VfL Bochum and German Cup holders Nuremberg played out a 3-3 draw.

 In Sunday action, Eintracht Frankfurt can draw level with Leverkusen and Bremen with a win against bottom club Energie Cottbus while Hanover 96 entertain MSV Duisburg.

DPA