Tabletoppers Bremen moved six points clear of the champions with a 2-1 win at FC Nuremberg on Tuesday but Bayern failed to respond and fell to their first home defeat of the season.

"I can understand the fans' reaction. Of course you are going to get booed when you lose 1-0 at home against Hannover," said Dutch midfielder Marc van Bommel.

"Our passing is not right and we are not playing well at the moment. We need to go on a run like Bremen and string some wins together."

Reigning champions Bayern fell to fifth with Schalke 04 and Hertha Berlin leapfrogging them in the table.

Schalke moved third with a 2-0 win over Borussia Monchenglad-bach and now trail Bremen by three points, while Hertha's 2-2 draw against Arminia Bielefeld was enough to lift them to fourth.

Bayern manager Felix Magath called for a convincing home victory over Hannover, bottom of the table before kick-off, but were below-par in the first half and fell behind two minutes before the interval.

Argentine defender Martin Demichelis tried to let the ball go out of play but Jiri Stajner robbed him of possession and picked out Hungarian Szabolcs Huszti to sidefoot in.

Bayern struggled to break through the Hannover bottleneck and a Bastian Schweinsteiger header on 66 minutes was the best effort after the break.

"We found out once again that we have difficulties against defensive-minded teams," said Bayern boss Magath. "After the interval we put a lot of effort in but did not create any real goalscoring chances."

The breakthrough did not come and Bayern players trudged off with jeers ringing in their ears -- not for the first time this season.

"If you win everyone praises the tactics but I am just happy with some vital points to lift us off the bottom," said Hannover coach Dieter Heckig.

Asked on how poorly Bayern had played he replied: "It is not my job to comment on Bayern's performance -- I just want my team to do well."

Bayern's latest slip-up was good news for rivals Schalke who triumphed 2-0 over Gladbach courtesy of a comical own goal from Ze Antonio and a strike from Uruguayan midfielder Gustavo Varela.

"We have 20 points already and that represents a good start to the season," said Schalke coach Mirko Slomka. "We have kept a clean sheet away from home and I hope we can carry on like this."

Schalke are now just one point behind second-placed VfB Stuttgart who recorded a 2-0 home victory over SV Hamburg on Tuesday.