Bayern Munich captain Manuel Neuer was left to rue an ineffective first half performance after the Bundesliga leaders lost their unbeaten league record this season.
First half goals by Vedad Ibisevic and Ondrej Duda gave Hertha Berlin a 2-0 victory over Bayern at the Olympiastadion.
It took Hertha level on points with their opponent and, depending on results elsewhere this weekend, Bayern could ultimately find themselves knocked off top spot.
“We weren’t 100 per cent present in the first half,” goalkeeper Neuer said, in post-match comments reported by www.bundesliga.com.
“But we were better after the break. If we had scored in the second half then we could have turned the game around.”
His opposite number Thomas Kraft said: “We played well and deserved to win.
“We had some nice moves in the first half, and obviously you have to defend well against Bayern.
“We’ve had a good season so far, so you can aim to do well at home.”
And Hertha Berlin substitute Pal Dardai added: “In terms of our physicality you could see that we are in good shape. We scored important goals.
“The team defended well and we deserved to win today.
“We are better on the ball now than we have been in the last two years. We will celebrate this weekend.”
ga('create', 'UA-72310761-1', 'auto', {'name': 'pacontentapi'});
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'referrer', location.origin);
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension1', 'By Press Association Staff');
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension2', 'df3c7786-1b05-4db0-b49f-4a5daeb7b948');
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension3', 'paservice:sport,paservice:sport:football,paservice:sport:uk,paservice:sport:world');
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension6', 'story');
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension7', 'composite');
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension8', null);
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension9', 'sport:football');
ga('pacontentapi.send', 'pageview', { 'location': location.href, 'page': (location.pathname + location.search + location.hash), 'title': 'Manuel Neuer bemoans first-half display as Bayern suffer defeat at Hertha Berlin'});
