It had to happen eventually. After their somewhat grubby 1:1 draw at home to local Bavarian rivals FC Augsburg, champions FC Bayern München were still unable to find their form in front of goal, and were beaten by two first half goals from high-flying Hertha BSC.
The teams
Hertha coach Pál Dárdai had to do without the injured goalkeeper Rune Jarstein, who had been subbed at half time in the Berliners' previous match in Bremen. It created an interesting twist, in that it brought it ex-Bayern-Keeper Thomas Kraft. Other changes saw Max Mittelstädt, Per Skjelbred and Salomon come in for Marvin Plattenhardt, Fabian Lustenberger and the coach's son Palko.
Bayern coach Niko Kovač also rung the changes. Jérôme Boateng, Thiago, James Rodríguez, Franck Ribéry and Robert Lewandowski were all in for Mats Hummels, Javi Martínez, Thomas Müller, Serge Gnabry and Sandro Wagner.
Berlin own the Bavarians in the first half
With a new look defensive midfield trio of Renato Sanches, James and Thiago, Bayern began strongly. They had chances to score, notably from Boateng (14.) and Lewandowski (19.)
However, the opening goal would come at the other end. A header from Vedad Ibišević was brilliantly saved by Manuel Neuer, but as the loose ball rolled away Kalou made the most of a brainless slide by Boateng. The referee had no hesitation pointing to the penalty spot, and Ibišević safely dispatched it to give the home team a 23rd minute lead.
Bayern looked to respond, and again they created opportunities without being able to execute the finish. Ribéry had a chance (25.), and then in the 39th minute some lovely play from Ribéry and Alaba on the left resulted in the Austrian firing the ball sharply across the face of the Berlin goal. Arjen Robben was there to meet it, but hit it over the target.
Inevitable, it was the home side that scored next. A well engineered move saw Austrian Valentin Lazaro charge down towards the byline, a his crisp pullback was met by man of the moment Ondrej Duda. Neuer was left clutching thin air as the ball flew into thje Bayern net.
Bayern better in the second half, for no profit
Bayern were desperate now, and Hertha were able to take a more defensive shape. For the visitors, the chances continued to come. Alaba shot narrowly wide (52.), sub Thomas Müller headed over, and Kraft made an easy save from a weak Boateng header (68.)
Further chances for Lewandowski and Serge Gnabry were also foiled, and despite having 25 shots on the Hertha goal, Die Roten had nothing to show for it.
The result was Bayern's first against Hertha for nine years, and their first during an Oktoberfest since 2010, when they were beaten in Dortmund. It was also the new coach's first competitive defeat.
With just one point from an available six, it has been the poorest week in Munich for a while. They will need to pick themselves up again quickly, as they face Dutch side Ajax Amsterdam in their second Champions League group match on Tuesday.
For a fan's eye view of this match, check out my dedicated FC Bayern München blog, Red Ramblings. This is where I switch off my journalist's mode!
Result: Hertha Berlin 2 (Ibišević pen 23., Duda 44) FC Bayern München 0
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