Hamburg - Five wins in a row have taken champions Bayern Munich to within a whisker of going top of the Bundesliga table for the first time this season.

It seems to be a case of normal service resuming in German football after Bayern under Juergen Klinsmann took a long time to find their feet and little Hoffenheim were the unlikely team to beat.

On Sunday, however, the club which won promotion in successive years saw its five-game winning series come to an end in a 1-0 defeat at Hertha Berlin.

Meanwhile Bayern defeated Schalke 2-1 in a crucial game in Gelsenkirchen to move to 24 points from 12 games.

Now the Bavarians are just a point adrift of Hoffenheim and new leaders Bayer Leverkusen, who on Saturday squandered a 3-0 lead to draw 3-3 at Karlsruhe.

Bayern, who led from start to finish last season and won the league title by a comfortable 10 points, got off to a patchy start under new coach Klinsmann, who always said it would take time for his methods to take effect.

With all players now back on board following injury - particularly the mercurial Frenchman Franck Ribery - the signs are looking ominous for the rest of the league.

"We knew we'd be up and running if we won today - and that's very much the case," general manager Uli Hoeness said after the hard-fought 2-1 win over Schalke, courtesy of goals from Luca Toni and Ribery.

"It's an important win for our belief and team spirit. It's time to mobilise the whole of Bavaria, not just in politics, but in football too. I think we're all on the right track."

The victory not only puts Bayern within striking distance of the top - with a visit coming up on Saturday to lowly Borussia Moenchengladbach - but also takes them four points ahead of Schalke, who are still seen as the team most likely to challenge for the league title.

"Heading for home with all three points is very satisfying," Klinsmann said.

"Schalke put us under a lot of pressure in the first half. We had to correct a few things tactically at half-time, and we kept it a lot tighter after that, so we were a lot more comfortable down the flanks.

"Our aim is to go top as soon as possible. If we keep on collecting points like this, it's just a matter of time."

Bayern's next aim is to be top of the table by Christmas - enabling them to go into the winter break as the unofficial "autumn champions".

"It was a crucial match for the championship. We're only a point off the top now," said Italy striker Toni, who was fit again after being sidelined with bruised ribs.

"We're heading in the right direction and we're set for success."

Schalke now have a visit to Leverkusen in a match on Saturday which they can hardly afford to lose now if they want to stay in touch with the leaders.

"We played good football in the first half and created chances, but Bayern were superbly efficient. We weren't, and you don't win matches if you don't score goals," Schalke's Dutch coach Fred Rutten acknowledged.

Leverkusen meanwhile were left to reflect on their own inability to finish a game off after they allowed Karlsruhe to come back for a point after leading 3-0.

"It's an area we can improve on. We have to learn to keep calm and continue to control a game even when the opponent is putting the pressure on," midfielder Simon Rolfes said.

Of the other teams near the top, fourth-placed SV Hamburg overcame Borussia Dortmund 2-1 to move within two points of the leaders. Martin Jol's side now visit fifth-placed Hertha Berlin needing an improvement on away form after two successive 3-0 defeats on their travels.

Last season's runners-up Werder Bremen, however, still can't get going, a 0-0 draw in Bochum leaving them firmly in mid-table. However, there was a marked improvement on the performance shown last Tuesday in a 3-0 Champions League home defeat to Panathinaikos.

It was "a good performance from us but not a great one," said sports director Klaus Allofs. "We have a lot of work ahead of us over the coming weeks." (dpa)