Returning Ribery: Bayern have themselves to blame

“We had a really strong first half and created a lot of chances but unfortunately we did not manage to score”, Bayern coach Pep Guardiola told reporters.

Bayern are now just five points clear of nearest rivals Dortmund after BVB defeated Wolfsburg in the late kick off. The performance didn’t impress captain Phillip Lahm.

Gladbach, who face Manchester City in the Champions League on Tuesday, stretched their unbeaten run under coach Andre Schubert to 10 league games and climbed to third on 26 points.

But Pep Guardiola will have an otherwise full squad to pick from as they look to secure top spot for the winter break later this month with at least a point from the game.

French star Ribery took just six minutes to make an impact after making his first appearance in over nine months for Bayern during their surprise 3-1 loss to Borussia Monchengladbach on the weekend.

Kingsley Coman should have scored in the 25th when he hit the post with the goal at his mercy after Yann Sommer saved Martinez’s initial effort.

But in the 54th minute Raffael set up Wendt for the Swedish worldwide to fire past Manuel Neuer.

This is the first time Bayern have conceded three goals since losing 3-0 at Barcelona in the first leg of last season s Champions League semi-finals.

Incidentally, Hertha’s last home defeat-a 4-1 drubbing by ‘Gladbach-was their first at Olympic Stadium this season, and they’ll be relying on their form in Berlin to beat a Leverkusen outfit they haven’t bested in their previous eight tries. “But it’s football, it goes on”.

He was perceived by most pundits as Bayern’s player of the year in 2013 when they won the Bundeliga, German Cup and the Champions League.

The Royal Blues won their first league game since downing Hertha in mid-October with goals by Johannes Geis, from a penalty, Klaas-Jan Huntelaar and Franco di Santo.

In Hamburg, Jairo Samperio scored a contender for goal of the season in the 16th.

The hosts may be unfancied against Bayern but Zoran Mamic’s side head into the fixture buoyed by a last-gasp 2-1 win over Hajduk Split in the Eternal Derby on Saturday, with Hilal El Arbi Soudani scoring a 94th-minute victor.