Schalke 04 picked up their second win in a week and arguably their most important in years as they beat local rivals Borussia Dortmund 2-1 in the Revierderby.
Joel Matip gave the Royal Blues the lead before Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting added a second goal.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang pulled one back, but despite their efforts, Dortmund were unable to find an equaliser as they fell to their third defeat of the season after just six games, seeing Schalke not only gain the local bragging rights, but also move a point ahead of them in the Bundesliga standings.
Bayern Munich extended their lead at the top of the Bundesliga to two points with a 2-0 triumph at Cologne.
Mario Gotze scored the first before sending in the ball which Daniel Halfar put into his own goal in the second half, as Pep Guardiola's men extended their unbeaten start to the season without ever suffering at the RheinEnergieStadion.
The Bayern coach was even able to rotate his team to give players a rest for their trip to CSKA Moscow in the Champions League in midweek as Cologne showed no signs of making a recovery.
Freiburg were left still waiting for their first win of the season after being held to a goalless draw by Bayer Leverkusen, who had to play for an hour with only 10 men.
Emir Spahic was given his marching orders for a second yellow card in the 28th minute but Freiburg were unable to make the most of their extra man.
They also ended the game with 10 men, with Pavel Krmas dismissed just over 10 minutes from time, and it was Leverkusen who will feel hardest done by after failing to pick up maximum points.
Borussia Monchengladbach moved up to second place in the Bundesliga with a 2-1 win at Paderborn which extended their unbeaten start to the season to six matches.
Patrick Herrmann and Raffael gave Monchengladbach an early two-goal lead, in spite of a bright start from the hosts.
Jens Wemmer pulled a goal back for Paderborn and they pushed for an equaliser, but Lucien Favre's men held on to pick up their third win of the season.
Stuttgart picked up their first win of the season to move off the foot of the table and out of the bottom three by beating Hannover 1-0.
Daniel Schwaab scored the only goal of the game as the Swabians deservedly beat their rivals from Lower Saxony to win back some of the faith they had lost in back-to-back home defeats to Cologne and Hoffenheim.
Daniel Didavi was again the orchestrator for Armin Veh's side, proving to be a constant thorn in Hannover's side.
Wolfsburg bounced back from defeat to Hertha Berlin in midweek with a 2-1 win over Werder Bremen which compounds the woes of their northern Germany rivals.
Ricardo Rodriguez put the Wolves in front after 15 minutes, but Marnon Busch levelled for the visitors before the break.
Ivica Olic restored Wolfsburg's lead and Dieter Hecking's men had chances to put the result beyond doubt, although two goals proved to be enough to lift them to seventh in the Bundesliga, leaving Bremen languishing in 17th, one point ahead of Hamburg who have a game in hand.