Hoffenheim went back to the top of the Bundesliga Saturday after Hertha Berlin slipped to defeat at Wolfsburg and Bayern Munich were stunned in a 2-1 home defeat to Cologne, dpa reported.
Demba Ba scored a hat-trick for Hoffenheim who missed a stoppage-time penalty in an entertaining 3-3 draw at VfB Stuttgart - enough to put coach Ralf Rangnick's side back on top on goal difference.
The results could benefit third-placed SV Hamburg who will go top if they can win at fifth-placed Bayer Leverkusen on Sunday.
Midtable Cologne boosted the weekend's carnival celebrations in the city by handing Juergen Klinsmann's Bayern side a third defeat in four games since the winter break.
It leaves Bayern fourth on 38 points, two adrift of Hoffenheim and Hertha Berlin ahead of a visit to Werder Bremen next weekend.
Bottom club Borussia Moenchengladbach ended a run of eight games without a win by downing Hanover 3-2.
Struggling Arminia Bielefeld and Bochum finished 1-1, while lowly Energie Cottbus defeated Werder Bremen 2-1, and second-to-bottom Karlsruhe slipped to a 1-0 home defeat to Eintracht Frankfurt.