Bayern suffer first loss in 54 games

Augsburg ended Bayern Munich's record run of 53 league games without defeat with a 1-0 win victory in the Bundesliga Saturday.

Bayern coach Pep Guardiola rested a raft of first-team players ahead of Wednesday's Champions League quarter-final encounter with Manchester United.

Bavarian neighbours Augsburg - who had never beaten Bayern in the Bundesliga - took full advantage with a first-half winner from Sascha Moelders after Mitchell Weiser on his Bayern debut lost the ball to Daniel Baier.

"No complaints. We lost because the opponents were a little bit better than us," Guardiola said.

"We fought and tried a lot. That's football, that's sport - you can't always win. Sooner or later there will be a defeat. We accept that and now have to prepare for Manchester United as soon as possible."

In relegation tussles, VfB Stuttgart downed Freiburg 2-0 to move out of the bottom three, while Nuremberg slipped to second last after a 2-0 defeat at home to Borussia Moenchengladbach.

Second-placed Borussia Dortmund came from behind to beat Wolfsburg 2-1 to go three points clear of rivals Schalke, who drew 1-1 at Werder Bremen, while Eintracht Frankfurt beat neighbours Mainz 2-0.

Bayern, who have captured the title in record time and had won their last 10 away games, were finally defeated in a match which had offered Guardiola the opportunity to rest players ahead of United's visit on Wednesday.

Franck Ribery, Arjen Robben and captain Philipp Lahm were left out of the squad. In came reserve-team full-backs Ylli Sallahi and Weiser on their debuts, while Danish midfielder Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg started for the first time.

David Alaba, Jerome Boateng, Mario Goetze, Thomas Mueller and Dante were on the substitutes' bench.

Moelders finished with an emphatic shot past Manuel Neuer in goal in the 31st minute on a pass by Baier, who had won the ball on the right from full-back Weiser.

Goetze came on for Xherdan Shaqiri, who had a thigh problem, at half-time, Alaba replaced Sallahi six minutes into the second half, and Mueller was on for Claudio Pizarro just after the hour as Guardiola sought the equaliser.

Alaba hit the post in a spell of pressure but eighth-placed Augsburg also hit the woodwork shortly before the final whistle through substitute Raul Bobadilla.

"We didn't lose because of the young players," Guardiola said.

"Hojbjerg and Weiser were the best players on the pitch. They have trained a lot with us and know our game and know what I want."

Augsburg had beaten Bayern only once previously in 14 matches - in August 1961 before the Bundesliga was launched.

Bayern's last league defeat was a 2-1 loss at home to Bayer Leverkusen in October 2012, and the last time they had lost away from home was when they were beaten 1-0 at Borussia Dortmund in April 2012.

Bayern have now gone three games without a win for the first time since March 2011.

Guardiola's side are still 20 points ahead of Dortmund who kept sixth-placed Wolfsburg at bay with second-half goals from Robert Lewandowski and Marco Reus.

Stuttgart went above SV Hamburg on goal difference after Alexandru Maxim and Martin Harnik struck second-half goals in their 2-0 defeat of Freiburg.

Nuremberg are a point adrift after their defeat to Moenchengladbach, who go fourth ahead of Leverkusen on goal difference. Leverkusen dismissed coach Sami Hyypia following a 2-1 defeat at Hamburg on Friday evening.

Bottom side Eintracht Braunschweig - four points behind Nuremberg - host struggling Hanover on Sunday, when Hertha Berlin take on visiting Hoffenheim in the day's other game.