BERLIN, Oct 17 (Reuters) - Hamburg SV and Bayer Leverkusen drew 0-0 on Saturday to remain undefeated at the top of the Bundesliga.
Both teams have 21 points from nine games but Leverkusen are top on goal difference.
Schalke 04, who won 2-1 at struggling VfB Stuttgart, stayed on their heels on 19 points while Bayern Munich notched their first victory in three games with a 2-1 triumph at Freiburg that moved them up to fifth on 15 points.
Hamburg set a frantic early pace before Leverkusen gradually found space in midfield, going close to taking the lead when Gonzalo Castro chipped the ball over keeper Frank Rost only to see it go wide.
The home team's injury woes continued when striker Tolgay-Ali Arslan limped off on 37 minutes, with forwards Paolo Guerrero and Mladen Petric already out with long-term problems.
Bruno Labbadia's Hamburg refused to give up though, surging forward again and going close through Eljero Elia and Marcus Berg.
Tunay Torun, 19, who came on for Arslan, missed the best chance for Hamburg when he failed to hit the target 11 minutes from time before Leverkusen's Sami Hyypia and Stefan Kiessling forced Rost into saves.
"We had to set the pace as Leverkusen waited for our mistakes," Labbadia told reporters. "We invested a lot but could not get the breakthrough because it's hard to replace players like Guerrero and Petric."
Quelle: guardian.co.uk
