Mesut Ozil scored two goals as 10-man Werder Bremen survived a spectacular comeback from Hoffenheim to edge a nine-goal thriller on Saturday.
The hosts were 4-1 up after 30 minutes through goals by Ozil (8) Claudio Pizarro (16), Diego (21) and Aaron Hunt (30), with Hoffenheim's only response from Demba Ba (15).
The visitors answered back, however, with three straight goals by Sejad Salihovic (36), Vedad Ibisevic (62) and Marvin Compper (71) to even things at 4-4.
Bremen had Per Mertesacker sent off in the 62nd minute, but regained their focus with Ozil providing the winner in the 81st minute of a thoroughly entertaining match.
After collecting two points from their first three games, Bremen have now won three consecutive matches and are third in the table with 11 points - two points behind leaders Hamburg.
Hoffenheim could have shared the lead in the league with a victory but remain in sixth spot on 10 points.
Bremen surged ahead in the eighth minute thanks to some fine passing on the left between Hunt and Ozil, who finished off the attack with a left-footed blast past Ramazan Ozcan.
Hoffenheim equalised seven minutes later as Ibisevic supplied Ba, who beat Clemens Fritz and then goalkeeper Tim Wiese.
The home side then looked to have stamped their authority on proceedings when Pizarro nodded home Markus Rosenberg's cross, with Diego's volley extending the lead to 3-1 after just 21 minutes.
Chinedu Obasi nearly pulled one pack three minutes later but struck the post, and Hoffenheim then found themselves even further behind on the half-hour when Hunt unleashed a fierce effort from the left.
Salihovic hit the crossbar two minutes later and Pizarro cleared off the line seconds later as the visitors looked to cut the deficit.
The Bundesliga new boys did indeed find a way back into the match nine minutes before the interval when Salihovic produced a fine curling free-kick from 22 yards.
Hunt struck the right upright in the 56th minute as Bremen looked to re-establish their three-goal cushion but in fact the next goal was for the visitors as Ibisevic converted a 61st-minute penalty to make it 4-3.
Just seconds later, Bremen lost Germany defender Mertesacker, who was shown a red card for a tackle on Ibisevic.
And Hoffenheim levelled the match on 71 minutes as Compper guided a low header into the net from a corner.
But, just when the away team thought they had snared a point, Ozil finished off a swift counter-attack with his second of the game to seal the points in dramatic fashion.
