Bundesliga leaders Bayern Munich were Saturday counting the cost of their 4-1 mauling at second-placed VfL Wolfsburg with their stars insisting they must bounce back against Schalke 04 on Tuesday.

This was Bayern's first loss in the league since April and was their heaviest Bundesliga defeat since 2009 -- when they were coincidentally hammered 5-1 at Wolfsburg.

Dutch striker Bas Dost and Belgium's Kevin de Bruyne both scored two goals each on Friday to cut Bayern's lead to eight points as the season resumed after the winter break.

"It all went belly up," said Bayern goalkeeper Manuel Neuer who conceded the same amount of goals at the Volkswagen Arena as in the entire first half of the season.

"This isn't a disaster, we still have things in our own hands, but we still have a lot to do."

Neuer says Bayern must now bounce back against fellow Champions League side Schalke at Munich's Allianz Arena in the Bundesliga clash to prove the Wolfsburg result was just a blip.

"There were too many times when a Wolfsburg player was running at me completely unchallenged," said Neuer as he prepares to face his old club.

"A mid-week game is just what we need right now, we have to turn it around from here on in."

Dutch winger Arjen Robben said Pep Guardiola's Bayern must learn the lessons.

"Of course it's a shock and we have to learn the lessons from it quickly," said Robben.

The manner of Bayern's heavy defeat was more significant than the margin.

Guardiola's side enjoyed their usual 70 percent possession, but allowed themselves to be harrassed into mistakes as Wolfsburg counter-attacked and just over a hundred Bayern passes failed to find their man.

The result gives hope to the rest of the German league with Bayern having finished the first half of the season seemingly unstoppable in their bid for a third straight league title.

"It wasn't our day, but we weren't compact enough. Maybe everyone should have taken a step less," offered stand-in Bayern captain Bastian Schweinsteiger with Philipp Lahm injured.

The defeat brought back memories of Wolfsburg's 5-1 pounding on their way to the 2009 title -- having also been eight points behind Bayern at the same stage of the season -- but De Bruyne refused to see the result as an omen.

"Bayern are still Bayern and they will still win a lot of games," said the Belgium star.

Wolves are poised to strengthen their squad by signing Germany winger Andre Schuerrle from Chelsea.

"Of course they are rivals," confirmed Schweinsteiger, even if Wolfsburg coach Dieter Hecking has regularly rejected the German media's tag of his side being "Bayern Hunters"

Guardiola seemed almost excited at the prospect of a little tension entering the title race.

"It's hard when you just keep on winning. The spectators think it's easy, the players think it's easy and they coach thinks it's easy," said the Spaniard.

"Congratulations to Wolfsburg, they deserved the win.

"We need to analyse what's happened and focus on the next game."