Schalke's hopes of securing a UEFA Champions League place were dealt a huge blow by Ingolstadt on Saturday.
The hosts ran out 3-0 winners, in what was a comfortable victory in the end. Moritz Hartmann got the scoring started with a first-half penalty.
Lukas Hinterseer added a second in added time during the first period and Dario Lezcano rounded off the scoring on a memorable day for die Schanzer.
Hartmann and Hinterseer strike first blood
Schalke began well and could have counted themselves unlucky to not lead. Leon Goretzka's chance came quickly after a half-cleared corner found his feet inside his area, although Ramazan Özcan was on hand to make a smart save. Franco di Santo then passed up a tap-in when Leroy Sané burst clear down the right; a miss that surprised the striker himself.
From there, things started to fall apart. Junior Caicara was cleverly fooled by Lezcano on the left, and the Schalke defender then got into a tangle of legs with the Ingolstadt forward. Hartmann is the penalty expert in the hosts' side, and he made no mistake once more. He slid the ball into the right corner - with Ralf Fährmann sprawling to the other side - to notch up his eighth goal of the season.
The Royal Blues managed to steady themselves before the break but they succumbed to further pressure in the final moments. Dennis Aogo looked to have hooked the ball to safety but some determined play by Danny da Costa and a quick one-two saw him break into the box. He managed to poke the ball through to Hinterseer, and the Austrian forward slotted under Fährmann to make things more comfortable.
Lezcano caps off a fine performance
The second half was a rather tame affair, and one which Schalke failed to really test the Ingolstadt defence. Sané failed to take chances when they came, more often than not due to hesitation. Johannes Geis also had an attempt from range, although it sailed over the bar.
There was only one meaningful contribution in the second half, and that was Lezcano's goal. Ingolstadt continued to harry Schalke's defence and Roman Neustätder's attempted clearance was blocked up into the air by da Costa. The ball fell kindly for their winter signing, and he kept calm to finish off the game and move Ingolstadt closer to safety.