After a lackluster opening 45 minutes, Bayern Munich scored three goals in 19 minutes to win 3-0. Robert Lewandowski completed a second-half brace with Arturo Vidal rounding off the scoring. This defeat for Schalke though, means that they remain in seventh and outside a European spot.
Dull first 45 minutes
The first chance of the net fell to Bayern Munich in the third minute of play. Douglas Costa managed to take the ball away from a Schalke defender inside the area. The Brazilian hit his shot first-time, but it sailed over the crossbar causing no harm in the end.
Schalke then started a counter through Klaas-Jan Huntelaar on 10 minutes. With a defender starting to close him down, Huntelaar had an attempt from outside the box. His effort though, was weak and Manuel Neuer had no trouble collecting it.
Bayern's David Alaba, at the young age of 23, is already regarded as one of the best left backs in the game. His awareness is second to known and always seems to be in the best position to stop impending danger. In the 24th minute of the match, Alaba put this on full display. Schalke were countering in numbers with pace. Huntelaar tried to slip the speedy Leroy Sane in behind the defense. The Austrian international though, tried stepped in the way to block the pass.
This match started out pretty . On the half hour mark, the hosts had the best opportunity to go in front. Rafinha had the ball near the byline before crossing back towards the middle of the penalty box. Robert Lewandowski rose to meet the delivery and nodded it downwards. Ralf Fährmann managed to react quick enough to stop the shot with a strong right hand.
Bayern came out with more energy starting the half with Pep Guardiola's words still ringing in their ears. Kingsly Coman and Mario Götze had their attempts saved. Arturo Vidal had a fantastic chance miss the target by mere inches. The fans, who had little to cheer about in the opening 45 minutes, could sense something was brewing.
Bayern score three quick goals
Finally, though, in the 54th minute, the goal came. Vidal headed redirected pass towards Robert Lewandowski inside the area. Lewandowski chested the ball down, turned and fired his shot between the legs of Joël Matip. In one quick motion, the Polish striker managed to also beat the Schalke goalkeeper at the far post.
The Bundesliga champions elect always seem to pick out a goal out of nowhere. And ten minutes after they scored their first goal, Munich doubled their lead. Coman waited for the Rafinha to make his overlapping run before feeding him the ball. He hit a first-time cross straight on the head of Lewandowski who redirected it into the back of the net. This completed his brace in ten minutes after being quite invisible in the opening 45 minutes.
Bayern Munich completed the route of Schalke 17 minutes from full time. Frank Ribéry, who had been on the pitch for all but five minutes, started the move. He worked his way in from the left, dancing between Schalke defenders. At one point, the ball deflected away from him, but got it back immediately. The veteran winger then poked a pass towards the penalty spot. Vidal made a darting run to get on the end of it and found the back of the net to make it 3-0.
Comping Up
Even though the season is winding down in a few weeks, Bayern still have important football matches left to play. They have a midweek DFB Pokal match against Werder Bremen on Tuesday before facing off with Atletico Madrid the following week in the Champions League.
Meanwhile, Schalke will welcome in Champions League hopeful Bayer Leverkusen to the Veltins-Arena next Saturday evening.