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Bayern Munich v FC Schalke 04 4-1

Bayern 4 Schalke 1

Emphatic win sends rampant Reds up to third

30.04.2011

On-fire Bayern took a giant stride towards a Champions League qualifying spot on Saturday, as Andries Jonker’s men brushed aside toothless Schalke and recovered third spot in the table with a performance full of pace, power and passion.

The 69,000 full house at the Allianz Arena saw a whirlwind start, with the sides trading early goals through Arjen Robben and a Holger Badstuber own goal, before Thomas Müller and Mario Gomez confirmed FCB’s utter superiority before the break against a Schalke side seemingly preoccupied with other matters, principally their visit to Old Trafford on Wednesday.

The frenetic pace dropped a shade in the second half, but the home side never loosened their grip on the ineffectual visitors, with only Manuel Neuer standing between Munich and a bigger margin of victory at times, although even he was powerless to prevent Müller adding a fourth before the end.

The emphatic win means the champions again reclaim third place in the Bundesliga on 59 points from 32 matches, now two ahead of Hannover after the Lower Saxony side’s defeat at home to Gladbach, and five behind second-placed Leverkusen. The Bavarians will now seek to defend the Champions League qualifying berth in a tricky trip to relegation-haunted St Pauli next Saturday afternoon.

Caretaker boss Jonker made two changes to the side held 1-1 by Frankfurt last week, Badstuber covering for the suspended Luiz Gustavo, and Miro Klose making way for Robben, restored to the side after a two-match ban.

It meant Bayern lined up in a familiar 4-2-3-1 formation, with Jörg Butt in goal, Diego Contento, Daniel van Buyten, Badstuber and captain Philipp Lahm in defence, Anatoliy Tymoshchuk and Bastian Schweinsteiger in defensive midfield, and Robben, Müller, Franck Ribery and Gomez tasked with scoring the goals.

After referee Peter Gagelmann set proceedings in motion, the action came thick and fast in a gloriously entertaining opening period. Munich were a goal up on six minutes after Anthony Annan’s catastrophic error out on the right, allowing Müller to release Robben in the box. The Dutch ace held off Kyriakos Papadopoulos and stroked home, the ball taking a slight deflection on its way past Neuer in the Schalke goal.

The visitors were back on terms within couple of minutes, Jefferson Farfan’s swirling cross to the back post deceiving one and all and bouncing unluckily off Badstuber and over the line as the youngster attempted to clear under pressure from Joel Matip.

But FCB had already built up a head of steam and recovered the lead just four minutes later. Christoph Metzelder felled Robben fractionally outside the box, and although the Dutchman’s free-kick was smothered by the Schalke wall, the ball popped up invitingly for Müller to stab home.

Ribery’s deflected shot hit the side-netting as Munich poured forward, and Jonker’s men added a third before the 20 minutes were up, Robben aiming a brilliant angled ball into the box for Müller to loop a header over Neuer, with Gomez applying the final touch before the ball crossed the line.

Bayern threatened to run riot for a spell after that, but Neuer saved superbly from Müller and Gomez, Robben smashed a volley wide of the target, Müller aimed too high, and Metzelder hoiked a delicate Robben lob off the line. Jonker’s men were content to let the pace drop for the last ten minutes before the break, Ribery skewing the last chance of a one-sided half wide of goal.

Ribery fired over and Neuer saved from Müller and Robben in the first fifteen minutes after the restart, but the home side shifted down a gear overall without ever relinquishing their iron grip on the match. Müller arrowed a long-range effort narrowly wide, before Ribery saw a shot beaten out by the increasingly excellent Neuer, who leapt up quickly to block Müller’s follow-up.

Andi Ottl took over from Contento for the last 20 minutes, before the Neuer show continued with a brave save from the onrushing Robben, although the shot-stopper could do nothing to prevent Müller adding a fourth with a mix of persistence and skill on 84 minutes following a terrific break by Ribery. Toni Kroos took over from the goalscorer at the end, and Robben missed when it looked easier to score on a day when FCB were vastly superior to their opponents.

Live match report for fcbayern.de by Chris Hamley

MATCH STATS

Bayern Munich - FC Schalke 04 4-1 (H-T: 3-1)

Bayern Munich: Butt - Lahm, van Buyten, Badstuber, Contento (Ottl 72) - Tymoshchuk, Schweinsteiger - Robben, Müller (Kroos 85), Ribéry - Gomez (Klose 83)

Substitutes: Kraft, Breno, Ottl, Kroos, Klose

FC Schalke 04: Neuer - Uchida, Papadopoulos, Metzelder, Sarpei (Baumjohann 46)- Kluge, Matip (Escudero 79), Annan - Farfan, Raul (Edu 46), Jurado

Referee: Peter Gagelmann (Bremen)

Spectators: 69,000 (capacity)

Goals: 1-0 Robben (6), 1-1 Badstuber (7, og), 2-1 Müller (13), 3-1 Gomez (19), 4-1 Müller (84)

Yellow Cards: Ribéry / Metzelder, Farfan

Credit: FC Bayern Munich (www.fcbayern.t-com.de)