German Bundesliga News of the day:
Schalke 04 : Bayern Munich 0:4
Bayern Munich moved level on points with Bundesliga leaders Borussia Dortmund on Saturday with a 4-0 win over Schalke at the Veltins Arena.
Bastian Schweinsteiger and Mario Mandzukic put Bayern two goals to the good after 22 minutes before Franck Ribery and Claudio Pizarro added further strikes in the second half to extend their unbeaten run in the Bundesliga to 31.
Both sides enjoyed winning starts to their UEFA Champions League campaigns in midweek and made one change from their European outings, with Schalke bringing in Jermaine Jones in place of Marco Hoger.
The champions named Schweinsteiger in their starting line-up, with Thomas Muller dropping to the bench.
David Alaba almost made it two goals in four days after nine minutes, flashing a free-kick just wide for the visitors, before Toni Kroos curled over from inside the box on what was his 150th Bundesliga appearance.
Adam Szalai should have opened the scoring 16 minutes in, but he failed to connect sufficiently with a Kevin-Prince Boateng cross and Bayern were able to clear.
But the visitors did edge ahead 21 minutes in courtesy of the returning Schweinsteiger.
Arjen Robben's corner found the unmarked midfielder, who headed into the far corner of the goal beyond the despairing lunge of defender Astuto Uchida on the line.
Mandzukic doubled Bayern's lead just a minute later, again through a header, this time from Alaba's delivery.
The Croatia international's effort beat Timo Hildebrand before striking Benedikt Howedes on the line and dribbling in.
Schalke had not conceded in three games going into Saturday's clash and will have been relieved to see Robben's strike deflected wide just short of the half-hour mark.
Mandzukic shot over from inside the area after good work from Robben on the right, six minutes after the break, as Pep Guardiola's side pressed for a third.
While the hosts had plenty of possession, they were unable to make it count, with their final ball letting them down as they searched for a way back into the game.
Boateng's off-target header from a Julian Draxler cross just after the hour was their first opportunity of the half but Bayern's lethal touch was soon evident again on 74 minutes.
Alaba played the ball across the box into the path of the arriving Ribery and, despite a less-than-perfect touch from the France international, the ball rolled past Hildebrand to put the visitors 3-0 up.
Pizarro added a fourth seven minutes from time with a simple tap-in after good work from fellow substitute Muller, as Bayern made it five wins from six in the league this season.
They share the same points and goal difference as Dortmund, who were held 1-1 by Nuremberg.
Nurnberg : Dortmund 1:1
Dortmund boss Jurgen Klopp had no complaints after his side were held to a 1-1 draw by Nurnberg on Saturday.
The
Schwarzgelben had gone into the game with a 100 per cent record in the Bundesliga and took the lead through Marcel Schmelzer eight minutes before the break.
However, Per Nilsson equalised just after half-time and Dortmund, who left Robert Lewandowski, Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Nuri Sahin on the bench after their exertions in the Champions League in midweek, were ultimately forced to settle for a share of the spoils.
"We did not want them to overwhelm us, so we tried to bring some freshness to the starting line-up," Klopp is quoted as saying by his club's official website.
"So we are not unhappy with the point. It was an intense game with many duels.
"After the break, we had to make two changes again and we had a weaker period in which we clearly did not defend well enough.
"But we came back into the game well after conceding a goal and had some really great chances.
"But it was a fair result. The Bundesliga is a tough business and my team fought well today."
Up next for Dortmund is a DFB-Pokal meeting with 1860 Munich on Tuesday.
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ULI1234