week 29 - match report
Schalke stay in contention after 1-0 win in Munich
The Royal Blues maintained their impressive run of form with a 1-0 victory at Bayern Munich on Saturday afternoon and have now won four games in succession, scoring nine times without reply. Both teams were reduced to ten men by red cards, an indication of the intensity with which the game was played.
Schalke started with an unchanged side in the wake of last week's 4-0 trouncing of Energie Cottbus. Bayern meanwhile went into the game at the Allianz Arena as favourites to defend the league title they won last season. The recent head-to-head record also favoured the home side, with Schalke without a win in Munich since October 2004, when Bayern were still at the Olympic Stadium.
And the Munich side began as if they wanted to extend their run of success as soon as possible, pinning the Royal Blues back on the edge of their own penalty area. Schalke's occasional forays forward posed little threat for Bayern's solid defence. But having survived the opening quarter of an hour Schalke began to grow in assurance and they were soon to be rewarded. Bayern boss Jürgen Klinsmann felt that Schalke's 21st minute opener by Halil Altintop had come "totally out of the blue", and even Schalke coach Mike Büskens had to admit that "Bayern were on the verge of scoring themselves but the goal didn't come, which worked to our advantage."
Be that as it may, the Royal Blues were one-nil up. Bayern were left chasing the game and they struggled to find their rhythm. The proceedings became increasingly scrappy and punctuated by fouls, which was reflected in the number of cards Herbert Fandel had to brandish. Jermaine Jones and Franck Ribery were two of the players to enter the referee's notebook. And when Jones felled Mark van Bommel in the 70th minute, a second yellow brought him an early bath. Bayern's numerical advantage lasted just six minutes, however, as Ribery's afternoon come to an equally inglorious end following a string of niggling fouls.
The home side threw everyone forward in a bid to stave off the impending defeat, but neither they nor Schalke, who continued to threaten on the break, saw their efforts reflected on the scoreboard. "We had several opportunities, of course, but the ball didn't want to go in", summarised a disappointed Klinsmann. This was largely down to Manuel Neuer, who just got his fingertips to the ball to deflect a Hamit Altintop effort over the bar, which proved to be the final shot of the game. With Schalke's first win over Bayern in 4½ years safely in the bag, Büskens hailed the outstanding team performance that saw his side earn another three points: "The lads dug really deep and fought for each other for 90 minutes. Before the game we set out to follow the example of Bremen and Cologne and become the third team to come here and win." No sooner said than done. "I'm proud once again that the players have presented themselves in a manner we have a right to expect from Schalke 04", he added.
The concluding remarks of both coaches showed how different the objectives are. "Days like today are obviously very painful", said Klinsmann, whose team have lost vital ground in the title race. "If Wolfsburg beat Cottbus on Sunday, it won't look good for us." Schalke, for their part, are now hot on the heels of title chasers Bayern, Stuttgart and Hamburg, who hold a five-point advantage in the battle for the European places. "We'll keep trying to play successful football", said Büskens, "and we'll see what happens come the end of the season."
Bayern Munich: Butt - Lell (Borowski 74'), Lucio, Demichelis, Lahm - Sosa (Hamit Altintop 69'), Ottl (Podolski 46'), Van Bommel, Ze Roberto - Ribery – Toni
Schalke: Neuer - Rafinha, Westermann, Krstajic, Pander (Engelaar 71') - Kobiashvili, Jones - Halil Altintop (Höwedes 65') - Farfan, Kuranyi, Sanchez (Asamoah 88')
Goal: 0-1 Halil Altintop (21')
Yellow cards: Van Bommel (5/4), Borowski (5) - Krstajic (3), Sanchez (2), Rafinha (10/1)
Red cards (second yellow): Jones (persistent foul play, 70'), Ribery (persistent foul play, 76')
Referee: Fandel (Kyllburg)
Attendance: 69,000 (sold out)
