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Schalke rises to top of Bundesliga standings

Bayern Munich's Oliver Kahn, right, misses while Schalke 04's Martin Demichelis looks on during their Bundesliga match in Gelsenkirchen, Germany on Sunday. PHOTO: AP

Lincoln scored from a 69th-minute free kick Sunday, and Schalke moved into first place in the Bundesliga with a 1-0 victory over Bayern Munich.

The Brazilian midfielder scored against the flow of play and beat a Bayern defense that hadn't given Schalke a single chance since halftime.

"Close matches like this are often decided by set pieces, but we don't want to be on top now, we want to be there at the end of the season," Schalke coach Ralf Rangnick said.

Stuttgart moved into third place after beating Dortmund 2-0 behind a pair of goals by Silvio Meissner.

Lincoln's spinning kick over the jumping Bayern players beat goalkeeper Oliver Kahn to the left corner and sent Munich down to its fifth straight loss at Schalke's AufSchalke Arena.

Schalke, now with 53 points, moved three points clear with nine rounds left in the season, but Bayern coach Felix Magath remained philosophical after a testing week for his squad.

Bayern beat another title challenger, Werder Bremen, 1-0 on Saturday, and then ousted Arsenal on Wednesday to advance to the Champions League quarterfinals.

Raul Albiol and Riki Sanchez scored to lead Getafe over Real Madrid 2-1, leaving the 29-time Spanish champion 11 points behind leader FC Barcelona.

Barcelona leads the league with 65 points, followed by Madrid with 54, and Villarreal with 47.

Patrick Kluivert's fifth-minute strike put Newcastle into the FA Cup semifinals after a 1-0 victory over Tottenham.

The Dutchman, whose early header had ousted Chelsea from the previous round, kept the Magpies on course for a first FA Cup triumph for 50 years with a strike from Alan Shearer's run and pass.

Marvin Andrews and Fernando Ricksen scored in the last eight minutes to lead Rangers over Dundee 2-0 and keep the team four points ahead of defending Premier League champion Celtic.

Rangers now have 75 points from 30 games, while Celtic has 71 from 28.
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