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Makaay reaches landmark as Bayern defeat Schalke 2-0

Roy Makaay scored his 100th goal for Bayern Munich as the champions roared back into the Bundesliga title race with a 2-0 win at home to leaders Schalke 04 on Saturday.

Makaay put Bayern ahead in the third minute when he collected a Mark van Bommel pass and scored. Hasan Salihamidzic squeezed in a shot 12 minutes from time to complete the victory.

Werder Bremen missed the chance to replace Schalke at the top as they were held to a goalless draw at Energie Cottbus.

With seven games to play, Schalke are top on 53 points, followed by Werder on 51.

VfB Stuttgart are still in the running after they won 3-1 at home to Alemannia Aachen to remain third on 49 points.

Bayern are in fourth on 47, back within six points of the leaders and still in with a chance to claim a third successive league title.

Bayern, struggling to keep up in the league after taking just one point from their two previous games, were given the perfect start with Makaay's 13th Bundesliga goal of the season. It was his 75th in the Bundesliga and his 100th in competitive matches since joining Bayern in 2003, the club said.

Bastian Schweinsteiger took the ball in from the left and found Van Bommel. He then teed up Makaay to run in and clatter a shot into the top corner.

The rest of the first half was largely free of chances, as Bayern kept possession well without really threatening a second.

There was much more urgency from both sides after the break.

Makaay should have made it 2-0 in the 48th minute when he was put through on goal but this time Manuel Neuer saved brilliantly.

Neuer did well again to keep out a Lukas Podolski effort in the 56th minute and Bayern kept pushing until eventually the second arrived, with Lucio's pass setting up Salihamidzic to score.

"We're disappointed, obviously," Schalke coach Mirko Slomka said. "We thought we could get a lot more from this game but we just didn't create enough chances."

"We just didn't have the will and courage today," Schalke midfielder Fabian Ernst said. "We didn't have the heart, especially, to attack."

Stuttgart stayed in the title race with goals from Marco Streller in the 29th, Benjamin Lauth in the 75th and Cacau in the 84th. Moses Sichone scored for Alemannia in the 59th.

The league's hottest team, Bayer Leverkusen, ran its streak to four wins and a draw with a 3-1 victory against Mainz 05. Sergei Barbarez scored twice, while Bernd Schneider added a third. Mohamed Zidan scored for Mainz.

Also on Saturday, FC Nuremberg beat Hertha Berlin 2-1 while Borussia Moenchengladbach and Eintracht Frankfurt drew 1-1.
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