Schalke 04 missed the chance to claim second place in the Bundesliga behind leaders Bayer Leverkusen on Saturday after they were held to a 1-1 draw at struggling Bayern Munich.
Bayern defender Daniel van Buyten put the hosts ahead at Munich’s Allianz Arena, before Schalke’s Joel Matip’s header just before halftime gave his side a point that keeps the Royal Blues fourth, while Bayern drop to eighth.
“I am very pleased both with the result and the performance, but I am a bit sad that we couldn’t take control of the game after a good opening phase.” Schalke coach Felix Magath said. “We were reacting to them rather than creating. We were under pressure in the second half, but we defended well and didn’t give away many chances, so we deserved the 1-1 draw.”
Having seen their Champions League aspirations effectively ended after their 2-0 defeat at home to Bordeaux last Tuesday, Bayern have now dropped further down the German league table leaving coach Louis van Gaal visibly unimpressed.
“Our goal was to beat Schalke, unfortunately that didn’t happen,” van Gaal said. “We didn’t play well enough in the first 10 minutes, even though we dominated. We had many chances that missed the target by only two, three or five centimeters. We have to change that. It is frustrating that we didn’t score again in the second half.”
The hosts took the lead when Munich defender Holger Badstuber swung in a free-kick, the ball spun off the back of Schalke striker Kevin Kuranyi and into the path of Bayern’s van Buyten, who tapped home on 31 minutes.
Schalke, now unbeaten in their last seven games, fought back when defender Matip jumped the highest of a posse of players when a long-ball flew in to header past Bayern goalkeeper Hans-Joerg Butt on 43 minutes.
Both Schalke and Hoffenheim missed their chance to claim second place after Leverkusen had routed Frankfurt 4-0 on Friday.
Hosts Hoffenheim took a 1-0 lead, only to see the three points snatched off them after conceding two goals in five second-half minutes to hand Wolfsburg a 2-1 win to go fifth in the table.
Hoffenheim went ahead against the defending Bundesliga champions when hot-shot striker Vedad Ibisevic got on the end of a long-ball from Brazil striker Maicosuel to head home on 23 minutes.
Wolfsburg hit back with two goals in five minutes when chief playmaker Zvjezdan Misimovic bagged his sixth goal in 12 games on 52 minutes and Brazil striker Grafite put his side ahead when he enjoyed a simple goal on 57 minutes when his shot flew in off the ankle of a Hoffenheim defender, leaving the home side seventh in the table.
VfB Stuttgart’s under-pressure coach Markus Babbel picked up his second point in as many Bundesliga matches after his side’s goalless draw with Borussia Moenchengladbach.
The result left his side 14th in the league and hovering just above the relegation zone.
In the day’s other matches, Mainz moved up to sixth in the league after their 1-0 win at home to Nuremberg, while Freiburg enjoyed a 2-1 win at VfL Bochum.
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