Musiala puts on a show in Bayern's win over Schalke
Bayern took care of business on Saturday night to wrap up 2022 against Schalke. The trio of Jamal Musiala, Serge Gnabry and Eric Choupo-Moting were especially superb up front.
| Photo: Steffen Prößdorf, CC BY-SA 4.0 |
The record champions were surprisingly quiet in the first quarter hour of play, which must've pleased Thomas Reis and his squad. Bayern were still constantly circling around Schalke's penalty box, but long-range efforts from Kingsley Coman and Leroy Sane couldn't seriously challenge Alexander Schwolow.
Schalke looked fairly well-organized defensively and Marius Bülter even had a decent chance on goal in the 24th minute. Bayern began imposing their will on the last-place side as the half wore on, as Tom Krauß and Cedric Brunner were forced to save likely goals.
But then, Gnabry continued his excellent run of form with a 38th-minute goal that was set up by Musiala's back-heel. They took the 1-0 lead into halftime, where Schalke surprisingly led in xG (0.59 to 0.54).
Then, in the 52nd minute, Musiala found Choupo-Moting to complete a deadly counterattack and double their advantage. Musiala thought he scored a goal of his own in the 67th minute, but it was ruled to be offside.
Sane's 19-year-old brother, Sidi Sane, was notably subbed on for Schalke in the second half. The Bavarian club were searching for more goals, but Schalke's passionate home supporters deserve credit for continuing to stand by their team until the end of the game.
Bayern comfortably saw out the contest and the scoreline remained 2-0.
The league leaders now have a goal differential of 36, while Leipzig are second with a differential of just nine. Schalke sit last heading into the World Cup break, four points behind 17th-place Bochum.
