Choupo-Moting strikes again as Bayern down Schalke

Schalke 0-2 Bayern
Goals: 0-1 Gnabry 38’ (assist: Musiala), 0-2 Choupo-Moting 52’ (assist: Musiala)

With Bayern’s lead at the top of the Bundesliga cut to three points by Leipzig before kick-off, the ball was back in Julian Nagelsmann’s court as they faced a Schalke side boosted by only their second win of the season in midweek. That success put the Royal Blues in a more positive mood and they showed no fear of the league leaders, though they had Alexander Schwolow to thank for keeping them on terms. He turned a Choupo-Moting effort onto the post and wide as the former Royal Blue went within a whisker of opening the scoring ten minutes before the break. The deadlock remained only for a few more minutes, however. After his midweek hat-trick, Gnabry added to his growing haul for the season by drilling in a low shot from Jamal Musiala’s speculative backheel assist to give the Bavarians the advantage.

Schalke’s hopes of a second-half recovery soon suffered a setback as Choupo-Moting doubled the visitors’ leads within a matter of minutes of the restart. Musiala did all of the groundwork, dribbling the ball menacingly towards the Schalke defence and choosing just the right moment to unleash Choupo-Moting to his left, and the rest – especially given the Cameroonian’s current form – was history as he beat Schwolow in the blink of an eye. The offside flag prevented Musiala from getting his name in the scorers’ column midway through the second half, though the young German schemer had done enough damage with his two assists. As a result Bayern picked up maximum points for the sixth league game in a row, and 10th in all competitions, to head into the World Cup break with daylight between them and the chasing pack at the top of the table.

• Schalke are winless in their last 22 matches against Bayern, taking only three draws in that period.
• Choupo-Moting has scored ten goals in his past nine games; the last time he scored six or more goals in a single Bundesliga season was when wearing a Schalke shirt, in the 2015/16 season.
• Gnabry has four goals in his last two games, and six in his last six outings.
• Musiala made his 100th competitive appearance for Bayern. A teenager has never before achieved this milestone for the record champions.
• The 19-year-old has six assists in 15 games – more than he has previously managed across an entire season.

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Watch: Musiala: "Important to win before the World Cup break"

Schalke: Schwolow - Brunner (Aydin 75'), Matriciani, Yoshida, Mohr (Kolodziejczak 66') - Kral, Krauß - Karaman (Larsson 59'), Drexler (Latza 75'), Bülter (Sane 65') - Terodde (c)
Unused subs: Fährmann, Flick, Mollet, Polter
Out: Cisse (muscular), Greiml (meniscus), Kaminski (calf), Ouwejan (knee), van den Berg (ankle), Zalazar (metatarsal)
Coach: Thomas Reis

Bayern: Neuer (c) - Pavard, Upamecano, Hernandez (Sabitzer 72') - Gnabry, Kimmich, Goretzka (Stanisic 72'), Coman (Gravenberch 80') – Musiala (Wanner 79'), Sane (De Ligt 60') – Choupo-Moting
Unused subs: Ulreich, Tel, Mazraoui
Out: Davies (thigh), Mane (fibula), Müller (hip), Sarr (patella tendon)
Coach: Julian Nagelsmann

Watch: Nagelsmann on Bayern's plans over the winter break