Brilliant Bayern back to their best

Talk of a crisis at Bundesliga leaders FC Bayern München was silenced as they thrashed title pretenders FC Schalke 04 3-0 on Sunday.

Schalke stunned
A 2-1 home defeat by Hamburger SV - Bayern's first at the Fußball Arena München - and a 4-1 UEFA Champions League rout at AC Milan had seemingly left the German champions rocking, but they rolled over Schalke in impressive style to restate their title credentials. "Everyone knows recent results have dented our confidence, so it was no surprise we were nervous at the start and hardly put together a move," said coach Felix Magath. "We slowly got into the match before half-time. Taking the lead released a lot of the pressure, and after that we played like the league leaders."

Untidy finish
A victory in Munich would have left third-placed Schalke with a slender chance of mounting a late title challenge, but while they tested their hosts in a tense opening period, a Willy Sagnol free-kick converted untidily by midfielder Hasan Salihamadžić (45) steadied their nerves. "I got a mix of head and shoulder on the ball for my goal," said the Bosnia-Herzegovnian. "Taking the lead was important, and we played well in the second half as a result. In the second half we showed them who's boss."

Confidence boost
Goals from Claudio Pizarro (56) and Roy Makaay (89) completed the victory as Bayern moved six-points clear of second-placed Hamburg. "Roy and I have both scored today, which is good for our confidence," said Pizarro. "It's not been easy for us recently, but we were at home on a new pitch and played well." Schalke, the only German club left in European competition after being drawn against PFC Levski Sofia in the UEFA Cup quarter-finals, now look resigned to battling for nothing more than a 2006/07 UEFA Champions League place for the remainder of their domestic campaign.

Slomka magnanimous
"Bayern had already taken control before half-time, then we conceded early in the second half and Bayern never looked like losing afterwards," said Schalke coach Mirko Slomka. "It would have taken a miracle to get anything from the game after that." Midfielder Fabian Ernst added: "The longer it went on, the more we faded. We attacked in the first half hour, but eased up afterwards. Bayern kept it tight at the back, and we couldn't find a way through. It might have been a question of stamina, or perhaps we weren't creative enough."