Musiala guides Bayern six points clear with victory at Schalke

Coming into the game against last-placed Schalke, who have won only twice this season, Bayern boasted a starting XI featuring exclusively players selected for the Qatar World Cup - six for Germany, four for France and one for Cameroon.

The home side managed to keep Bayern at bay for much of the opening stanza, before a sublime Musiala back-heel put former Arsenal forward Serge Gnabry in space to score his side's first after 38 minutes.

Musiala set up his side's second after 52 minutes, with Bayern launching a length-of-the-field counter attack after a Schalke free kick. Musiala, who represented England as a teenager before shifting allegiance to Germany, assessed his options before sliding the ball to Cameroon striker Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting, who scored his 10th goal from his last nine games for Bayern.

Musiala had the ball in the net less than 10 minutes later, but the goal was ruled out for offside. Bayern manager Julian Nagelsmann hailed Musiala for piloting his side's "deserved victory". "Jamal Musiala has again prepared two goals, he has played an outstanding first half and will hopefully play both the World Cup and the second half of the season even better."

Schalke manager Thomas Reis credited "clever" Bayern and said his side would face an uphill battle after the winter break. "My team invested everything, (but) in the end Bayern were just too clever in particular situations," Reis said.

"Now we are the hunters. We will start next season in 18th place." Bayern Munich are now unbeaten in their past 22 games against Schalke, dating back to 2010 when Musiala was just seven.

 

November 12, 2022