Bayern rout Schalke 3-0 on their way to the DFB Pokal semifinals

Advancing to the semi-finals of the DFB Pokal, Bayern Munich knocked out Schalke with a dominant performance in what had been anticipated to be a tense match. Bayern’s offense wasted no time in roaring to life, taking a 3-0 lead before half an hour had elapsed. The Royal Blues were all but run off the pitch, as Robert Lewandowski and Franck Ribery single-handedly – footedly – dashed their Pokal hopes.

Ribery and Lewandowski put Schalke to the sword

Bayern began aggressively, playing their defensive back line nearly at the halfway point, and struck almost instantly. Although all eyes were on Thiago, resuming his place in Carlo Ancelotti’s favored 4-3-3, it was Franck Ribery who stole the show. Ribery delivered a perfect assist up the middle to Lewandowski, who tore away from Schalke’s back line from on-sides and lobbed the ball over Ralf Fährmann into the net. As if playing in shock, Schalke struggled to get possession of the ball and was unable to string together any meaningful attack. Bayern continued to press, driving forward especially through Ribery.

Bayern scored again just past the fifteen-minute mark. Again, Ribery dashed forward up the middle and found Lewandowski beating Schalke’s back line. This time, though, as Fährmann closed down Lewandowski’s shot, he pivoted away and fired a cross in for Thiago, who headed the ball neatly into the net.

Down now two goals, Schalke seemed completely outclassed, as Bayern dribbled and danced around them just beyond their penalty area. And so Bayern soon made it 3-0 within half an hour: a missed pass fell to Lewandowski’s feet as he lingered in the midfield. Charging forward, he passed outside to Ribery, who drew away the defense and passed the ball back. Lewandowski put it away from the edge of the penalty area.

Schalke managed just one shot in the first half (thanks to Leo Goretzka). At halftime, Bayern led 3-0 with 64% possession and 7 shots.

Bayern cruise to victory in complete control

As the second half began, David Alaba took Mats Hummels place on Bayern’s back line as Juan Bernat came on as a substitute. Bernat immediately launched a dangerous attack, awkwardly stopped short of Schalke’s goal by Fährmann. The pace of the second half thereafter slackened considerably, although Bayern continued to drive regularly deep into Schalke’s half.

Schalke continued to struggle to get into the game. Goretzka took a second shot just before the hour mark off a bad clearance by Rafinha. He took a third shot for Schalke off a shortly taken corner kick, but all was in vain, as the ball rebounded off a wall of Bayern defenders. Safe in a commanding three-goal lead, Bayern substituted Kingslsey Coman for Ribery and, several minutes later, Joshua Kimmich for Arturo Vidal. The casual assault on Schalke’s goal resumed.

A bad match then turned into a nightmare for Holger Badstuber. It seemed harmless enough when he received a yellow card for tugging on Arjen Robben’s jersey in a one-on-one just outside Schalke’s penalty area. But the hammer fell minutes later: with Schalke on the defensive yet again, Badstuber collided with Javi Martinez, sending his former teammate crashing to the ground. The referee dealt him a second yellow card and sent him off with yellow-red.

Now three goals and a man down, Weinzierl replaced striker Guido Burgstaller with Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting. Choupo tried mightily to spark Schalke's dormant offense, but found himself almost no midfield support as the match inexorably wound down in victory for the Bavarians.

Match information

Goals: Bayern 3 – Schalke 0
Bayern: Lewandowski (3’, 29’), Thiago (16’)
Schalke: none

Yellow cards:
Bayern: Ribery (31’)
Schalke: Badstuber (74’, 77')

Bayern XI: Neuer – Rafinha, Martinez, Hummels (Bernat, 46’), Alaba – Thiago, Alonso, Vidal (Kimmich, 76’) – Robben Lewandowski, Ribery (Coman, 67’)

Schalke XI: Fährmann – Höwedes, Badstuber, Nastasic – Schöpf, Goretzka, Stambouli, Bentaleb, Kolasinac (Kehrer, 61’) – Meyer (Caligiuri, 46’), Burgstaller (Choupo-Moting, 79’)