Bayern beat Schalke 4-0 to extend Bundesliga lead

Berlin - Bayern had goalkeeper Manuel Neuer to thank as the team recorded back-to-back shutouts in the league for the first time this season

Bayern Munich extended its German league lead to seven points as Robert Lewandowski scored for the eighth Bundesliga game in a row to earn a 4-0 win over last-place Schalke on Sunday.

After title rivals Leipzig, Bayer Leverkusen and Borussia Dortmund all lost earlier in the weekend, three assists from Joshua Kimmich took Bayern a step closer toward what would be its record-extending ninth consecutive Bundesliga title.

Kimmich put Bayern on track for the win with a superb 33rd-minute cross which left Thomas Muller needing only a simple headed finish to score the opening goal. Kimmich also set up Lewandowski in the 54th when the Polish striker beat defender Ozan Kabak before scoring his 23rd goal in 17 Bundesliga games this season.

Muller headed in another goal in the 89th off a Kimmich free kick, and David Alaba made it 4-0 soon after from long range.

Bayern had goalkeeper Manuel Neuer to thank as the team recorded back-to-back shutouts in the league for the first time this season. Neuer made a series of saves in the first half and showed fast reactions to parry an angled header from Mark Uth in the 11th as Schalke threatened to score first.

Despite Bayern’s two late goals, it was a far closer game than Bayern’s 8-0 hammering of Schalke on the opening day of the season in September, testament both to Schalke’s recent improvement under new coach Christian Gross and to Bayern’s own dip in form, with two rare defeats this month.

The German and European champion’s punishing schedule will only intensify next month with a trip to the Club World Cup in Qatar and a Champions League last-16 game against Lazio.

Schalke is last in the league with seven points from 18 games and is 10 points from safety as it battles deep-seated financial problems worsened by the coronavirus pandemic. It has lost all three games since a hat trick from U.S. striker Matthew Hoppe led the team to a 4-0 win over Hoffenheim on Jan. 9 — the club’s first league win in nearly a year.

Hoffenheim hosts Cologne later Sunday in the day’s other Bundesliga game.