There weren’t any goals in the first half between Schalke 04 and Bayern Munich at the Veltins Arena, but excitement and incident were certainly not lacking. After a slow start, Bayern have taken control of the game and could be several goals ahead if not for some poor finishing and excellent goalkeeping by Manuel Neuer. Thomas Müller has given Lucas Schmitz a torrid time, but Schalke will be buoyed by Atsuto Uchida’s excellent defensive work against Franck Ribéry, who has been very quiet.
Schalke 04 And Bayern Munich Scoreless At Halftime
Bayern have had by far the better of the chances, but the first good opportunity fell for Schalke as Klaas-Jan Huntelaar headed over from Uchida’s cross after just nine minutes. Mario Gómez shot wide from four yards out after a good ball in by Toni Kroos, Neuer denied Kroos one-on-one and also palmed away a great volley from Bastian Schweinsteiger and a brilliant curling effort from Kroos. Schweinsteiger hit the post in the thirty-ninth minute and Kroos’ follow-up was blocked by José Jurado. Louis van Gaal will want more of the same good build-up play from Bayern, but much more composure in front of goal. Felix Magath’s side have to find a way of pressuring Bayern’s makeshift central defensive pairing of Breno and Anatoliy Tymoshchuk, who have performed well so far.
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