Soccer

Bundesliga Wrap, Week 23: Bayern Munich crush Schalke, Borussia Dortmund rise to second

Bayern Munich added to Schalke’s misery on Saturday, while Borussia Dortmund easily beat Nürnberg to move back into second place.

by Phillip Quinn

Mar 2, 2014, 8:00 PM UTC

Alexander Hassenstein

Matchday 23 in the Bundesliga has come and gone, and one thing remains the same: Bayern Munich are still the best team in the league. The Bavarians stretched their lead at the top of the table to a full 20 points and are well on their way to breaking the record for winning the title at the earliest matchday that they set last season.

Bayern showed zero mercy to Schalke and sent Die Königsblauen to their second big defeat in a few days. The goals came early (Third minute!) for FCB, and the 5-1 scoreline would have been much worse if not for some world class saves from Ralf Fährmann. Arjen Robben grabbed a hat trick, and Bayern also received goals from David Alaba and Mario Mandzukic. Schalke's goal was also scored by Bayern. Rafinha grabbed an own goal when he deflected a Schalke corner past Manuel Neuer.

After dropping down into fifth place at one point earlier in the season, Borussia Dortmund are back in second after an impressive 3-0 victory over Nürnberg. Mats Hummels marked his first appearance in a month with a goal, and Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Robert Lewandowski added goals of their own. The title is out of reach, but they're not six points ahead of fifth place Wolfsburg

Speaking of Wolfsburg, Die Wölfe suffered an awful 6-2 defeat to Hoffenheim on Sunday afternoon. The opportunity to pass Schalke and move into the fourth and final Champions League place awarded to the Bundesliga was there for the taking, but Wolfsburg just laid down for Hoffenheim. To make matters worse for Dieter Hecking’s team, Luiz Gustavo will be suspended for their match next weekend against Bayern Munich after picking up a suspension due to yellow card accumulation.

On the relegation front, the bottom four clubs are now separated by four points with Freiburg and Eintracht Braunschweig picking up a point this weekend. Former Bundesliga heavyweights Hamburg and Stuttgart look like they will be in the fight of their lives to avoid being sent down to the 2.Bundesliga.