Bayern Munich 6-0 Schalke: Gnabry brace keeps champions on track for title

Serge Gnarby scored a deadly double as Bayern Munich kept their grasp on the Bundesliga title race with a 6-0 rout against relegation-threatened Schalke at Allianz Arena.

Thomas Tuchel's side claimed a comfortable win to go four points clear at the top on Saturday, although Borussia Dortmund could slice that gap when they host Borussia Monchengladbach later on.

Thomas Reis' visitors offered little as Thomas Muller's pinpoint finish and a Joshua Kimmich penalty placed Bayern in full control before the half-time whistle in Bavaria.

Gnabry's brace after the break prefaced late strikes for Mathys Tel and Noussair Mazraoui, further compounding Schalke's misery, as the hosts continued their charge towards an 11th straight title.

Having handed Schalke an 8-0 thrashing on their last visit to Munich in 2020, Bayern looked like they might repeat that feat after Muller, Gnabry and Kingsley Coman all missed early chances.

The visitors saw their resistance broken 21 minutes in however when Muller curled Leroy Sane's deft ball into the bottom-left corner, before matters worsened.

A VAR check awarded Bayern a penalty eight minutes later for a stray Cedric Brunner elbow on Jamal Musiala, with Kimmich sending Alexander Schwolow the wrong way from the spot.

Gnabry inflicted further damage after the interval, seizing Joao Cancelo's cut-back pass to drill past Schwolow, a quarter-hour before he rounded him for a second.

Tel added a late fifth from Musiala's pass to further pad the scoreline, before Mazraoui capitalised on torrid defending for a final strike in injury-time.

What does it mean? Bayern stay on track

Bayern are not used to being pushed so close in the Bundesliga title race, with one point separating Tuchel's team and Dortmund before the weekend's games.

But a dominant performance against their under-fire visitors has helped them keep on-track for yet another top-flight title in this taut contest.

Glorious Gnabry

The Germany international continued to ride the wave of his scoring hot-streak as he found the back of the net twice in the second half.

He has now scored in three straight Bundesliga games and netted his ninth goal against Schalke overall, having only scored more in the Bundesliga against against Koln (11).

Sorry Schalke's Bayern struggles persist

Schalke had won three of their last four league matches to lift them marginally clear of the relegation zone, but it was unfortunate business as usual in their latest trip to Munich.

They have now lost their last 12 games against Bayern, their longest losing run against a single opponent in German professional football.

What's next?

Bayern host RB Leipzig next Saturday, while Schalke kick-off at home to Eintracht Frankfurt three hours earlier.