Bayern Munich extended their lead at the top of the Bundesliga

Bayern lacked some of its usual intensity as Julian Nagelmann’s team cruised to victory against last-place Schalke thanks to goals from Serge Gnabry and Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting.

With players keen to avoid injury risks ahead of the World Cup, Bayern Munich stretched its Bundesliga lead to six points after a 2-0 win over Schalke on Saturday in its last game before the tournament in Qatar.

Bayern was without Sadio Mane — because of a fibula injury which has made the Senegal forward a World Cup doubt — while Canada left back Alphonso Davies has a muscle issue and Nagelsmann opted not to risk Thomas Muller after the experienced German had a run of minor injuries.

Schalke held Bayern at bay until the 38th minute when Gnabry ran onto Jamal Musiala’s smart backheel pass to score the opener. Choupo-Moting, heading to his third World Cup with Cameroon, finished off a quick counterattack in the 52nd for his seventh goal in his last seven Bundesliga games.

Bayern forward Leroy Sane’s younger brother Sidi made his league debut off the bench for Schalke. The brothers weren’t on the field together as Leroy was taken off five minutes before his 19-year-old brother came on.

Die Königsblauen struggled to pick themselves up in the final quarter-hour, failing to score a first H2H goal since February 2019 and succumbing to a ninth defeat this league season - they last recorded back-to-back wins in November 2019 under David Wagner.

On the red front, Naglesmann equals Hansi Flick’s record of 10 wins in a row across all competitions set back in the 2020/21 campaign.