Bundesliga: Bayern Munich extend lead at top with narrow win over Schalke; Borussia Dortmund ease past Hamburg

Berlin: Bayern Munich star Robert Lewandowski scored in his 11th consecutive home league match in Saturday’s 2-1 win over Schalke to equal the Bundesliga record.

The Poland striker, who now has 26 in all competitions, has netted in all of Bayern’s league games this season at the Allianz Arena.

He equalled the record of Jupp Heynckes, Bayern’s head coach, who missed Saturday’s game with flu.

Heynckes also scored in 11 consecutive home games for Borussia Moenchengladbach in 1972/73.

Despite Lewandowski’s feat, Bayern captain Thomas Mueller scored the goal of the day in Germany to seal the win which restored Munich’s 18-point lead as Schalke drop to sixth.

With barely five minutes gone, Schalke goalkeeper Ralf Faehrmann blocked Mueller’s fierce shot, but Lewandowski was on hand to tap in his 19th league goal of the season to equal the record.

Schalke drew level when Germany midfielder Leon Goretzka, who will join Bayern next season, mistimed a bicycle kick from a cross, but Franco di Santo fired home on 29 minutes.

However, Mueller then scored one of his finest goals in the famous red shirt on 36 minutes.

He sprinted onto an Arjen Robben pass in the area, but instead of passing inside as the defence expected, fired home from the tightest of angles past the despairing Faehrmann.

“It was bitter to concede the goals, especially the second,” admitted Faehrmann.

“I thought it was going to be pulled back inside, but you can’t assume things like that against Mueller.”

Mueller said it was a lucky strike.

“Arjen played it deep, I didn’t really have time to see where to put it, I just hit it and had a bit of luck that it went in,” said the Germany star.

Bayern have now won 21 of their last 22 games in all competitions.

Batshuayi nets again

Earlier, Belgium striker Michy Batshuayi, on loan from Chelsea, scored his third Bundesliga goal in two games in Borussia Dortmund’s 2-0 home win over Hamburg.

Dortmund signed the 24-year-old on loan for the rest of the season after selling top-scorer Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang to Arsenal last month.

Batshuayi is supplying the goals after marking his debut by netting twice in a 3-2 win at bottom side Cologne a week ago.

“I’m very happy, the most important thing is we won and remain high in the table,” said Batshuayi with Dortmund third.

As promised, the Belgian celebrated with a somersault after scoring on his home debut.

US winger Christian Pulisic threaded a pass through the Hamburg defence, which Batshuayi met at the far post for a tap-in on 49 minutes.

A dull match was lit up by Dortmund’s second in the dying stages when Germany’s World Cup winner Mario Goetze netted after coming off the bench.

Dortmund’s injury-prone Germany winger Marco Reus returned after 259 days sidelined by a torn knee ligament.

The win left Dortmund third, a point behind second-placed RB Leipzig, who won 2-0 at home to Augsburg on Friday with Liverpool-bound Naby Keita hammering home a free-kick.

Frankfurt go fourth

Eintracht Frankfurt stormed up to fourth with a 4-2 thrashing of bottom side Cologne.

Ante Rebic gave Frankfurt an early lead, but Cologne striker Simon Terrode equalised with a second-half penalty.

Frankfurt defender Marco Russ headed the hosts back into the lead for his first goal since overcoming cancer in 2016.

French defender Simon Falette and midfielder Marius Wolf scored in quick succession to stretch Frankfurt’s lead to 4-1 before Terrode grabbed Cologne’s second with a header.

Bayer Leverkusen dropped to fifth after a shock 2-0 defeat at home to Hertha Berlin as Valentino Lazaro and Ivory Coast veteran Salomon Kalou scored.

Hoffenheim earned their first win in six games with a 4-2 thrashing of Mainz as strikers Adam Szalai and Andrej Kramaric scored twice.

Freiburg lost for the first time in nine league games, crashing to a 2-1 defeat at Hanover 96, whose midfielder Felix Klaus scored the winner.