TThe difference between the tail light Schalke 04 and the leaders from Munich, who had won the duel between the traditional clubs quite clearly in the end 2-0, could not have been greater. And yet on Saturday evening in Gelsenkirchen a party was celebrated, everyone was very happy after the final whistle. FC Bayern continued their winning streak of nine wins in a row across all competitions and seem more and more harmonious.

The poor Schalke team was showered with an even greater portion of love when they said goodbye to the winter break in front of the north curve. The fans celebrated the losers for a dedicated performance that just wasn’t enough for more against these great-playing guests.

He has the “hope that things will continue like this after Christmas, then everything is possible this season,” said Julian Nagelsmann, the Bayern coach, whose team had painted some wonderful moves on the pitch. Schalke’s captain Simon Terrodde sounded similarly satisfied when he explained: “I can say for myself and for the team that we have a really good feeling that the last three games were positive”. He is “in the mood” for the rest of the season, which will continue next January. The performance of Schalke 04 was actually more astonishing than the strength of the record champions.

Two teams at eye level

In the three most recent games in Bremen, against Mainz and now against Munich, the promoted team only scored three points, but presented themselves as equal or even superior opponents. That evening Schalke defended intensively, well organized and with great concentration in most phases, so that the Munich team had a lot of trouble finding gaps in the bottom team, especially before the break. The first half hour was even a small sensation.

Two teams dueled each other almost at eye level; in the classic distribution of roles of the big outsider against individually much stronger favorites, but with a little luck Schalke could have scored a goal before the break. Marius Bülter fired from an acute angle after a breakthrough down the left flank, but Manuel Neuer saved the ball (24′).

And just before half-time, Simon Terodde narrowly missed a cross from Tobias Mohr. At some point, however, the quality of play was so great that a back-heel trick by Jamal Musiala opened up space for Serge Gnabry, who was enough to make it 0-1 (38′). But Schalke continued to defend themselves with passion and a good plan.

Only when Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting, one of four former Schalke players in Munich’s starting line-up alongside Neuer, Sané and Goretzka, finally completed a counterattack to make it 0-2 (52′) was this game decided and Munich’s dominance continued without him ailing Thomas Müller more and more overwhelming. “It was important that we stay focused, that we are there in our heads, that we don’t overdo it with any flourishes and stay focused until the end,” said Manuel Neuer, because the playful artistry of his colleagues sometimes seems a bit cocky.

Munich almost flawless

Jamal Musiala’s performance in particular was a performance for aesthetes. The Munich midfielder had set up both goals, kept coming up with new, surprising ideas and in this form is a very ambitious candidate for a formative role in the World Cup tournament. “He played an outstanding first half of the season and will hopefully play the World Cup and the second half of the season the same way,” said Nagelsmann.

After the break, the other Munich players also played almost flawlessly, only the goalkeeper Neuer made a few small inaccuracies that day, which support the thesis that Germany’s number one will not go to Qatar in his best form.

Meanwhile, Schalke can console themselves with the fact that they have developed into a real Bundesliga team in the last week before the winter break. The new coach Thomas Reis released the energies in the newly promoted team that are needed to play to stay up until the end, he gave the team defensive stability and at the same time raised the overall level of football. “The team is willing to implement things and we have found trust,” said the coach. Confidence is back in Schalke.