On Matchday 2 of the Bundesliga, FC Bayern visited FC Schalke 04. The match at the Veltins-Arena ended in a scoreless draw.
After their convincing 5-1 victory over VfB Stuttgart in the Bundesliga opener, FC Bayern was looking to build on that momentum right away on Matchday 2. In the match against FC Schalke 04, however, Vincent Kompany rotated the lineup in several positions. Along with Harry Kane, Michael Olise also had to start on the bench.
New signing Ismael Saibari and youngster Lennart Karl took the starting spots for the two star players.
Along with Olise and Kane, Jamal Musiala was also back on the bench for the first time.
A first half with few scoring chances
The first shot of the match didn’t take long to come. Three minutes in, Lennart Karl tried his luck from distance. His attempt, however, posed no problem for Schalke goalkeeper Loris Karius.
Bayern subsequently dominated the game and controlled possession. Nathaniel Brown had the first dangerous chance. After a neat chip behind the Schalke defense, Pavlovic calmly played the ball back into the box for Brown. Brown’s deflected shot forced Karius into a strong reflex save (13th minute).
The match subsequently turned out to be the tough challenge Kompany had anticipated. The Schalke players went into tackles intensely but fairly and were spurred on by their fans.
The Royal Blues loudly demanded a penalty twice (24th minute). However, referee Robert Schröder did not blow his whistle either time—the correct decision both times.
After half an hour, Ismael Saibari had his first attempt. His shot from the edge of the box whizzed just over the top right corner of the goal.
Shortly afterward, Upamecano was shown a yellow card for a foul on Sylla. Aouchiche curled the resulting free kick around the wall to the right. Neuer saw it coming, though, and made the save on Schalke’s first dangerous shot (36′).
Then it was Bayern’s turn again! After a great through ball from Brown, Diaz found himself one-on-one with Karius. But the Colombian didn’t connect properly with the ball and squandered the big chance to take the lead (41′). The score remained 0–0 as the teams headed into halftime.
Schalke’s defense holds firm
Harry Kane entered the game at the start of the second half. Nathaniel Brown stayed in the locker room to make way for him.
In the 54th minute, Diaz squandered his second big chance. This time, Davies sent the winger on his way. Once again, Diaz found himself alone in front of Karius, whom he tried to chip. But once more, the Colombian failed to connect properly with the ball, and Kurucay was able to clear it in front of his own goal.
Kompany brought on additional attacking reinforcements in the form of Michael Olise and Jamal Musiala (57′).
In the minutes that followed, the record champions continued to pin their opponents back, though without posing any real threat. A shot by Laimer hit the side netting (64′), and time and again, the Schalke players were able to make crucial interventions.
This was the case again in the 70th minute: First, Olise was denied a shot. The ball found its way to Luis Diaz, who didn’t hesitate and fired from the edge of the box, but once again a Schalke player threw himself in the way.
Despite a clear advantage and dominance on the field, big chances remained scarce. An attempt by substitute Bischof was once again blocked for a corner (82′).
In the 87th minute, Schalke’s goalkeeper once again prevented Bayern from taking the lead. Kane’s long-range attempt was extremely dangerous, but Karius made a strong save and deflected the ball over the goal.
Despite a relentless push right up to the end, the ball simply wouldn’t go in, and the score remained 0–0.
Bayern Munich thus sits in fourth place in the Bundesliga standings with four points after two games and, for the first time in 68 matchdays, is not at the top of the German top flight.