- Bayern Munich on course to clinch title in March after another emphatic win
- Pep Guardiola’s side thrash Schalke 5-1; Borussia Dortmund up to second
- Bayern now 20 points clear with 11 games remaining
- Chelsea beat Fulham 3-1 go four points clear in EPL; Arsenal lose 1-0 to Stoke
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(CNN) — Thomas Muller’s pre-match remarks could have backfired on him and his Bayern Munich teammates.
“The Bundesliga has already been decided,” the 24-year-old confidently predicted in an interview with Munich newspaper TZ. “I don’t think anyone is reckoning that we will lose six of our last remaining 12 matches …”
Make that six of their last 11 as Bayern Munich walloped Schalke 5-1 at the Allianz Arena on Saturday.
For the Bundesliga’s fourth-placed side it was a forgettable end to a miserable week.
After being taken to the cleaners by Real Madrid in the Champions League on Wednesday, Pep Guardiola’s side found Schalke’s defense in equally accommodating mood come the weekend.
David Alaba scored from a free kick in the third minute with Arjen Robben doubling the lead after a quarter of an hour.
Mario Mandzukic headed in a third in the 24th minute before Robben’s second four minutes later ended any hopes of a Schalke fightback.
Four nil had been the scoreline in the corresponding fixture earlier in the season, but Bayern weren’t quite finished.
Brazilian right-back Rafinha scored an own goal in the 64th minute to gift the visitors a goal, but 12 minutes later Schalke’s center back Kyriakos Papadopoulos was shown a straight red for bringing down Mandzukic in the penalty area.
Up stepped Robben to claim a hat-trick and round off a depressing week for Schalke manager Jens Keller.
With Bayer Leverkusen losing 1-0 at home to Mainz, Bayern extended their lead to 20 points and could be crowned champions by the end of March.
Elsewhere, Borussia Dortmund backed up an impressive 4-2 win at Zenit St Petersburg in the Champions League on Tuesday with an 3-0 win against Nurnberg.
Second-half goals from Mats Hummels, Robert Lewandowski and Henrik Mkhitaryan move Jurgen Klopp’s side up to second with 45 points.
In the other matches played Saturday, Werder Bremen beat Hamburg 1-0 while the matches between Augsburg and Hannover and Braunschweig and Monchengladbach both ended in 1-1 draws.
Chelsea extend title lead as Arsenal stumble
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