Bayern Munich: Five key stats from 4-0 victory over Schalke
By Daniel Garza
Bayern Munich defeated Schalke for the second time in the 2020/21 Bundesliga season in a 4-0 victory on Sunday. Die Roten registered their fourth clean sheet of the domestic campaign and move seven points clear at the top of the table. It was a great team effort that Bayern displayed in this win as the attacking and defensive units both contributed to the end result. Here are five key stats from the victory over Schalke.
Limiting Hoppe’s involvement
Schalke’s offensive star this month has been Matthew Hoppe. Entering this fixture, the 19-year-old striker had scored five goals in his last three appearances. For this reason, Bayern had to ensure high-quality opportunities did not come his way as he has been in tremendous form.
Die Roten certainly limited his involvement and impact on the match as he recorded just 23 touches during the 71 minutes he was on the pitch. He had the fewest touches out of Schalke’s starting 11 and registered zero shots. This was a key reason why Bayern was able to record a clean sheet in this match.
Kimmich masterclass
It was a phenomenal performance from Joshua Kimmich. The Bayern midfielder registered three assists to help pave the way to victory. In addition to his three key assists, Kimmich recorded an incredible 12 shot-creating actions. He was creating chances left and right which was shown in this eye-catching statistic. This was his highest shot-creating action total of the 2020/21 season to date. There’s no question that Kimmich was the deserved Man of the Match in this fixture.
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Muller takes advantage of his chances
According to Football Reference, Thomas Muller had two shots in the match and both were converted into goals. The attacking midfielder was very efficient with the opportunities that came his way. He continues to be the second source of goals behind Robert Lewandowski this season for Bayern.
Muller’s nine goals this season is his highest total in his last five Bundesliga campaigns. At this rate, he could very well be on his way to the second-highest goal total of his career in the German top-flight which would be 14 goals.
Lewandowski can’t stop scoring
Lewandowski has been unstoppable so far this season. Against Schalke, he set another Bundesliga record. According to Opta Franz, Lewandowski is the first player in league history to score in eight consecutive Bundesliga away fixtures. His 54th-minute goal helped Bayern pull away from Schalke and increase his goal total in the German top flight to 23 goals.
Neuer sets record
One of the big stories from this match was Manuel Neuer surpassing Oliver Kahn for the most Bundesliga clean sheets all time. Neuer registered his 197th shutout in the victory against Schalke which moved him ahead of Kahn’s 196. Incredibly, Neuer achieved this record in 423 appearances compared to the 557 appearances it took Kahn. The veteran goalkeeper will go down as one of the best in history and this milestone is one of the many accomplishments he’s achieved in his long career with Bayern.