FC Bayern München vs Schalke 04 Match Report

I take a break from reading Cable and Deadpool to bring you, ta-da, your latest match report! See how much I love you, kiddos? That's some dedication.

The question on everyone's mind today is: what did we do differently? What was the key to our success?

I'm not sure there's any one answer - but the biggest one in my mind is that we had a shift in attitude, we were more motivated and it showed. Maybe there's just something about playing Schalke that brings it out but we were a different team today than we were against Basel.

Assorted thoughts, in bullet point form:

+ This is the Franck Ribery that we like to see. Fired up, consistent, and chasing down every ball that goes his way. If he played every match like this, we'd be in fantastic shape.

+ The defense works - most of the time. Today, we were clicking. Holger Badstuber has been in particularly good form, although I am baffled as to why he always looks so angry. Someone needs to sit down with a beer.

+ Speaking of form, Thomas Müller needs to find his. Perhaps he should go on a quest, meet some knights in a forest, and ask a favor from a wizard. Jupp Heynckes should tell him he smells of elderberries, maybe that'll help.

+ I really hope you laughed at that.

+ No, I'm not a needy blogger.

+ (Yes, I am).

+ Not much for Manuel Neuer to do but as always, props to him for keeping his cool despite the continued booing from the Schalke faithful.

+ The goal videos for anyone who missed it.

Have a great rest of the weekend, folks.

Match Report: FCB v. FCK

There's something rather comedic about watching a Bayern match with Spanish commentators. And not just because my brain seems to think it should translate the Spanish into German, because clearly, German and Bayern are synonymous. No, it's the fact that apparently all commentators who work for ESPN, be they English- or Spanish-speaking, love Bastian Schweinsteiger with a fiery passion. One might have thought he was man of the match today, listening to them talk, despite the fact that he didn't play as he's out with a ligament injury in his ankle (this would be a good time to send him healing thoughts!). But there were also some beautiful turns of phrase, including discussing the "tranquility and absolute peace" with which Philipp Lahm plays.

All in all, it was a good match. Our fullbacks proved that LVG's tendency to play people out of position wasn't all crazy, as both Lahm and Rafinha looked like wingers for most of the match because of how far forward we played. Yeah, we missed some chances (poor Arjen Robben wanted a goal more than anything), but it was a solid win and we have much to be happy about (especially since CL action resumes this week...well, not for us, but CL action resumes anyway).

Next week, we're away to Freiburg.