BERLIN: Schalke 04’s stars admitted they were left reeling after suffering their worst home league defeat in 32 years having gone down 4-0 to Bayern Munich.
The Royal Blues’ defeat to Pep Guardiola’s Bayern on Saturday was their heaviest in Gelsenkirchen since losing 6-0 to Bochum in May 1981 and was their worst since moving to the Veltins Arena 12 years ago.
For the opening 20 minutes, Schalke matched Bayern, but undid their good work when midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger, then striker Mario Mandzukic were left unmarked to head home within 60 seconds of each other.
Schalke were 2-0 at the half-time break before Franck Ribery and Claudio Pizarro added second-half goals, leaving Schalke captain Benedikt Hoewedes talking about a “difference in class”.
“If you go into the half-time break 2-0 down against a team like Bayern Munich, then it is of course extremely difficult,” said centre-back Hoewedes.
“We tried everything to turn things around, but in the end, you have to acknowledge that Bayern deserved to win.
“It’s not enough to just play well for 20 minutes.”
Schalke’s four-matching winning strea was ended in abrupt fashion as Guardiola’s Bayern enjoyed 70 percent possession.
“When you’re 2-0 down and chasing after the ball like an idiot, it’s pretty demoralising,” said Schalke left-back Dennis Aogo.
AFP
