Bayern stay top but suffer Pizarro blow
Hanke scores two as Schalke cruise to easy 4-1 victory
Bayern Munich will be without Peru striker Claudio Pizarro for their Champions League quarter-final first leg showdown with Chelsea after he was injured in yesterday's 3-0 win at VfL Wolfsburg.
The victory, Bayern's fifth in their last six league matches, kept them top of the German Bundesliga but it came at a price with Pizarro suffering a thigh injury in the sixth minute.
He is expected to be sidelined for 10 to 12 days, ruling him out of Wednesday's first leg against the English league leaders in London and possibly the return leg in Munich on April 12.
Schalke 04, who trail Bayern on goal difference, also won easily, beating FC Nuremberg 4-1.
Bayern, chasing their 19th Bundesliga title, and Schalke, who have not won it since 1958, both have 56 points with seven matches left.
Schalke went top three weeks ago after beating Bayern but lost the leadership a week later after losing to Mainz.
Wolfsburg were stronger at the start yesterday and Bayern goalkeeper Oliver Kahn made a spectacular save to keep out a 30-metre free kick by Martin Petrov in the 14th minute.
Bastian Schweinsteiger knocked in a Torsten Frings cross to open the scoring for Bayern after 29 minutes. An own goal by Wolfsburg's Kevin Hofland on the stroke of halftime doubled their lead.
Frings headed in a Schweinsteiger cross 10 minutes after the break to complete the scoring.
"It was important that we won here in Wolfsburg because they've been strong at home," said Schweinsteiger after Bayern coach Felix Magath had called it a must-win match.
"We've got to keep the winning streak going."
Seventh defeat
It was the seventh defeat in 10 matches since the winter break for Wolfsburg, who had led the table for several weeks in the first half of the season.
In Gelsenkirchen, Germany under-21 striker Mike Hanke came on in the fourth minute for Ebbe Sand, who had suffered a broken nose, and scored twice for Schalke. Brazilians Ailton and Lincoln were also on target for the home side.
"It was important victory in a must-win match," said Schalke coach Ralf Rangnick.
"We struggled a bit early on and didn't play well until we were ahead 2-0. I wish we had kept trying to score after we went ahead 4-1."
Bayern Munich's goal difference is plus-27 while Schalke's is plus-15.