Schalke 04 were denied top spot in the Bundesliga when they were held 2-2 at Hamburg yesterday after substitute Jonathan Pitroipa scored a late equaliser for the hosts.

Needing a win to overtake leaders Bayern Munich, Schalke fell behind to an opportunist goal from Ruud van Nistelrooy five minutes before half-time, the Dutchman's third in the Bundesliga since his move from Real Madrid.

Kevin Kuranyi levelled just after the hour with his 15th league goal of the season and Ivan Rakitic put Schalke ahead with a penalty, only for Burkina Faso forward Pitroipa to level with 13 minutes left.

Bayern, beaten 2-1 at Eintracht Frankfurt on Saturday, stayed top with 56 points from 27 games but their lead over Schalke was cut to one point.

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:
Please select at least one mailing list.

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.