The Bundesliga defending champions Bayern Munich had little time to recover from their 4-1 beating at Wolfsburg before they host Schalke on Tuesday night.
Pep Guardiola's Bayern team still have an eight-point lead over Wolfsburg after their first Bundesliga defeat this season, but Wolfsburg's emphatic victory exposed, not for the first time, Bayern's vulnerability to rapid counter-attacks.
Wolfsburg’s win brought to mind Real Madrid’s 4-0 win in Munich in the Champions League last season.
By giving up four goals, Bayern conceded as many as in their previous 17 matches.
Wolfsburg appear to be closing in on their target of a Champions League berth and, after 18 matches, have 10 points more than they did at the same stage when they won their only title, in 2009.
Bayern players were at a loss for words after the beating at Wolfsburg, but few believe that Bayern will squander their lead in the standings.
“Wolfsburg is naturally a rival, but we are still eight points ahead,” midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger said. “It’s all in our hands; we just have to find our game again and all will be well.”
Bayern’s two other Bundesliga defeats under Guardiola came after they had already clinched the title last season with a record seven matches to spare.
Schalke also have a problem to solve in Munich: how to compensate for the absence of Klaas-Jan Huntelaar. The Dutch striker picked up a red card late in the 1-0 win over Hannover and has been banned for two matches.
Fourth-place Schalke already have problems converting chances and Huntelaar’s absence could make matters worse.
Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting played an hour against Hannover despite having just returned from the Africa Cup of Nations, where he played for Cameroon. Kevin-Prince Boateng could be the second striker in Munich.
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