Sat Mar 1 13:09:19 2008

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Klose helps Bayern slip past Schalke

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Gelsenkirchen, Germany (Sports Network) - Miroslav Klose's goal in the 14th minute was enough for Bayern Munich to earn a 1-0 win against Schalke at the Veltins Arena on Saturday.

The win keeps Bayern four points clear of second-place Werder Bremen, who beat Borussia Dortmund 2-0 on Saturday, while Schalke drops into sixth place with the loss.

The game got off to a positive start for the visitors and they went in front inside of 15 minutes.

Franck Ribery and Bastian Schweinsteiger worked a nice give-and-go on the left, sending Ribery to the end line. The Frenchman then drove a cross into the six-yard box and Klose was on hand to chest the ball home from a few yards.

Bayern had a good chance to double its lead on the half-hour mark when a Schweinsteiger free kick was flicked towards the far post by Daniel van Buyten, but the ball skipped inches wide.

Four minutes later, Schalke came close to equalizing when Heiko Westermann's shot from outside the box took a wicked deflection off of Bayern defender Lucio and narrowly sailed past the right post.

Luca Toni nearly got his name on the scoresheet in the second half, but it was Van Buyten who should have made it a two-goal game.

Hamit Altintop drove a free kick into the box that was redirected by the head of Toni, forcing a good reaction stop from Schalke goalkeeper Manuel Neuer. The rebound fell right into the path of Van Buyten, but he headed the ball off the crossbar with a gaping net in front of him.

The home side created a pair of chances in the final 25 minutes with Marcelo Jose Bordon sending a header just over the crossbar before Rafinha was denied at close range after taking a neat pass from Ze Roberto.

A goal was not to be for Schalke on this day and the club suffered its first defeat to Bayern at home since 1998.

Karlsruher moved into the top five with a 3-1 win over Wolfsburg, Hannover claimed a place in the top half of the standings with a 2-1 victory over Nurnberg and Rostock earned a point from its match with Arminia Bielefeld as Fin Bartels scored in the 86th minute.