Ten-man Bayern sink rivals Schalke

Reduced to ten men for more than half of their eagerly awaited game at previous leaders FC Schalke 04, FC Bayern München were nonetheless able to secure a 2-1 success that returned them to the top of the Bundesliga pile.

This high-profile contest fell between the two legs of Bayern's UEFA Champions League quarter-final against Manchester United FC, but Louis van Gaal's side were able to put Europe out of their minds as they moved a point clear with what could prove a telling result in the title race.

Franck Ribéry put the visitors ahead from the edge of the area on 25 minutes and Thomas Müller followed up with a close-range finish moments later, before Kevin Kuranyi fired his 18th league goal of the campaign just after the half-hour for Schalke. Bayern's Hamit Altıntop collected his second yellow card four minutes before half-time, yet the hosts were unable to profit and had Marcelo Bordon dismissed in added time.

Now six points off the pace, third-placed Bayer 04 Leverkusen lost Daniel Schwaab to a 49th-minute red card and suffered their fourth defeat in five league outings, going down 3-2 at Eintracht Frankfurt despite two goals for Stefan Kiessling. They now lie only a point clear of BV Borussia Dortmund in the last UEFA Champions League qualifying spot after their pursuers beat Werder Bremen 2-1

That result also boosted VfB Stuttgart's hopes of catching Bremen in fifth, as they moved within four points by overcoming VfL Borussia Mönchengladbach 2-1. Lower down the standings, 14th-placed 1. FC Nürnberg climbed three points away from the relegation zone with a 2-0 success against ten-man 1. FSV Mainz 05, while the game between the two clubs directly beneath them – VfL Bochum 1848 and SC Freiburg – ended 1-1. Bottom club Hertha BSC Berlin triumphed 3-0 at 1. FC Köln in the late kick-off, leaving them six points from safety.