European football: Bayern stay top after hitting Schalke for six, Spezia stun Milan
Bayern Munich powered past struggling Schalke 6-0, with two goals from Serge Gnabry, to close in on their 11th straight Bundesliga crown with two games remaining.
Thomas Müller, whose future at the club has been in doubt since his benching with the arrival of Thomas Tuchel in March, opened their account in the 21st minute and Joshua Kimmich doubled their lead eight minutes later with a well-struck penalty.
Bayern picked up where they had left off after the break and Gnabry drilled in his shot in the 50th after João Cancelo’s superb early work in the box.
Gnabry then made it 4-0 with a dizzying sprint in the 65th before the substitute Mathys Tel also got on the scoresheet from a Jamal Musiala assist. Tel then turned provider for Noussair Mazraoui in stoppage time to make it half a dozen goals for the hosts.
Bayern are on 68 points and have two games left to play. Their closest rivals, Borussia Dortmund, sit one point behind on 67 after beating Borussia Mönchengladbach 5-2 in the day’s late game.
The hosts went in front after five minutes when Donyell Malen nodded in from close range. Jude Bellingham slotted in a penalty in the 18th minute beforeSébastien Haller’s spectacular backheel flick made it 3-0 just two minutes later.
Haller added another goal with a well-timed volley from Malen’s cutback before Ramy Bensebaini pulled a goal back with a penalty in the 75th minute.
Gladbach further cut the gap with Lars Stindl’s low drive five minutes before the end but Gio Reyna struck again for the hosts with the last kick of the game. Dortmund travel to Augsburg next weekend while Bayern face Champions League hopefuls RB Leipzig.
Two second-half goals secured lowly Spezia a shock 2-0 home win over Milan in Serie A on Saturday, condemning Stefano Pioli’s side to their first league defeat in two months and denting their top-four hopes.
The defender Przemyslaw Wisniewski and the midfielder Salvatore
Esposito helped Spezia earn their first win in nine games and move them closer to safety.
Milan, who lost 2-0 at home to Internazionale in the first leg of their Champions League semi-final on Wednesday, had clear chances to take the lead in an entertaining first half when Sandro Tonali hit a post and a powerful shot from Theo Hernández was saved by Bartlomiej Dragowski.
Spezia took a surprise lead in the 75th minute after a corner, when Kelvin Amian’s header bounced off the post and Wisniewski netted the rebound. Esposito sealed the win for Spezia with a stunning free-kick that flew into the top left corner five minutes from time.
Two goals by Romelu Lukaku helped Internazionale to a 4-2 win over mid-table Sassuolo, lifting them up to third with three games remaining.
Lukaku fired home from long range to give Inter the lead late in the first half before Sassuolo defender Ruan Tressoldi doubled Inter’s lead with an own goal.
Lautaro Martínez made it 3-0 from distance but Sassuolo pulled two goals back through Matheus Henrique and Davide Frattesi to keep Inter on their toes until Lukaku sealed the win with a close-range finish one minute from time.
Inter moved on to 66 points, one ahead of fourth-placed Lazio and five more than neighbours Milan.
Atalanta dropped one place to seventh after losing 1-0 at 15th-placed Salernitana who sealed the win in stoppage time through the midfielder Antonio Candreva.
Marco Asensio’s goal earned Real Madrid a 1-0 victory over lowly Getafe in La Liga as they rested key players before their Champions League semi-final against Manchester City on Wednesday. The win lifted Real to 71 points, two ahead of Atlético who play at bottom side Elche on Sunday but 11 behind leaders Barcelona.
Meanwhile Real have lost a €400m (£350m) court battle with the Abu Dhabi sovereign investor Mubadala over the proposed sponsorship of the Santiago Bernabéu, sources with knowledge of the case have told Reuters.
Madrid had claimed the money because it said Mubadala had failed to honour a sponsorship deal under which it would acquire rights to name the stadium for 20 years. An arbitral tribunal under the court of international trade in Paris has ruled that delays and changes in the redevelopment of the ground meant the sponsorship deal had expired, the source told Reuters.
Paris Saint-Germain edged closer to a record 11th French title when they beat AC Ajaccio 5-0 at home, sending the Corsican side into Ligue 2 as Lionel Messi faced the wrath of the Parc des Princes.
Messi, who started after a clubimposed suspension for missing training last month, was booed by the fans before and during a one-sided encounter that took PSG to 81 points with three games left, thanks to goals by Fabián Ruiz, Achraf Hakimi, a double by Kylian Mbappé and Mohamed Youssouf’s own goal.
Both teams finished with 10 men after Hakimi and Ajaccio’s Thomas Mangani were sent off late in the game.