SAVE!! A wonderful save from Fahrmann keeps the score at 3-0! Thiago spreads the ball wide to Muller in space on the right-hand side and the German international drills a low cross into the path of Rodriguez who opens his body up and guides the ball towards the near corner from 12 yards out, but Fahrmann gets down quickly to his left to keep the effort out.
87'
Thiago Alcântara gets yellow.
Schalke win a free-kick following a foul on Bentaleb by Thiago and the referee deems the foul serious enough to warrant a yellow card.
85'
Rudy produces a lovely turn to spin away from Goretzka midway through the Schalke half but Schalke, who look as though they’re playing five at the back now in a damage limitation strategy, have enough men around the ball to just about sniff out the danger.
82'
Bentaleb is now penalised for a high boot just inside the centre circle, but Bayern are in absolutely no rush to take the free-kick.
80'
Vidal is penalised for a foul on Konoplyanka just in front of the dugouts, where both managers are still patrolling their technical areas despite the result appearing to be confirmed.
78'
F. Di Santo enters the game and replaces G. Burgstaller.
A third and final change for Schalke too now and it’s Franco Di Santo who comes on to replace Burgstaller, who’s worked hard as the lone striker.
77'
M. Hummels enters the game and replaces Javi Martínez.
A change for Bayern now as former Borussia Dortmund captain Mats Hummels comes on to a slightly frosty reception, with Martinez going off.
75'
A. Vidal has scored a goal for Bayern Munich! Assist by J. Rodríguez.
James has been outstanding on his full Bundesliga debut today and that moment of magic showed exactly why Bayern brought him into the club from Real Madrid.
GOOOOAAAAALLLLLLL!!! Vidal surely wraps up the three points for Bayern!! James shows exceptional footwork just inside the penalty box before lifting a delicate pass into the middle of the area, and Vidal runs onto it before side-footing a first-time volley past Fahrmann from 10 yards out.
73'
Bayern are knocking the ball around with ease now but the home fans are still making plenty of noise and trying to give their side a lift ahead of the final few minutes.
71'
A half-chance for Bayern now as the game starts to open up as Muller gets in behind the Schalke defence inside the right-hand edge of the penalty area, but his well-struck volley is always unlikely to test Fahrmann from such a tight angle and he watches it sail over his crossbar.
HUGE CHANCE FOR SCHALKE!! A golden opportunity goes begging for Schalke as Burgstaller is played clean through on goal, but his shot lacks conviction and Ulreich spreads himself and makes a good block with his outstretched leg.
65'
Thiago Alcântara enters the game and replaces R. Lewandowski.
Bayern are making their first change now with Thiago coming on to replace Lewandowski.
64'
B. Embolo gets yellow.
Embolo becomes the first player to be shown a yellow card, for needlessly kicking the ball away having been penalised for a push on Coman.
62'
Appeals for a penalty at both ends now as first Burgstaller goes down under a challenge from Kimmich, before Bayern break away up the other end and Lewandowski goes down as Kehrer steps across him, but the referee isn’t interested in either claim and waives play on.
60'
SAVE!! A chance for Bayern to put this game to bed as Coman shows good, quick feet to skip away from Kehrer and drive a left-footed shot towards goal from a tight angle inside the penalty area, but Fahrmann stands up tall and makes a good block.
59'
CLOSE!! Close again for Schalke as Goretzka drives forward and hits a well-struck, low effort from 25 yards which goes across the face of goal and out of play.
57'
B. Embolo enters the game and replaces W. McKennie.
A second change now for Schalke and it’s a return to action for young winger Breel Embolo, who makes his first appearance of the season having suffered a serious leg injury last year. McKennie is the man who departs.
54'
CLOSE!! Schalke do go close to getting a goal back as Caligiuri goes on a surging run in-field from the right-hand touchline before going for goal from 20 yards out, but his low, left-footed shot slides narrowly wide of the near post and into the side-netting.
53'
A third goal for Bayern would surely end this game as a contest as Konoplyanka gets away down the left-hand side looking to create something for Schalke. He doesn’t have much support though and ends up turning away from goal and the momentum is lost.
51'
OFF THE POST!!! James picks the ball up wide on the right and after cutting inside onto his left foot he swings a delightful cross in towards the near post, where Muller arrives only to turn his header onto the near post from eight yards out
49'
Schalke are trying to press the Bayern defence to force the mistake but they’re struggling to win the ball back. Bayern look extremely comfortable at the moment.
47'
Nearly a perfect start to the second half for Bayern as Coman goes on a driving run into the Schalke half before feeding the ball wide to James who puts a first-time cross in towards Lewandowski, but the Polish striker is unable to get his toe on the ball and Schalke clear away the danger.
46'
Y. Konoplanka enters the game and replaces A. Harit.
Schalke have made one change at half time, with Harit going off to be replaced by Yevhen Konoplyanka.
Kick-off! Bayern get the second half underway.
44'
James gives the ball away cheaply to Goretzka and subsequently fouls the Schalke winger midway through his own half, and Bayern just about clear the ball away from the resultant free-kick despite Kimmich completely missing a simple clearance at the near post.
42'
Bayern work the ball nicely across midfield and out to Kimmich in a wide area on the right-hand side, but his cross is too high for Lewandowski or Muller in the middle and Fahrmann is able to palm it away, albeit unconvincingly.
39'
Bayern are looking pretty comfortable in possession now that they’ve established a two goal cushion and Burgstaller is having to work pretty hard to chase the ball down as the lone striker.
29'
J. Rodríguez has scored a goal for Bayern Munich! Assist by C. Tolisso.
Assist Corentin Tolisso
GOOOAAALLLLLLLLL!!! James doubles Bayern’s lead!! The Colombian is picked out by Tolisso completely unmarked at the back post, and he keeps his cool to slide the ball past Fahrmann to score his first Bundesliga goal.
27'
Schalke certainly aren’t happy with that decision but they can have few complaints in truth as Naldo’s hand was in an unnatural position above his head as he slid in to make a block.
25'
Penalty goal scored by R. Lewandowski for Bayern Munich!
GOOOOAAAALLLLLL!!!! Huge controversy as the referee, following consultation with the video assistant, awards Bayern a penalty for handball against Naldo, and Lewandowski steps up to roll the ball into the corner from the spot.
24'
PENALTY FOR BAYERN!!
22'
DISALLOWED GOAL!! Schalke think they’ve taken the lead as Burgstaller pokes the ball into the bottom corner after Ulreich had denied Harit, but the flag goes up for offside and the goal will not stand.
21'
For the first time in the game Kingsley Coman gets the chance to run with the ball at his feet and he skips past Thilo Kehrer and into the penalty area, but he only has Lewandowski to aim for and he is unable to pick him out.
20'
Kimmich and James both leave the ball for each other and it rolls straight out of play for a throw. That rather epitomises Bayern’s start to this game as they really haven’t got going as they would have liked.
18'
Ulreich’s first real action is to try and deal with a high, hanging cross from the left-hand side and he fails to do that despite being under no pressure, but fortunately for the Bayern keeper he is able to get to the ball and pick out Rafinha with the pass.
16'
Schake are enjoying a nice spell of possession now but Bayern won’t be too worried about that as most of it is inside the home side’s half, and Bayern eventually get the ball back as Goretzka commits a needless foul inside the Bayern half.
14'
Huge appeals for a penalty from the home fans as Leon Goretzka fires a volley into the body of Javi Martinez from 20 yards out, but the referee is not interested, and in truth, the Schalke players don’t look too aggrieved either.
12'
Schalke had started this game relatively well but they were sloppy at the back on a couple of occasions there and allowed Muller to have far too much space in behind.
10'
Save!! Fahrmann is called into action once again, this time making himself big to deny Thomas Muller from a tight angle inside the left-hand edge of the penalty area.
8'
SAVE!! A wonderful save from Ralf Fahrmann as the ball is knocked back to Sebastian Rudy 30 yards out and the midfielder fires a powerful first-time effort towards goal, forcing the Schalke keeper to spring away high to his left to palm the ball away.
6'
Amine Harit skips away into space on halfway and looks to thread the ball into the path of Burgstaller, but Niklas Sule skips across well to regain possession for his side.
4'
Bayern are awarded a free-kick midway through the Schalke half following a foul on James Rodriguez by Weston McKennie, but the hosts are easily able to deal with the resultant long ball forward.
2'
An early half-chance for Burgstaller as the ball drops to him in space on the edge of the Bayern penalty area, but he can’t get the ball out from under his feet and Bayern are able to recover and clear the ball away.
1'
Kick-off! Guido Burgstaller gets the game underway for Schalke.
Hello and welcome to live coverage of the Bundesliga match between Schalke and Bayern Munich at the Veltins-Arena.
Only goal difference separates the two sides in the table, with both having won three and lost one of their opening four games, leaving Bayern sat third, just a single place above their opponents.
Schalke’s solitary defeat came at the hands of Hannover 96 in their second game, and they have since beaten Stuttgart and Weder Bremen having opened the season with a 2-0 win over RB Leipzig.
Bayern’s only loss came at Hoffenheim, the only side they failed to beat in the league last season, however they responded well with wins over Anderlecht and Mainz in the Champions League and Bundesliga respectively.
That win over Mainz ensured they remained just a point behind leaders Borussia Dortmund, and Carlo Ancelotti’s side will go top of the table, for a few hours at least, with a win today.
Subs: Nubel, Meyer, Di Santo, Konoplyanka, Stambouli, Coke, Embol
What formation Schalke ultimately resort to remains to be seen, however in Guido Burgstaller they do at least have a proven goal scorer, having scored close to 50 goals in his last four seasons in the Bundesliga.
Robert Lewandowski and Joshua Kimmich scored late goals to secure a 2-0 win for Bayern when the two sides met at the Veltins-Arena last season, although Schalke did take home a point when they visited the Allianz Arena later in the campaign.
Manuel Neuer’s foot injury means Sven Ulreich gets a rare league start in goal for Bayern, while illness to Arjen Robben as well as Ancelotti choosing to rest a number of key players, means James Rodriguez makes his first Bundesliga start for the club
The players are out on the pitch, kick-off is not far away now.
Half-time: Schalke 0-2 Bayern Munich
Bayern lead at the break thanks to a Lewandowski penalty, awarded with the help of VAR, and James’ first Bayern goal on what is his first Bundesliga start.
Schalke did have one or two bright moments, most notably when Burgstaller put the ball in the back of the net only for the goal to be ruled out for offside, but may well need to change their system in the second half if they are to mount an unlikely comeback and take anything from this game.
Full-time: Schalke 0-3 Bayern Munich
It’s all over at the Veltins-Arena and Bayern go top of the Bundesliga, until tomorrow at least, thanks to an outstanding performance from James Rodriguez, who scored one and set up another for Arturo Vidal after Robert Lewandowski had given his side an early lead from the penalty spot. That’s all from us for today, thanks for joining us and we hope you can join us again soon.
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