Bayern Munich fired an ominous warning to the rest of the Bundesliga when they demolished fifth-placed Schalke 04 5-0 on Saturday to close the gap on leaders RB Leipzig to one point.
Forward Robert Lewandowski set the Bavarians on their way by scoring his 21st league goal of the season in the sixth minute and, after they had two goals disallowed for offside, Thomas Mueller added the second just before halftime.
Leon Goretzka scored a brilliantly improvised third in the 50th minute before Thiago and Serge Gnabry added two more as Bayern completed their fifth successive league win.
RB Leipzig, beaten 2-0 at Eintracht Frankfurt earlier on Saturday, lead with 40 points from 19 games, with Bayern on 39, Borussia Moenchengladbach on 38 and Borussia Dortmund on 36. Schalke, on 33, lost ground with the top four.