Bayern Munich stumbled unexpectedly in the German Bundesliga, settling for a goalless draw against hosts Schalke today, Saturday, at the "Veltins Arena", in the second round of the competition.
The result lifts the Bavarian giants to 4 points and 4th place in the Bundesliga table, two behind Freiburg, Borussia Dortmund and Eintracht, who share top spot on 6 points.
Schalke, meanwhile, put their first point on the board and climbed to 14th.
Bayern had arrived in high spirits. They opened their title defence with a thumping 5-1 win over Stuttgart, then repeated the trick in the German Cup, seeing off Osnabrück 4-1.
This time, though, they couldn't find the net. That came despite the huge gap in resources between the two sides, 83% possession and 15 shots on target, 5 of which struck the posts and crossbar.
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Vincent Kompany rang the changes from the Bundesliga opener. The most eye-catching was the inclusion of Moroccan international Ismaël Saibari in the starting eleven, rewarded after two assists off the bench against Stuttgart in the first round and a start against Osnabrück in the German Cup.
Saibari made way in the 57th minute for his French teammate Michael Olise.
For Schalke, the clash carried special significance. It was their first Bundesliga match at the "Veltins Arena" in more than 3 years, following their return to the elite.
They had lost their opening game of the season against Augsburg (0-3).
The champions' stumble comes just days before their European bow. They host Norway's Bodø/Glimt next Thursday at the Allianz Arena in their opening Champions League fixture.
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