Bayern Munich’s attacking form this season has been the best the Bundesliga has seen in over three decades.
Hansi Flick’s side doled out a footballing lesson to would-be title challengers Schalke at the Allianz Arena on Saturday, moving within a point of leaders RB Leipzig with a 5-0 win.
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Robert Lewandowski, Thomas Muller, Leon Goretzka, Thiago and Serge Gnabry scored, while Muller also had a first-half effort ruled out by VAR for offside.
The win took Bayern to an astonishing 55 goals in 19 games – four more than Leipzig and Borussia Dortmund, and the most in the Bundesliga for 34 years.
Bayern reached the 19-game mark with two goals fewer than the 57 in 19 games scored by Werder Bremen in the 1985-86 season. Werder finished that season second, behind champions Bayern on goal difference alone.
There was more good news for Bayern, as they recorded a second convincing victory since the winter break following their 4-0 thrashing of Hertha Berlin last weekend.
Since the Bundesliga adopted three points for a win, Bayern have started the second half of the season with back-to-back wins on nine occasions – and have gone on to win the title every time.
With Leipzig slipping to a 2-0 defeat at Eintracht Frankfurt, Bayern will be hoping their comeback is now well and truly on.
The two results also saw Lewandowski take the outright lead in the race for the Bundesliga Golden Boot, with 21 goals to Leipzig forward Timo Werner’s 20.
Lewandowski is in record-breaking form this season. His tally of 21 from 19 league games was last matched by Bayern legend Gerd Muller, back in the 1972-73 season.
Meanwhile, Thomas Muller’s goal against Schalke was his 100th in all competitions on home soil for Bayern.
Bayern are now just one point off the top of the Bundesliga, in what now looks like a four-horse race.
Schalke are seven points off the pace in fifth, but Borussia Monchengladbach are only a point behind Bayern and Dortmund just two behind them – meaning there is a gap of just four points between first and fourth.
Bayern face Mainz and Hoffenheim next up in the league and cup respectively, before a crucial league game at home to Leipzig on February 9.