September 8: Shocking Draw! Bayern Held to 0-0 Away Draw by Schalke 04, Diaz Misses Multiple One-on-Ones

In the 40th minute under the lights of the Veltins-Arena, Luis Diaz raced alone toward goal. Schalke goalkeeper Karius had already rushed out, leaving the penalty area almost empty. More than 60,000 fans watched the Colombian—one simple finish could have broken the deadlock for Bayern away from home.

Instead, Diaz shot and the ball went wide of the target. The stands erupted in disappointment.

This was only the beginning. Similar scenes repeated over the next 50 minutes. The scoreboard eventually stayed at 0-0, as Bayern Munich were stunned by promoted Schalke 04 away in Bundesliga Round 2 on September 6, 2026.

If this match's statistics were posted online, nobody would believe it was a 0-0 draw.

Schalke had only four shots and one on target; Bayern had 15 shots and five on target. Possession was 17%-83%, corners 0-11, passes 182-914, and clear chances 0-6.

Yes, you read that correctly: six clear chances and zero goals.

The xG was even more striking: Schalke 0.10, Bayern 1.70. Models suggested Bayern should have scored nearly two goals, but football is not mathematics.

Bayern's possession had already reached 82% in the first half, turning Schalke's half into an attacking training ground. Yet the scoreboard did not change.

If there was one specific scapegoat, it was Luis Diaz.

In the 40th minute, Diaz's first one-on-one ended with his shot going wide against Karius.

At the start of the second half, Diaz had another one-on-one in the 53rd minute, but his attempted chip was cleared by Koulouris.

In the 58th minute, Diaz got a third excellent chance but failed to control the ball.

Different sources counted the one-on-ones differently, with some recording two misses and others three. Regardless, Diaz was the most unfortunate player: three shots, one on target, three successful dribbles from 10 attempts, and 23 turnovers.

He was not alone. In the 59th minute Olise's shot was saved by Karius, and in the 87th minute Kane's long-range effort was tipped over the bar.

Kane held his head in disbelief.

The draw cannot be blamed only on Diaz.

The deeper issue came from the starting lineup. With Bayern facing Bodo/Glimt in the Champions League next week, Kompany rested Kane, Olise and Musiala on the bench.

The starting attack featured Diaz, Sabari and Karl, with Brown playing as an attacking midfielder. Neuer led the defense, with Laimer, Upamecano, Jonathan Tah and Davies behind Kimmich and Pavlovic in midfield.

Kompany said after the match that Schalke fought hard for a point and Bayern created chances, but against a compact and aggressive team those chances had to be taken.

The explanation was polite, but it was clear Bayern were saving energy for Europe. In football, rotation and a setback are often separated by a thin line.

Kane entered in the 46th minute, while Olise and Musiala came on in the 56th. Bayern's strongest attacking setup played less than half an hour.

Even that final half hour produced no goal.

Schalke coach Muslic used a 5-4-1 low defensive shape and executed a deep defensive approach perfectly.

The entire team defended deep, turning the match into a Bayern attacking exercise. The 0-11 corner count showed Schalke focused only on a clean sheet.

Schalke recorded 41 tackles compared with Bayern's 17, and 44 clearances compared with Bayern's 10. This 0-0 was built through collective resistance.

Schalke defender Katic suffered a knee issue in the 14th minute but the defense continued to hold firm.

For Schalke's first home match after returning to the Bundesliga, this point was priceless.

The 33-year-old Karius, once remembered for errors in the 2018 Champions League final, reminded everyone of his former Liverpool days.

He made five saves, including three against clear chances, and was voted man of the match with 68% of the votes.

In the 12th minute, Brown's penalty-area shot was pushed behind by Karius.

In the 59th minute, Olise's tight-angle effort was blocked by Karius with his feet.

In the 87th minute, Kane's 25-meter strike toward the top corner was tipped away by Karius.

Data showed Karius recorded a PSxG prevention figure of 1.09, meaning he prevented more than one expected goal.

Muslic said keeping a clean sheet against the world's best team was the greatest praise for Schalke.

This 0-0 ended many things.

Bayern's 47-match Bundesliga scoring streak ended, and it was their first league clean-sheet defeat in 567 days.

Bayern's 12-match unbeaten? correction: winning streak against Schalke in all competitions ended, while the league winning streak ended at 10 matches.

The remaining streak is Bayern's 26-match unbeaten run against Schalke and eight consecutive clean sheets.

After two rounds, Bayern had four points from one win and one draw. Freiburg, Dortmund and Frankfurt led with six points.

Schalke earned their first point after returning to the Bundesliga.

Before kickoff, Veltins-Arena was full. Schalke fans welcomed the return with a huge Tifo, while former Schalke goalkeeper Neuer received mixed applause and boos.

Around 500 Bayern away supporters were registered after a physical confrontation with Schalke fans before the match and were banned from returning in the away section.

Even without those 500 fans, more than 60,000 spectators watched Bayern's attack all night.

In the final moments, Bayern players protested the referee's decision to end the match, believing more chances could be created.

But once the whistle blew, 0-0 was final. Dominance does not equal victory; finishing ability tests championship quality.

Different media used slightly different statistics, with some focusing on the 26-match unbeaten run and others on the ending of league and overall winning streaks.

Discuss.