Bayern Munich Rattled Again as Schalke Take Fight to Guardiola's Team

Just last week, Borussia Dortmund CEO Hans-Joachim Watzke opined that Bundesliga teams had lost their will to fight against Bayern Munich's hegemony of the German league. Speaking to Suddeutsche Zeitung (h/t ESPN FC), Watzke labeled the Bavarians' dominance "absurd," asserting that lower clubs no longer save their best performances for the Munich giants in matches they allegedly consider lost upon kickoff.

Watzke had a point in that empirical evidence has given other Bundesliga clubs little reason to believe when they face Bayern. The Munich giants have won the league in record time in back-to-back seasons and at the time of Watzke's comments held a record 11-point midseason lead in the table. Watching Bayern play, it didn't look as though their opponents always gave their best effort.

Since the Bundesliga resumed last Friday, however, things have been entirely different. Wolfsburg hammered the Bavarians 4-1 on Friday before Schalke managed to secure a 1-1 draw in Munich on Tuesday evening.

The Wolfsburg result was immediately written off by most media as a one-off: The Lower Saxony side played its best game of the season, while its visitors were undeniably dreadful by their lofty standards.

Yet perhaps seeing that Bayern are indeed beatable spurred Schalke on to play one of the most inspired games of their season.

Although they clearly came out to play in the early minutes, the visitors were given a helping hand by Jerome Boateng in the 18th minute when the center-back made a woefully sloppy challenge, sticking a leg out hopefully and catching Sidney Sam in the chest. The Germany international was promptly sent off, and at 11 vs. 10, Schalke were able to match their opponents for the remainder of the match.

Had Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting been able to convert the penalty that followed Boateng's red card, Schalke just might have nicked three points. But Manuel Neuer's save and their continued ability to retain possession gave the Bavarians confidence.

This wasn't to say they were decisively better: In reality, neither side created any great chances to score from free play. But Arjen Robben nodded Bayern into the lead from a corner on 67 minutes, and for a while, it appeared that the Munich giants would claim the spoils.

Schalke fought back, however, and Benedikt Howedes headed in the equalizer five minutes later. The captain, a leader who's scored many big goals in his career, breathed new life into the visitors. Roberto Di Matteo's men would hold on for a well-deserved draw.

As in Wolfsburg, there again was some sense of Bayern giving away the result. Just as they underperformed on Friday, Boateng's red card can be considered at least in part a self-inflicted calamity. But from an outsider's perspective, Schalke's performance will be hugely encouraging for the competitiveness of the Bundesliga, especially coming after Wolfsburg's emphatic result.

Bayern have only failed to win two consecutive games once before under Pep Guardiola, but that came after they won the league last season. With the title still undecided and 15 matches remaining, there is still plenty of football to be played.

Bayern will still in all likelihood win the Bundesliga by a comfortable margin—despite the spectacular nature of Schalke's draw, Wolfsburg were unable to close the gap and nearly saw it increase as they trailed Frankfurt until the 88th minute—but Wolfsburg and Schalke have shown that other teams are willing to challenge them once again.

That will keep Bayern at the top of their game and at least make their matches a little more unpredictable.

Watzke's point seemed relevant just a few days ago, but thanks to Wolfsburg and Schalke, Bundesliga sides may again have the nerve to truly challenge Bayern. At this point, it's just what the league needs.

Follow Clark Whitney on Twitter.