Nerlinger: It was almost like an explosion

Thomas Müller had a go, and so did Philipp Lahm. David Alaba even succeeded in grasping his team-mate’s muscular upper arm, but Franck Ribéry tore himself free. No-one could stop the Frenchman following his spectacular goal to open the scoring against Schalke after 36 minutes. Adrenaline coursing through his veins, Ribéry ran and ran, crossing the halfway line and heading for the dugout, where he and Jupp Heynckes high-fived. The player finally came to a halt a few yards further on, charging into the arms of his cousin and a clutch of friends from France, who had travelled 1000 km or so to support their pal against Schalke.

They were rewarded for making the long trip, as an on-fire Ribéry added a second goal on 55 minutes to make the score 2-0. He is up to ten goals in the league this term, and has now struck five doubles for Bayern in the Bundesliga. He has also provided ten assists so far this season. Since the 1988/89 campaign, only three other players have reached double figures in these two categories before the 24th round of matches.