Real Madrid's Federico Valverde conceded he is "bitter" about not taking a penalty in Los Blancos' shootout win over Manchester City in the Champions League.

Fourteen-time European champions Madrid progressed to the last four of the competition by overcoming holders City on penalties at the end of a thrilling tie in the quarters.

Luka Modric missed Madrid's first spot-kick, but Andriy Lunin made saves from Bernardo Silva and Mateo Kovacic to help Carlo Ancelotti's team get over the line and into a semi-final meeting with Bayern Munich.

Valverde, who scored a stunning volley in the 3-3 draw in the first leg at the Santiago Bernabeu, did not take a penalty, and ahead of Tuesday's clash with Bayern, the Uruguayan admitted his regret at not doing so.

"That night I went to bed with the regret of having been able to leave that mark on Real Madrid, of going to the semi-finals with a goal of mine, especially because I am good at penalties," he told reporters.

"But if another team-mate did it, that's fine. But I had a bitter taste, yes.

"Sometimes you have to put aside your ego and pride, recognise that you are very tired and tell the coaching staff that you are not prepared to take a penalty.

"I hope in the future I feel stronger and it doesn't happen again."

Madrid are unbeaten in their last 10 games in the Champions League (W7 D3), all of which have been this season. Only once previously have they had a longer unbeaten run within a single campaign in the competition, going 11 without defeat in the 2016-17 edition (which they would go on to win).

Asked how Madrid's squad are feeling ahead of Tuesday's fixture, Valverde added: "I can talk to you personally: very excited.

"It will be my first time against Bayern in the Champions League and I am happy, looking forward to it.

"Appreciating every moment I spend defending this shield and playing this competition with this shirt."

This is the eighth time Bayern and Madrid have been drawn together in a semi-final in the European Cup/Champions League.

After progressing from four of the first five between 1976 and 2012, Bayern have been eliminated in each of the last two (2013-14 and 2017-18).

Bayern Munich may always have an "attraction" to coaches but Carsten Ramelow does not expect Germany boss Julian Nagelsmann to return to the Bundesliga giants.

Nagelsmann was dismissed from his role as Bayern coach back in March 2023, as his former side were trying to make ground on Borussia Dortmund in the Bundesliga title race.

Thomas Tuchel was swiftly appointed as his replacement, leading the club to an 11th straight top-flight title last term, but the former Chelsea boss has failed to live up to expectations this season, and will leave at the end of the campaign.

Xabi Alonso rebuffed Bayern's interest to stay at Bayer Leverkusen, and it remains to be seen who the Bundesliga giants will go for as Tuchel's replacement.

Nagelsmann is preparing to lead Germany at Euro 2024, which they will host from June 14, and former international Ramelow cannot see him being enticed back to his old club.

"Quite honestly, it's hard for me to imagine that," Ramelow told Stats Perform when asked about Nagelsmann reuniting with Bayern. 

"I would be surprised. First, he was sacked at Bayern, then he got the chance to coach Germany and now he should return. 

"I think he will stay as Germany head coach. I also think that Bayern has different ideas, so let's be surprised by what they do over the next months."

Nagelsmann oversaw back-to-back friendly victories over France and Netherlands as Germany impressed in the March internationals.

Meanwhile, Tuchel's Bayern are almost out of the running for the Bundesliga title but will hope to reach the Champions League semi-final when Arsenal return to Germany for their finely poised last-eight tie.

Ramelow acknowledged that Bayern remain an attractive proposition for any coach, however.

"I mean everything is possible, sure," he added. "But I think that Nagelsmann has his own ideas and you don't take over as a national team's head coach only for a few months.

"Even though Bayern always has its attraction. But he coached them already and they had their reasons to sack him, so, I would be surprised."

Germany start their Euro 2024 campaign against Scotland at Allianz Arena on June 14, after friendlies against Ukraine and Greece to warm up for the tournament.

Harry Kane's efforts for Bayern Munich will be worthy of the Ballon d'Or should the England captain break the Bundesliga goalscoring record, so says David James.

A week on from becoming the first player to score four hat-tricks in a debut Bundesliga season, Kane netted his 31st league goal of the campaign in Bayern's 5-2 win over Darmstadt on Saturday, seeing him surpass Uwe Seeler (from 1963-64) for the most goals in his first term in Germany's top tier.

Kane has now netted 37 goals in 35 appearances across all competitions for Bayern since his switch from Tottenham, outperforming his expected goals (xG) of 30.19.

Of players in Europe's big five leagues, only Kylian Mbappe has scored more goals (38) than Kane, whose tally of 47 goal contributions leads the way across the continent.

With eight league games remaining, Kane is well on course to better Robert Lewandowski's Bundesliga record of 41 goals, which was set during Bayern's all-conquering 2020-21 campaign, and James feels that is evidence enough of the former Spurs star's world-class ability.

"The fact that he could break the Bundesliga record for goals this year, I think, is a testament to how good Harry Kane is," he told Stats Perform.

"He could be the man who scored the most goals for Bayern Munich in the Bundesliga, which would be better than Lewandowski, who people think should have won a Ballon d'Or for the amount of goals he scored in the Bundesliga."

Kane's form this season has been one of the few positives for Bayern, as for the first time since Jurgen Klopp's Borussia Dortmund denied them the Bundesliga in 2012, they look set to finish second, 10 points behind Xabi Alonso's high-flying Bayer Leverkusen.

James, though, feels there is still more to come from Kane, who will go up against his old rivals Arsenal in the Champions League quarter-finals.

"I think he's doing a marvellous job," James added.

"I think he understands completely how to play football, and that might sound a bit funny, but he knows what to do to be better."

There was some concern for Kane, however, who sustained an ankle injury in Saturday's win over Darmstadt, though the 30-year-old will join up with the England squad this week.

Bayern Munich forward Mathys Tel said scoring his first Champions League goal was "wild", as he reflected on an "incredible and unforgettable moment".

The 18-year-old joined the Bundesliga giants from Rennes in July 2022, after making just 10 competitive appearances for the French club's first team, and quickly wrote his name into Bayern's history books.

He became their youngest-ever goalscorer when he netted in a 5-0 win over Viktoria Cologne in the DFB-Pokal at the age of 17 years and 126 days.

Tel followed that up by marking his Bundesliga debut with a goal in a 2-2 draw with Stuttgart less than two weeks later, claiming the record of Bayern's youngest scorer in the competition.

This season, he has continued the theme of getting big goals to commemorate special occasions, and the youngster reflected on his memorable impact in the Champions League by scoring what turned out to be the winner in a thrilling 4-3 victory over Manchester United in Bayern's group-stage opener.

Tel told FedEx's Outside the Box: "The coach called me over, 'Mathys, it's time for you to go on'.

"I'm in my own bubble, I focus on getting out onto the pitch. I get ready to make a difference for my team.

"The game against Manchester United, it was quite a different atmosphere, because it's the biggest competition, the best players in the world, the biggest teams in the world. The mental preparation was really important for me.

"I came on as a left winger and then the game started. Everything went so fast. That's when my head exploded. The stadium went wild. Everybody went wild. It was an incredible and unforgettable moment."

That goal is one of seven that Tel has scored this season, already beating his tally of six from his debut campaign, and his style has drawn comparisons to fellow Frenchman, Kylian Mbappe.

However, Tel's focus is on his own game, and not comparisons to others.

"I've achieved quite a lot but today, I want more, I want to keep going. I still have a lot to learn. So, I come onto the pitch with a great deal of desire and ambition," said Tel.

"What I'm working on in training is my movement through different zones to be able to score goals. I have my own way of playing. I run fast, I try to create chances, I try to score a lot."

After a season and a half in Munich, in which he won the Bundesliga last term, Tel has already cemented himself into the team, and chosen to extend his time there, signing a new long-term contract that will see him stay at the club until 2029.

Tel added: "The FC Bayern transfer was an incredible time for me. My hard work had paid off.

"This is what makes me such an ambitious player today. I was immediately welcomed like a new member of the family. I wasn't sidelined.

"All the players came to me; they helped me and included me straight away. They would tell me: 'If you need anything, you can come find me'".

Mathys Tel featured in episode one of FedEx's 'Outside the Box' content series. To watch the full episode, please visit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LXXrG24OQEY

Ange Postecoglou has done a phenomenal job since taking over at Tottenham and was a natural choice to oversee the club's rebuild due to his charismatic personality.

That is the view of former England striker Emile Heskey, who came up against Postecoglou in the A-League during a two-year spell in Australia with Newcastle Jets between 2012 and 2014.

Postecoglou has had a remarkable impact on Spurs since taking charge, making the best start by any manager in Premier League history by overseeing a return of 26 points from his first 10 games in the competition.

Tottenham trail champions Manchester City by just a single point at the summit ahead of Saturday's trip to Wolves, having suffered their first league defeat under Postecoglou last time out.

Cristian Romero and Destiny Udogie were both sent off as Spurs fell to a 4-1 defeat to Chelsea on Monday, though Postecoglou still earned praise for implementing a daring high line with nine men.

Heskey thinks Postecoglou's openness and willingness to take inspiration from different cultures has helped him succeed, telling Stats Perform: "Ange has been fantastic. 

"I obviously played in Australia for two years, and I saw some of the stuff that the Aussie coaches can do, [it's] very, very technical. 

"A lot of them work off the Dutch philosophy, but with a bit of Aussie grit, they love that. But then he obviously went over to Japan in different places, so he probably learnt the discipline from them.

"Working with that and getting some of that stuff, bringing it over to Europe… what he did at Celtic was phenomenal. 

"Now taking that step into Spurs – and Spurs is a big club – we've got to give it to them. 

"The training ground, the stadium, they're building a squad, they're in London. They should be where they are right now. 

"He's probably the right manager to actually build that, the right manager to take a lot of the pressure away because he's approachable, he's charismatic, he's got everything. 

"He takes a lot of the pressure away from the place that so they can actually perform as well."

Tottenham's flying start to the season has come despite the loss of their all-time leading goalscorer Harry Kane, who is in exceptional form for his new club Bayern Munich, scoring 19 goals and adding seven assists in just 15 appearances for the Bundesliga champions.

Though Heskey accepts Kane's departure may have altered expectations at Spurs, he does not believe it can be seen as a positive for the club.

"I don't know if it [losing Kane] was a bonus," Heskey said. "You can't say getting rid of Harry Kane was a bonus because of what he's doing and what he's done. 

"But I think it's a different focal point now, isn't it? I think it's more of a team focal point. Not just one player. 

"You've got Son [Heung-min], he has to step up to the plate, you've got [James] Maddison, who will always step up to the plate, that's just his temperament. 

"You've got all these players that are now having to pull their weight because they're not just relying on one person."

Postecoglou is looking to avoid back-to-back defeats when Spurs visit Wolves on Saturday, having not lost consecutive league matches since he was in charge of Yokohama F. Marinos in Japan, losing three in a row between November 2020 and February 2021.

Thomas Muller has overtaken Bayern Munich team-mate Manuel Neuer as the player with the most Bundesliga wins in history.

Muller won his 323rd game in Germany's top flight as he helped Bayern beat Mainz 3-1 on Saturday.

That sets him clear of Neuer as the outright leader for Bundesliga victories.

Muller's contribution at Mewa Arena was limited as he replaced Kingsley Coman as an 88th-minute substitute, but with fellow Bayern legend Neuer still sidelined by injury, that brief cameo saw Muller edge ahead of his team-mate to claim the record for himself.

Goals from Coman and Harry Kane put Bayern 2-0 up within 16 minutes before Anthony Caci pulled one back for the winless hosts, but Leon Goretzka's second-half strike ensured Bayern ran out 3-1 winners.

The victory maintained Bayern's unbeaten start to the Bundesliga season, though Thomas Tuchel's men still trail surprise contenders Bayer Leverkusen and Stuttgart at the summit.

Muller's standout stats

Muller has played 449 Bundesliga matches, 127 more than any other Bayern player since he made his debut in August 2008.

The 34-year-old has created 884 chances for his team-mates in that time, with Franck Ribery (536) ranking a distant second for the Bavarian giants.

Of current Bayern players, Joshua Kimmich (505) is the closest to Muller, who has directly contributed to 306 Bundesliga goals, another team-high. Robert Lewandowski is second, with 273 goal contributions.

Lewandowski (238) is the only player to have scored more Bundesliga goals for Bayern than Muller (144) since the latter made his bow for the club, while the Germany international has provided 162 assists, almost 80 clear of second-best Ribery (85).

Muller has had 2,448 touches in the opposition box, over 500 more than any other Bayern team-mate since he made his Bundesliga debut, while he has also had the most duels (4,314), winning 1,904 of them.

His best goalscoring season came in 2015-16, when he netted 20 times in the Bundesliga and provided five assists.

However, it was in the 2019-20 and 2020-21 seasons that Muller provided his most goal contributions in the Bundesliga, with 29 in each campaign.

Muller netted eight times in 2019-20, but supplied 21 assists. The following term, he teed up 18 goals and scored 11 himself.

Bayern Munich boss Thomas Tuchel is expecting the unexpected when his side returns to Bundesliga action on Sunday against Freiburg.

Bayern sit third in the table, unbeaten in their opening six matches, but had to fight back from 2-0 down to salvage a point in last week’s 2-2 draw at Leipzig.

Tuchel’s side also came from behind in midweek to win 2-1 in Copenhagen and make it two wins from two Champions League group matches.

After quickly refocusing on this weekend’s domestic challenge, Tuchel told a press conference: “We really want to get all three points, but we know how difficult it will be, so we’ll have to show up on Sunday.

“Freiburg change their system a lot and I’m 100 per cent sure that they’ll do everything possible to make our lives difficult. We’ll have to be ready for that.”

Freiburg have not beaten Bayern in the Bundesliga in 14 attempts – their last win being in 2015 – but they knocked Tuchel’s side out of the DFB Cup last season.

Lucas Holer scored a 95th-minute penalty as Freiburg came from behind to win the quarter-final tie 2-1 in Tuchel’s second game in charge of Bayern.

The Bavarians’ last three matches have all been on the road and Tuchel admitted after Tuesday night’s win in Denmark that the travel had taken its toll.

“It was a long journey, which the boys are feeling the effects of,” he said. “We’ve played a lot of away games recently.”

Tuchel confirmed Matthijs de Ligt has still not recovered from the knee injury sustained in last month’s 7-0 home win against Bochum, but Raphael Guerreiro was back in training.

The Portugal midfielder has been sidelined since injuring his calf during pre-season.

“Unfortunately, Matthijs de Ligt has not made as quick a recovery as we had hoped for. Dayot Upamecano and Kim (Min-jae) are fit to play,” Tuchel added.

Freiburg, whose cup success at the Allianz Arena last season was their only win against Bayern in Munich, will be without suspended midfielder Nicolas Hofler.

Michael Gregoritsch and Yannik Keitel both missed Freiburg’s 2-1 home Europa League defeat to West Ham on Thursday and remain doubtful.

Harry Kane will still have the support of Tottenham fans despite his decision to leave the club, according to fellow Spurs favourite Jermain Defoe.

Kane signed for Bundesliga giants Bayern Munich for an estimated €117million (£100m) in the most recent transfer window, leaving North London having overtaken Jimmy Greaves as the club's all-time record goalscorer.

Kane scored 280 goals in 435 appearances in all competitions before ending his 19-year association with Spurs, and he has started life at Bayern in similarly prolific fashion, netting eight times in six Bundesliga outings while also getting off the mark in the Champions League.

Though Kane decided to leave in pursuit of the silverware that eluded him at Spurs, Defoe believes the club's fans will continue to back the England captain in his new surroundings.

Speaking to Stats Perform at the Legends of Football event, in aid of Nordoff Robbins Music Therapy, Defo said: "For Harry, it's amazing for him and his family. It's a new challenge.

"Everyone at Tottenham wants to wish him the best – we always knew he was going to do well anyway because he's a world-class player. He'll score goals anywhere. Nothing changes in terms of goals.

"We just want to wish him the best because Harry as a footballer is special but he's a special guy and he deserves everything he gets."

Kane the final piece of Bayern's puzzle?

Bayern have claimed 11 Bundesliga titles in a row, but the trophy they really want to lift is the Champions League having not made it past the quarter-final stage since last winning European football's elite competition in the 2019-20 campaign.

Kane has hit the ground running at Bayern, giving fans hope that he can be the man to lead them back to European glory.

The England international has scored eight goals in his first six Bundesliga appearances, with only Erling Haaland scoring more in his first six games in the league, while he has surpassed some of Bayern's greatest strikers in terms of their starts at the club.

His seven goals in his first five Bundesliga games for the club is more than Bayern legends such as Miroslav Klose and Robert Lewandowski managed, while his 10 goal involvements during those games is also the most in a player's first five Bundesliga appearances.

Kane is second behind only Serhou Guirassy (10) for Bundesliga goals this season, finding the net every 66 minutes on average while converting 34.78 per cent of his shots.

His three assists indicate he has also been a key facilitator for Bayern, while he is tied for fourth in the Bundesliga in terms of big chances created (four).

It is still early days, but Kane's excellent start suggests he could be the one to help Bayern back to the very top of European football.

Richarlison is not capable of filling the hole Harry Kane has left at Tottenham, according to former Spurs manager Harry Redknapp.

Kane joined Bayern Munich for a Bundesliga-record €117million (£100m) earlier this month, leaving Tottenham as the club's all-time top goalscorer having netted 280 times in 435 appearances in all competitions, including 30 in 38 Premier League games last season as Spurs finished a disappointing eighth.

Kane's departure has left Tottenham fans concerned over their attacking options for this season, with the striker's impressive output last term making up for disappointing campaigns from the likes of Son Heung-min and Richarlison, who only scored 11 league goals between them.

Richarlison particularly struggled in his first season with Spurs, netting just once in the Premier League after joining from Everton for £60m, and Redknapp doubts whether the Brazil international can step up in Kane's absence.

"[Richarlison] can't fill Harry [Kane's] boots," Redknapp told Stats Perform. "No, he's not on the same level as Harry Kane.

"He's got to do better than what he did last year for sure. He's played for the Brazilian team and is a regular for them, he played at the World Cup. [He] scored goals at Everton, did okay there.

"I think Son will play through the middle. They'll let him off the leash and stick him through the middle. I think that's where he wants to play. He'll score goals, he will get between 15 and 20 goals, I think. 

"But Harry Kane and Son together is definitely better than Son on his own. So that is the problem."

Spurs chairman Daniel Levy decided to cash in on Kane with a year left on the striker's contract, a decision that Redknapp understands but does not necessarily agree with, adding: "It's difficult. Daniel had that problem with him at the end of the year as a free agent.

"So do you wait and let him walk away for free, or do you take the 100 million? Could he have bought in that type of money by just staying this year and getting them back in the Champions League? Quite possibly.

"I thought Tottenham made some good signings, [James] Maddison coming in would be a big plus for Harry. He'd supply and make goals for him.

"[It is a] difficult one, but Daniel does what he feels is right for the football club at the end of the day, and he obviously feels it's better to take the 100 million now than get nothing at the end of the season."

Kane's exit is one of several big changes at Spurs, with former Celtic boss Ange Postecoglou appointed ahead of this season as Tottenham bid to return to the top four.

Redknapp feels Postecoglou is in for a baptism of fire in Premier League management, having to cope without Kane in a league that will prove to be very competitive at the top end again, explaining: "He's got a great job. He's got a result as he's come from nowhere, really, in the last few years to manage Celtic and then manage Tottenham.

"I like him. When I see him, I like him an awful lot. It looks good. He's a good character. And I think he'll do a good job. I suppose when he came he always knew that he would have Harry for a year at most.

"I'm sure he's excited with the players he's working with, it will be the best players he's ever worked with anyway. 

"He's never worked with a squad of players near that standard before. It's going to be a tougher division this year and he needs time.

"There's Man City, Man United, Chelsea, Arsenal, Liverpool, Newcastle [United] and Tottenham. Seven teams here scrapping it out for four places.

"I think Spurs will be okay. I think Maddison was a great signing. They just took the centre-half now, the Dutchman [Micky van de Ven], who is supposed to be a good player. They'll bring two or three more in.

"They will be pushing for a top-four place, [but] whether they can make it without Harry Kane, I'm not sure now."

Harry Kane's transfer to Bayern Munich came as a surprise to former Tottenham player and assistant boss Gus Poyet.

Kane completed a switch to the Bundesliga champions last week, signing a four-year deal in Munich.

That came after Bayern had finally struck an £86.4million (€100m) deal with Tottenham for the 30-year-old, who scored 30 Premier League goals last season.

The England captain made his debut in Bayern's 3-0 defeat to RB Leipzig in the DFL-Supercup after saying he moved to Germany to win trophies.

For Poyet, the move was a shock, however, especially after Kane failed to seal a transfer to Manchester City in 2021.

"I was surprised at Kane leaving because I said it, and I'm not going to change my mind, two years ago I thought it was the time for him to go," Poyet said in an interview with Stats Perform.

"I thought he's experienced, still young, so at that age he was still at the top of his career, looking for titles or silverware.

"He didn't [go], and it was a big shock for me, so I wasn't expecting him to leave. I was not.

"Going now and going abroad surprised me quite a lot."

Poyet is happy that Kane is going to test himself in another competition.

He added: "I'm pleased for him because it's going to be totally different for him, a new challenge completely different to England and I hope he does well because he deserves that feeling of winning a title."

Spurs began the post Kane era with a 2-2 draw at Brentford in Ange Postecoglou's first Premier League game in charge, and Poyet knows Tottenham will have a hard time replacing their former talisman.

"I'm really sad for the coach, because you go to Tottenham, and it's your first job in the Premier League and your main man – the one who is going to score 20+ goals – is gone, so you need to replace him and it's not easy," said Poyet, who is nevertheless excited to see Spurs in action this season.

"I'm not saying they cannot score goals [with] their front three, I'm saying that it's just different, and they're going to have to adapt.

"I think we saw already in pre-season and the first game that Tottenham is going to be very, very entertaining. 

"I would be surprised if a Tottenham game [involves] less than three goals – for or against – because this is the style of football.

"They're going to be very offensive, they're going to be creating a lot and obviously when you go too far that way [forward] you leave space the other way and everybody plays. It's completely opposite to the way Spurs were playing in the last few years."

Union Berlin secured Champions League qualification for the first time in their history as Schalke suffered relegation from Bundesliga on the final day of the season.

Rani Khedira's 81st-minute winner at home to Werder Bremen saw Union pip Freiburg to fourth place in the German top flight, with Urs Fischer's side booking their spot in UEFA's top club competition for next season.

There was no such good fortune for Schalke, though, as they dropped back down to 2. Bundesliga following a 4-2 defeat to third-placed RB Leipzig on Saturday.

As Bayern Munich celebrated edging out Borussia Dortmund for the title on goal difference, Stuttgart will be left to fight for their top-flight status in a play-off after a 1-1 draw at home to Hoffenheim.

Stuttgart will face either Hamburg or Heidenheim, with whoever finishes third in the German second division due to battle with Sebastian Hoeness' men for a place in Bundesliga next term.

Had Stuttgart won, Augsburg would have been in that play-off after a 2-0 final-day defeat at Borussia Monchengladbach, while Bochum pulled clear of danger with a 3-0 victory over Bayer Leverkusen.

Borussia Dortmund suffered final-day heartbreak as they missed out on a first Bundesliga title for 11 years on goal difference, despite fighting back for a 2-2 draw against Mainz.

Edin Terzic's side squandered the opportunity to be crowned champions of Germany as Bayern Munich snatched the title with a dramatic 2-1 victory over Koln, as Jamal Musiala hit a late winner for Thomas Tuchel's men.

Dortmund were always playing catch-up after falling 2-0 down to first-half goals from Andreas Hanche-Olsen and Karim Onisiwo, while Sebastien Haller saw a weak penalty saved.

Raphael Guerreiro gave them hope in the second half, but Musiala's late strike for Bayern at RheinEnergie Stadion rendered Niklas Sule's last-gasp BVB equaliser academic.

Bayern Munich relinquished control of the Bundesliga title race as they collapsed to a 3-1 defeat to RB Leipzig at the Allianz Arena.

The reigning champions had their destiny in their own hands when Serge Gnabry fired them ahead on Saturday, but a terrific counter-attack saw Konrad Laimer level things up in the second half.

A pair of late penalties then stunned Bayern, Christopher Nkunku converting after being tripped by Benjamin Pavard and Dominik Szoboszlai doing likewise following Noussair Mazraoui's handball.

Bayern now need Borussia Dortmund to slip up in one of their remaining games – at Augsburg on Sunday and against Mainz next Saturday – to have any chance of claiming an 11th consecutive title.  

Serge Gnarby bagged a double as Bayern Munich kept their grasp on the Bundesliga title race with a 6-0 rout against relegation-threatened Schalke at Allianz Arena.

Thomas Tuchel's side claimed a comfortable win to go four points clear at the top on Saturday, although Borussia Dortmund could slice that gap when they host Borussia Monchengladbach later on.

Thomas Reis' visitors offered little as Thomas Muller's pinpoint finish and a Joshua Kimmich penalty placed Bayern in full control before the half-time whistle in Bavaria.

Gnabry's brace after the break prefaced late strikes for Mathys Tel and Noussair Mazraoui, further compounding Schalke's misery, as the hosts continued their charge towards an 11th straight title.

Having handed Schalke an 8-0 thrashing on their last visit to Munich in 2020, Bayern looked like they might repeat that feat after Muller, Gnabry and Kingsley Coman all missed early chances.

The visitors saw their resistance broken 21 minutes in however when the former curled Leroy Sane's deft ball into the bottom-left corner, before matters worsened.

A VAR check awarded Bayern a penalty eight minutes later for a stray Cedric Brunner elbow on Jamal Musiala, with Kimmich sending Alexander Schwolow the wrong way from the spot.

Gnabry inflicted further damage after the interval, seizing Joao Cancelo's cut-back pass to drill past the goalkeeper, a quarter-hour before he rounded him for a second.

Tel added a late fifth from Musiala's pass to further pad the scoreline, before Mazraoui capitalised on torrid defending for a final strike in injury-time.

Real Madrid are "the best team of this generation" and could go all the way in the Champions League again this season, according to former European champion Mario Gomez.

Madrid claimed their 14th European crown in incredible fashion last term, overcoming Paris Saint-Germain, Chelsea and Manchester City in a series of dramatic knockout ties.

Having reached the final despite losing a game in the last 16, quarter-finals and semi-finals, Los Blancos captured their fifth Champions League title in nine seasons by beating Liverpool 1-0 in Paris.

As Carlo Ancelotti's men prepare to face City in a repeat of last year's semi-final tie, former Bayern Munich striker Gomez described them as the "true beast" of Europe's premier club competition.

"With Real Madrid, over the last 10 years, how many times have we thought, 'it is over for them', and they just come back every time," Gomez said in an interview with the Go Turkiye YouTube channel.

"They are the true beast of the Champions League, absolutely unbelievable. 

"Since I was very little, I have been a Barcelona supporter, but I really enjoy this Real Madrid side.

"They believe until the last second, so, for me they are the best team of this generation.

"For that reason, I think that they will go really far. I don't know if they will win it, because football is unpredictable, but they can reach the final."

Turkey striker Cenk Tosun was speaking alongside Gomez, and having worked with Ancelotti during a stint in the Premier League with Everton, he believes the Italian could be set for more glory in Istanbul next month.

"It is always a special event to have the Champions League final here in Turkey," Tosun said. "Of course, Real Madrid is the winner of last season and a clear favourite. 

"They have the same manager as last year, Mr. Ancelotti. I worked with him at Everton and I really like him, he is a special person for me, so I would pick Real Madrid to win it."

Gomez appeared as a substitute as Bayern beat Bundesliga rivals Borussia Dortmund in the 2013 Champions League final, as part of a memorable treble won by Jupp Heynckes' team.

Reflecting on that win, Gomez said: "It was one of the most beautiful days in my life, because we were in the final one year before against Chelsea, and we lost [on penalties].

"To this day nobody knows how we lost that game. In 2012-13 we really had the power and energy to show people that it was our year, it was our time. 

"The final wasn't that good. Dortmund were as strong as us, if not better, but in the end, we got the trophy. When we got handed the trophy and lifted it in front of the fans, it was amazing.

"The four years I spent there were just incredible. There were so many special players in that team.

"I'll start with the two wingers. They were the stars and I was just the finisher. On the left-hand side we had Franck Ribery. 

"On the other wing, Arjen Robben. Totally different from Franck. He always wanted to finish. 

"With Arjen I always had to predict the keeper's movement, and if they saved his shot, I was there for the rebound. I scored many goals liked that!"