Schalke 04 needed Leon Goretzka's late deflected winner and an own goal to snatch a 2-1 win against Borussia Moenchengladbach on Friday and leapfrog them into fourth place in the Bundesliga in the battle for a Champions League spot.
Bayern Munich's Robert Lewandowski made amends for several glaring misses when he scored a late goal and set up another as the German champions ground out a 2-0 win at battling Schalke 04 on Friday.
Second-placed Borussia Dortmund twice squandered the lead as they drew 2-2 at Schalke 04 in the Ruhr derby on Sunday, allowing leaders Bayern Munich to move closer to another Bundesliga title. A gem from Shinja Kagawa and an odd goal from Matthias Ginter put Dortmund ahead but the hosts hit back each time through Leroy Sane and a Klaas-Jan Huntelaar penalty. Bayern, who won 3-1 at VfB Stuttgart on Saturday, are seven points clear of Dortmund with only five matches left to play. Schalke are seventh with 45 points, behind Borussia Moenchengladbach, Bayer Leverkusen and Mainz on goal difference. Dortmund coach Thomas Tuchel made eight changes to the line-up that drew 1-1 with Liverpool in the Europa League on Thursday as he rotated his side. There was little excitement in the first half where the best chances fell to Schalke as Sane struck the post from 20 metres and Junior Caicara fired a shot across the face of the goal, leaving Huntelaar waiting and furious in the middle. But the game dramatically came to life after the break.
Last season's top scorer Robert Lewandowski found the net with a 31st-minute penalty to become the first player to score in 10 successive appearances against the same Bundesliga opponents.
Europa League favourites Manchester United secured a 1-1 draw on a threadbare pitch at Rostov, while Olympique Lyonnais beat AS Roma 4-2 helped by a fine individual goal from Nabil Fekir in their last 16, first leg ties on Thursday.
Schalke 04 beat rivals Borussia Dortmund 2-1 in the Bundesliga Ruhr valley derby on Saturday to confirm their improving form after a bad start to the season.
Ten-man Manchester City staged a dramatic comeback with late goals from Leroy Sane and Raheem Sterling securing them a 3-2 win at Schalke 04 in their Champions League Round of 16 first leg.
Schalke 04 halted the Chelsea juggernaut when they drew 1-1 in their Champions League Group G opener at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday, handing a wake-up call to the London club who had won their first four games of the season.
Bundesliga leaders Bayern Munich survived several first-half scares in a 1-1 home draw with midtable Schalke 04 on Saturday as Philipp Lahm made his 500th appearance for the Bavarian club.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Images from the football matches played across Europe on Tuesday.
IMAGES from the UEFA Champions League matches played on Tuesday
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Ruthless Bayern Munich scored five goals in the first 35 minutes on the way to a 7-1 demolition of AS Roma on Tuesday which bore an uncanny resemblance to Germany's win over Brazil by the same score in the World Cup semi-final.
Barcelona forward Lionel Messi equalled the Champions League scoring record of 71 goals when he struck for the second time in the 76th minute of Wednesday's Group F match at Ajax Amsterdam.
