Karius stars as Schalke hold Bayern Munich to goalless draw

Loris Karius made a series of important saves as Schalke 04 held Bayern Munich to a 0-0 draw on the second matchday of the German Bundesliga on Saturday.

Bayern created the first major opportunity in the 15th minute when Joshua Kimmich lifted a pass into the penalty area for Aleksandar Pavlovic.

Pavlovic controlled the ball and laid it back to new signing Nathaniel Brown, whose powerful close-range effort was stopped by Karius' sharp reflex save.

Schalke grew into the contest and had two penalty appeals rejected in quick succession.

Robin Gosens' long throw caused problems for the Bayern defense in the 26th minute, with Dayot Upamecano heading the bouncing ball against his own hand. The referee allowed play to continue.

Upamecano then misplaced a pass moments later, allowing Junior Dina Ebimbe to enter the penalty area before going down under pressure from Alphonso Davies, but the referee again waved away Schalke's appeal.

The hosts threatened again when Moussa Sylla won a free kick in a dangerous position after capitalizing on a loose ball and driving toward the Bayern area.

Soufiane El-Faouzi nearly found a breakthrough in the 39th minute after being released by Ao Tanaka, but Upamecano recovered to make a timely challenge.

Luis Diaz missed Bayern's best opportunity of the first half two minutes later, failing to make clean contact after breaking clear of the Schalke defense as Karius narrowed the angle.

The Colombian wasted another chance in the 56th minute after Davies played him into the box.

Diaz attempted to lift the ball over Karius instead of finding Lennart Karl at the back post, allowing Hasan Kurucay to recover and clear before it crossed the goal line.

Konrad Laimer then found himself in space inside the area following Kimmich's pass in the 64th minute, but the Austrian sent his half-volley into the side netting.

Karius preserved Schalke's point with another outstanding save in the 87th minute, stretching to tip Harry Kane's powerful 25-meter strike away from goal.

The result left Bayern with four points from two Bundesliga matches, while Schalke earned their first point of the campaign against the defending champions.