Bayern Munich’s longest scoring run in years ended in the least Bavarian way possible: a 0-0 at newly promoted Schalke, with Harry Kane watching the first half from the bench and Luis Díaz missing the chances that usually finish these nights.

Vincent Kompany rotated after a bright start to the season. Kane and Michael Olise began as substitutes. The idea was control without emptying the tank. What arrived was a Schalke block that refused to break and a Bayern attack that could not find the last touch.

Díaz had the game in his feet twice. One-on-one with Loris Karius, he went wide. Later he tried to chip the keeper and the ball was hooked off the line. Konrad Laimer slashed into the side-netting from close in. Kane came on and forced the save of the match, a fingertip from Karius to a drive headed for the top corner. That was as close as 98 Bundesliga goals came to 99.

Schalke had not taken a point this season and had lost their last 11 against Bayern. They defended the box, wasted little and left Gelsenkirchen with something that looked like a plan. Bayern had about three-quarters of the ball and every corner that mattered. They left with a statistic they did not want.

The blank snapped a 59-match streak of scoring in every competitive game. It also ended 67 straight Bundesliga matchdays at the top of the table, a run that had already beaten the club’s own ancient record. Bayern dropped down the early standings. Freiburg and others will enjoy the view while it lasts.

None of that makes Schalke title contenders. It does make the night a warning. Kompany’s Bayern can look inevitable when Kane starts and the chances go in. When he does not, and Díaz is wasteful, a promoted side with organisation is enough to turn a procession into a puzzle. The machine will score again. For one Saturday it remembered how to draw a blank.

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