Franck Ribery starred in his return from a thigh injury to help Bayern Munich reach the DFB Pokal semifinals with a comfortable 3-0 win over Schalke on Wednesday.
The French winger made an immediate impact, setting up Robert Lewandowski to open the scoring with a chip over goalkeeper Ralf Faehrmann in the third minute.
Ribery was involved again for Bayern's second, sending Lewandowski through, and the Pole drew Faehrmann away from goal and then crossed for Thiago Alcantara to head into the unguarded net in the 16th minute.
It got worse for the visitors when Ribery pulled the ball back for Lewandowski to shoot his second from a central position inside half an hour. It took Lewandowski's tally across all competitions to 30 so far for the season.
The 33-year-old Ribery hadn't played since the end of January after picking up the injury in training.
Seemingly content with their comfortable lead, Bayern kept Schalke at bay for the second half without exerting the effort that led to goals in the first.
The visitors' miserable evening was completed when Holger Badstuber was sent off late in the game with his second yellow card on his second return to Munich. Former teammate Arjen Robben asked the referee to reconsider but to no avail.
Badstuber, who joined Schalke on loan from Bayern in the winter transfer period, was celebrated by the home fans as he left the pitch.
Two penalties were enough for Borussia Moenchengladbach to beat Hamburg 2-1 away in the other quarterfinal.
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