FC Ingolstadt 04 3 - 0 Schalke 04: Ingolstadt close to safety after denting Schalke's Champions League hopes

Ingolstadt all but mathematically assured their place in the top flight of German football for another season with a 3-0 win over Schalke which dents the Royal Blues' hopes of qualifying for the Champions League next season.

Dario Lezcano went down as Junior Caicara extended his arm across him in the penalty area, and Moritz Hartmann drilled the penalty straight down the middle to give Ingolstadt the lead in the 29th minute.

Lukas Hinterseer doubled Ingolstadt's advantage on the stroke of half-time, stealing the ball off the toes of his own team-mate Danny da Costa, although he would not have minded as the Austrian tucked his shot past Ralf Fahrmann into the far corner.

Lezcano added a third in the 66th minute when Roman Neustadter's clearance was charged down and the ball fell out kindly for him to turn in from close range.

Franco Di Santo shot wide early on for the club from Gelsenkirchen, but that proved to be their best chance of the game.

The win gives Ingolstadt a nine-point advantage over the relegation zone with six games of the season remaining, while Schalke slip to sixth, having been dislodged from fourth by Bayer Leverkusen on Friday night.