Schalke down Darmstadt to climb into top five

Schalke climbed to fifth in the Bundesliga thanks to a 2-0 win over Darmstadt on Saturday.The Royal Blues responded well to recent criticism and dominated proceedings from the outset, Johannes Geis curling a free-kick onto the outside of the right-hand post.Leroy Sane's determination in hooking the ball back into play from the goalline was rewarded as the ball finally fell for Max Meyer to put the visitors in front just before half-time.Sane made it 2-0 himself early in the second half, coolly slotting the ball past Christian Mathenia to seal a comfortable victory for Andre Breitenreiter's men, who moved ahead of Borussia Monchengladbach into the Europa League qualifying berths.