Schalke manager Felix Magath was left to rue a missed opportunity after his side made up only a point in league leaders Bayern Munich with a 2-2 draw in Hamburg.

AFPFelix Magath: battling for top spot

A win for the Royal Blues would have taken them to the top of the table and, more importantly in Magath's eyes, all but guaranteed them a top five finish this season, but they threw away the win to upset the manager somewhat.

"Like so often, when we were 2-1 up we did not carry on and have the courage to look for a third goal,'' he said. "We had more fear of losing our lead and when you are like that, then of course you do lose your lead.''

Nevertheless, the point still took the Gelsenkirchen-based club a small step closer to their ambition of a place in Europe next season and Magath admitted that being second with seven games to go, and just one point behind Bayern, is not a tragedy.

"I can live with not being first very well,'' he said. "I just take it as it comes.''

Hamburg slipped to sixth in the table this weekend, but their coach Bruno Labbadia was nevertheless pleased with his side's display, coming as it did three days after their Europa League clash with Anderlecht.

"My team proved that they are capable of playing every three days and that makes me optimistic for the future,'' he said.

Schalke only have two days to prepare for their next challenge in the semi-final of the DFB-Pokal against Bayern Munich.

Having failed to overhaul his former club in the league, Magath will be aiming to knock them out of the cup at the Arena AufSchalke and keep his side's chances of winning a domestic double alive.