Schalke 04 have beaten Hannover 2-0 in their Bundesliga match this afternoon.

© AFP

Klaas-Jan Huntelaar had a good chance to give the home side an early lead, but his low shot was kept out by an alert Ron-Robert Zieler.

However, it was 1-0 with five minutes left in the first half. Saed Kolasinac slipped the ball to Jefferson Farfan, who steered it home from close range.

Atsuto Uchida then rounded the goalkeeper and found Max Meyer, who had an easy finish to double the home side's lead before the break.

Huntelaar should have made it three for the hosts, but his bullet header went narrowly over the crossbar.

The away side struggled in the final third and it was Schalke who continued to dominate. Meyer forced Zieler into a decent stop, before Kevin-Prince Boateng unleashed a powerful shot that the Hannover goalkeeper pushed away.

Lars Stindl had a late effort blocked, but Schalke held on for a comfortable win and are now fourth in the Bundesliga.