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Bayer Leverkusen were undefeated in the Bundesliga duel against Schalke 04, and S04 still winless.
By Robin Tillenburg
Werkself won 3-0 (1-0) at Schalke on Sunday night (December 6, 2020). Peter Bosz’s team jumped to second place due to success and moved up to one point at Bayern Munich. Schalke remain last with just three points and haven’t won 26 matches in a row.
Skrzybski awards penalties
An own goal by Malick Thiaw (10th minute) left Schalke behind, Julian Baumgartlinger (67th) and Patrick Schick (78th) increased Bayer. Steven Skrzybski also missed a penalty for the hosts (71), who worked hard and fought back, but were clearly beaten in the end against this stable top team from Leverkusen.
Thiaw’s controversial own goal worries Schalke
At Schalke, Michael Langer was placed between the posts for the injured Frederik Rönnow and due to the absence of representative Ralf Fährmann. For the 35-year-old, it was the first Bundesliga game in 13 years.
With the first really good chance to score the match, the Austrian was virtually powerless. Thiaw headed Aleksandar Dragovic in the 10th minute from a corner, with the ball from very close on his own line. All the protests of the “Royal Blues” were in vain, Benjamin Cortus and his team considered that the Leverkusen player behind Thiaw was still in the frame. At least it was a controversial decision.
Soon after, it should have been worse for Manuel Baum’s team. Leon Bailey failed on Langer’s strong reaction (11th), Patrik Schick missed a free cross in front of goal (15th). Schalke had big problems and were apparently surprised by the new setback after a good first ten minutes.
Longer holds what can be sustained
The Schalke squad survived this pressure phase from the dynamic Leverkusen squad unharmed and worked their way back into the game through tough duels, loud communications and attempted shots. The referees rightly refused to recognize a goal from Nassim Boujellab after a good half hour. Mark Uth had previously been marginalized. Bayer’s leadership at the break was well deserved, but S04 had earned at least hard work points and was good in the game.
Leverkusen started the second half again, but Langer saved several good long-range shots and was Schalke’s best player of the day after an hour. S04 almost never took place offensively, but it didn’t allow any real top-class players either. The few attempts at relief were mostly nipped in the bud. After a corner kick from the left, Baumgartlinger finally scored in the 66th minute with a good header from the six-yard box into the far corner to make it 2-0, which was already up in the air.
Bayer increases
The game seemed to be over, but Schalke had another chance to come back. After Daley Sinkgraven’s foul on Suat Serdar, there was a penalty for Royal Blues, but Lukas Hradecky suspected the corner and saved Skrzybski’s penalty in the shooter’s lower left corner. Schick then made the final decision with a full shot after a quick change (78 °). The victory was good in terms of height, Leverkusen controlled the game continuously, the brave Schalke almost never had a real chance.
“We are totally upset, it almost sucks when you watch a game like this. We invest incessantly. The worst thing is how we get our goals against, that’s too cheap,” Baum said. His opponent Bosz said: “I am incredibly happy with the result. It was not an easy match at all, not as easy as it sounds. We controlled the game, but we did not dominate.”
Both opponents will return to action in the league next Sunday (December 13, 2020). Schalke are visiting Augsburg, Werkself host 1899 Hoffenheim after the home game against Slavia Prague on Thursday (10 December 2020) in the Europa League.
Those: sportschau.de
