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A typical Schalke goal: Florian Neuhaus enters from 16 meters after Breel Embolo had previously failed Frederik Rönnow. The shot is too central to get past Schalke’s many legs. But despite Rönnow, Matija Nastasic, Ozan Kabak and Omar Mascarell in front of the goal, the ball somehow passed, in the end also through Mascarell’s legs (minute 15). If you wanted to use cliches, now you could write: A team can only catch a goal like this if it is in the background.
The result: Borussia Mönchengladbach win 4: 1 (2: 1) against Schalke. Read the game report here.
Establish the brand: During the week, team planner Michael Reschke’s separation became known at Schalke. Furthermore, Vedad Ibišević’s contract will be terminated at the end of the year, Nabil Bentaleb will leave the club, Armine Harit will have a pause to think. Whether by personnel decisions or not, Schalke were the best team for the first 30 minutes. The guests had already shot at goal ten times (Gladbach three times), especially Mark Uth caused Gladbach defensive problems. Solo: At this point it was 1-1 and a few minutes later Schalke were behind. Even if the team is playing well, it is not working at the moment. This is not a good sign.
First half: Schalke made the game and got their first chances through Mark Uth (4th) and Matthew Hoppe (9th). Benito Raman’s 1: 1 was even played great. Uth hit the ball on Raman’s run, who completed the volley directly and struck from about forty feet. After half an hour, the home team took control, scoring 2-1 through Oscar Wendt (36th) and could have gone even higher at half-time.
Bet on youth: With rookie Matthew Hoppe (19), Malick Thiaw (19) and Kilian Ludewig (20), there were three players in the starting lineup who were not yet 21 years old. There were also other talents on the bench: Can Bozdogan (19), Kerim Calhanoglu (18), Münir Levent Mercan (19) and Luca Schüler (21). Manuel Baum cannot do much wrong if he trusts even more in the youth in the future. Experience shows that young professionals are also more likely to forgive mistakes. And if Schalke are to be relegated at the latest, the club will have no choice anyway. Most of the players established under contract are too expensive for the 2nd division.
»This is a team now«: This interjection came from those around Schalker Bank shortly after Uth hit the post with a direct free kick (28). And indeed: Schalke’s performance was the greatest ray of hope in recent months, if only for just under 30 minutes.
Second half: Schalke made a brave start again, but were already 1: 3 behind after just under seven minutes. Rönnow was unable to control Alassane Pléa’s ball, Marcus Thuram pocketed the margin. As a result, the guests continued to play forward, but defensively they offered the opponent great freedom. However: Schalke couldn’t accuse Schalke of a lack of offensive momentum at least today.
Six more: Schalke have not won 25 games in a row in the Bundesliga. For Tasmania Berlin’s negative record (31 matches), there are still six matches to go without a trio. By the way: the last win to date was against Gladbach on January 17th.
Leadership defended: Gladbach could have had many more points on the account. Marco Rose’s team has already lost a lead four times, while Gladbach only did it twice in all of last season. Today the colts made up for the interim equalization and remain undefeated at home this season.
Surprise in the starting eleven: Denis Zakaria was on the pitch for the first time in almost nine months. It was said a few days ago in Gladbach that he should slowly return to the starting eleven after he celebrated his return as a substitute against Shakhtar Donetsk. Then it was faster. Although the Swiss played a decent game, even taking the lead through a strong conquest of the ball, the team noticed at first the lack of some centrals. Captain Lars Stindl, Christoph Kramer and Nico Elvedi were saved at first, next week the important Champions League match against Inter begins.
