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The clock is ticking: You can continue counting at this point. 25, 26, 27 …, after the game against SC Freiburg, Schalke 04 have not won 28 games in the Bundesliga. Tasmania Berlin’s streak is just three losses or draws away. Schalke is also historically bad. The squires certainly have problems other than Tasmania’s record. After twelve days of play, they simply haven’t won against five Bundesliga teams.
The result: Two goals from Roland Sallai (50th, 68th) in the 0-2 (0-0) win against Freiburg marked Schalke’s eighth defeat this season. Read the message here.
The principle of hope: After the draw in Augsburg last weekend, many Schalke fans suddenly seemed optimistic. At some point you would win, the knot had to be broken. Schalke coach Manuel Baum fueled this principle of expecting a victory before the match. With Amine Harit’s forgiveness, it should be something. When asked about his offensive tactics against the compact Freiburgers, he only said on Sky: “We have to see how we joke about it.”
First half: According to a quote from the coach, Schalke played in the first round. Well actually, both teams played the same way. From more (Freiburg) or less (Schalke) compact defensive ranks, they only became dangerous through opposing mistakes or coincidences. After all: Schalke shot a total of five times in the direction of Freiburg’s goal, especially Suat Serdar and Benito Raman were compromised. However, the descent cannot be achieved with these characteristics alone.
(There is no reason to worry: If you wish, you can start a discussion on sleight of hand in the first round. After a heel trick from Nils Petersen, the ball hit Salif Sané’s outstretched arm from close range. Referee Sven Jablonski and his colleagues probably abstained from deciding on penalties due to the short distance. After all, Sky expert Lothar Matthäus was able to fix it at the halftime show. It should have been the only moment in the first round that neutral football fans were ripped out of the dream phase.
Second half: A precise header from Sallai (50th) in the far corner should give hope for an at least exciting second round after the restart. Aside from an imprecise conclusion from striker Nassim Boujellab (54th), who broke with a turban, almost nothing was offensive at Schalke. Instead, Raman tried a trick that no longer even works on the Playstation: on the right wing, facing the ball, he let the ball go through his legs, probably to surprise his opponent. The surprise did not materialize, Freiburg changed quickly and a few seconds later, Sallai, who had been preferred to Lucas Höler before the game, had already put the ball into the goal through goalkeeper Ralf Fährmann (68th).
The view: After four games without defeat, SC Freiburg returns to the midfield safely. Just a few weeks ago, when they lost to Mainz, among other things, things looked very different for coach Christian Streich’s team. If Schalke really want to win this season, then they should, with all due respect, do so next Saturday (3:30 pm, SPIEGEL.de live ticker, TV: Sky) against Arminia Bielefeld. Before Bielefeld’s afternoon game against Augsburg, the newcomer was 16th with three points ahead of Schalke.
In case of defeat, the distance between Schalke and the relegation place would continue to grow. And even hope knows its limits.
