Narrow win against Arminia
©IMAGO
Thanks to Edin Dzeko: Schalke 04 secured a narrow home win in the tight battle for promotion in the 2nd Bundesliiga. The star striker continues to expand his quota. And a negative series continues for Bielefeld. SV Elversberg can also get involved higher up. For 1. FC Magdeburg, however, the situation in the bottom of the table is becoming increasingly threatening.
FC Schalke 04 has come another step closer to returning to the Bundesliga. The Revierklub won 1-0 (1-0) against newly promoted Arminia Bielefeld and extended their lead in the 2nd league. The lead over fourth place is currently five points, but the competitors are still playing at the weekend.
Once again it was star striker Dzeko who scored for the hosts in front of 62,077 spectators in the sold-out arena on Friday evening. The opening goal (15th minute) was the fifth goal of the season in the Bosnian’s fourth home game, who will be 40 years old on March 17th.
Bielefeld’s compensation is collected
The Bielefeld team, who are in the middle of a relegation battle after their third defeat in a row, didn’t have a bad away game. However, Joel Grodowski (3rd) or Jannik Rochelt (35th) could not overcome goalkeeper Kevin Müller. Schalke pushed for the second goal, but failed several times because of Jonas Kersken. The Arminia goalkeeper was unlucky when Dzeko scored from a corner, then the 25-year-old saved his team from a major defeat with his saves against Adil Aouchiche (42nd), Kenan Karaman (45th +3/55th), Timo Becker and Dzeko (61st) and Moussa Sylla (90th + 5).
While Schalke missed chances at the front, Bielefeld almost managed to equalize in the final phase (81′): But the supposed goalscorer Grodowski was offside when Roberts Uldrikis passed the ball.
Elversberg climbs to second place with a win against Magdeburg
Thanks to a 1-0 (0-0) win against 1. FC Magdeburg, SV Elversberg jumped to a direct promotion spot in the 2nd Bundesliga, at least overnight. In front of 8,652 spectators, Lukasz Poreba scored the winning goal in the 85th minute for the Saarland team, who now have 48 points in second place.
For the FCM, however, the situation in the relegation battle is becoming increasingly threatening after their fourth defeat in a row. With 23 points, coach Petrik Sander’s team remains in 17th place and can be overtaken at the weekend by SpVgg Greuther Fürth, who have the same number of points.
A lot of effort, little return
It took a quarter of an hour for the home team, who dominated the game, to have their first chance. FCM goalkeeper Dominik Reimann was able to parry a direct free kick from Lukas Petkov. Ten minutes later, the 28-year-old made another brilliant save against Immanuel Pherai.
But Magdeburg, who primarily relied on counterattacks, also created good opportunities. First, Mateusz Zukowski had a completely free shot from eight meters, but didn’t hit the ball properly. Then Dariusz Stalmach failed with a header from close range past the brilliantly reacting SVE keeper Nicolas Kristof.
After the change, the home team increased the pressure. Despite a few chances in the middle of the second half, the opening goal did not materialize for a long time. Either a Magdeburg leg or Reimann got in the way at the last moment. There was also some bad luck when Petkov shot against the post (79′). But then Poreba redeemed the SVE with a well-placed shot into the corner.
