Next season there will finally be a Ruhrpott derby between FC Schalke and Borussia Dortmund in the German Bundesliga. That has been certain since Saturday evening, when S04 secured their return to the German top flight with a 1-0 win against Fortuna Düsseldorf. However, away from the big stage, the derby will continue to take place in 2025/26. So on Sunday as part of the Regionalliga West. BVB experienced a debacle.
On the 32nd matchday of the Regionalliga West, BVB’s U23s played against the second representative of FC Schalke 04. Having started the matchday third in the table, Borussia still had a remaining chance of promotion. However, S04 smashed them to pieces on Sunday.
Jean Paul Ndiaye gave FC Schalke the lead in the Parkstadion at home in the second minute, and Edsion Gashi made it 3-0 with a double strike (20th/35th) before the break. In the second half, BVB was able to hold off a little better, but conceded another goal from South Korean In-gyom Jung.
BVB’s bankruptcy at FC Schalke 04 goes against the trend
In the table, Dortmund (57 points) falls behind Borussia Mönchengladbach’s youngsters (58 points) due to the bankruptcy, while Schalke follows in fifth place with 55 points. With two games left, BVB no longer has a chance of pushing Fortuna Cologne (66 points) off the top. Only Rot-Weiß Oberhausen could achieve this feat. However, the gap is already four points.
BVB won the first leg in November 2025 4-1, and Dortmund’s U23s won their last away game at Schalke 5-1 in November 2020. At that time, today’s Eintracht Frankfurt attacker Ansgar Knauff met, among others.
The Royal Blues’ clear success also came as a surprise, as the Knappen’s U23 team had only won one of their last seven games.
