FC Schalke 04 has kept its chances of another season in the Bundesliga. In the 2: 1 (0: 1) against Werder Bremen on Saturday (April 29, 2023), Schalke turned a deficit late and reduced the gap to the relegation place to one point.
Dominick Drexler (90+2) scored the wildly acclaimed winning goal in added time. Werder’s Marvin Ducksch (18th minute) had previously confirmed his top form with his goal to make it 0-1, it was his ninth goal in the second half of the season – that’s the best in the Bundesliga. Sepp van den Berg (81st), on loan from Liverpool, provided the deserved equaliser.
“There was more energy on the pitch in the second half,” said Schalke coach Thomas Reis. “It worked today, the substitutions were good. The win was very important, we’re still in the race, there’s still a long way to go.” Werder coach Ole Werner said his team didn’t provide relief after the break. “The equalizer was logical, we didn’t find our game anymore. In the final phase it was Wild West, the bottom line is that we deserved to lose.”
Stuttgart submits
The victory of the competitor VfB Stuttgart against Borussia Mönchengladbach in the afternoon put Schalke under additional pressure. In view of a difficult remaining program with opponents like Bayern Munich and RB Leipzig, a win against Bremen was almost a must.
Schalke made a correspondingly committed start, but Werder coldly capitalized on Rodrigo Zalazar losing the ball. At the end of the beautiful counterattack, Weiser sent the ball on to Ducksch, who deliberately hit the left corner. Top scorer Niclas Füllkrug was absent from Werder again with a calf injury.
Schalke’s Krauss hits the bar
Schalke didn’t get discouraged, played energetically and had more shots on goal at the end of the first half (10:7). However, the attacks were rarely well thought out and really dangerous. Bremen had the much better chances to score, but missed Maximilian Philipp (45′) and Ducksch (45’+5′).
After the break, Schalke increased the tempo again and pushed for an equaliser. In the 64th minute, Tom Krauss came very close, but shot a rebound from eight meters off the crossbar.
Two late goals
Cheered on by the loud crowd, Schalke continued to play with full commitment and deserved the equaliser. After a long throw-in, van den Berg hit the left corner from the 16th.
But a draw would probably not have been enough – the cheering after Drexler’s winning goal was all the greater. Zalazar served the substitute midfielder with a sensitive pass, Drexler hit the right corner from a central position. Shortly before, Drexler had prevented a second Bremen goal in his own penalty area when he blocked a Ducksch shot.
Bremen welcomes the record champions
On Friday, May 5, Schalke takes on the in-form 1. FSV Mainz 05 at 8:30 p.m. Bremen will face FC Bayern Munich at 6:30 p.m. on Saturday.