FC Schalke 04 has been relegated from the Bundesliga for the fifth time in its history. Even a courageous and courageous appearance at the German Cup winners RB Leipzig on the last day of the game could not prevent the “Royal Blues” from being relegated directly.
The Schalke fans defiantly stretched their scarves in the air, while their defeated heroes sat on the grass deeply disappointed. Goalkeeper Ralf Fährmann slowly squatted down in front of his goal, covering his face with his hand to hide his tears. Team manager Gerald Asamoah ran across the pitch trying to somehow cheer up his heartbroken players. Coach Thomas Reis took the curve and applauded the fans who had traveled with him.
Schalke lost 4-2 (1-2) at RB Leipzig on Saturday. In front of 47,069 spectators in the sold-out arena, birthday boy Konrad Laimer (10th minute) gave Leipzig the lead, while Christopher Nkunku (19th) increased the lead. Marcin Kaminski (28th) scored the goal in the meantime, before Willi Orban (49th) marked the 2:2 with an own goal. Substitute Yussuf Poulsen (82nd) put RB back in the lead before Nkunku (90th + 4) made the 13th RB home win perfect with goal 16 of the season – club record. And for the French, the top scorer cannon together with Bremen’s Niclas Füllkrug.
“Today isn’t such a nice day. You’re 2-0 down and then I can’t blame my team anymore. If you look at the second half of the season, which unfortunately we can’t buy anything for, but the way we came back today with the mentality and the belief that maybe we can still achieve something impossible, I definitely saw that. The game was a reflection of the season, we didn’t seal relegation today.”said Rice.
After a good two minutes, Timo Werner could have provided the first Schalke damper. After a quick transition game, Nkunku sent Laimer steeply, who passed keeper Ralf Fährmann to Werner, who just missed the ball at the far post. The RB leadership initiated RB goalkeeper Örjan Nyland, who was given preference over Janis Blaswich to say goodbye. Danny Latza couldn’t defend the long ball into the opponent’s penalty area, Dani Olmo took a shot from the inside right, Fährmann parried brilliantly, but Laimer coolly pushed the rebound over the line.
Schalke plays bravely and is punished
Schalke nevertheless played courageously in front of the eyes of rise architect Rouven Schröder, who is now RB sports director. This was exactly what happened to the lightning-fast Saxons. Nkunku (19th) beat five Schalke players in the penalty area and scored his 15th goal of the season to make it 2-0. The almost 10,000 Schalke fans were shocked.
The “Royal Blues” reacted courageously. Just nine minutes later, Kaminski’s header sparked hope. Nyland didn’t look happy with his missed fist defense after a corner. However, the Norwegian prevented Schalke from equalizing with a save at the near post when Rodrigo Zalazar (33′) shot from a tight angle.
Leipzig strikes back
After the change, Schalke went full offensive and were lucky. A ball that bounced off the post was unlucky for Orban on his shin when trying to save – 2: 2. This slapstick hit annoyed RB. The intensity and aggressiveness became noticeably higher. Schalke’s Sebastian Polter (64th) demanded a penalty, but Orban had not touched it, as the video images showed. In the closing stages, the substitute RB players made the difference. Poulsen made it 3-2 (82′), Nkunku scored with a lob in added time.
Relegation despite strong second half
For the “Knappen” the relegation after the strong second half of the season is particularly bitter. But the completely screwed up first half of the season, in which Schalke was already far from bottom of the table, was too high a mortgage. And in retrospect, the commitment of coach Thomas Reis, who came on October 27, 2022 one day after sports director Schröder retired, came too late. Reis was the seventh Schalke coach in two years.