The Schalke series also stops in Augsburg. In a game full of excitement, however, there was more to it.
Thomas Reis and Enrico Maaßen stood on the center line for minutes after the “brutal battle” without a winner and “chatted”. There was also a lot of excitement after the 1: 1 (0: 0) of the “serial offenders” from Schalke 04 at FC Augsburg: A yellow-red card that was not given, a dismissal, the late equalization with a penalty, ten minutes of stoppage time and the dramatic one relegation battle. The coaches, however, were initially concerned with completely different things.
“He was in Dortmund once,” Reis said of Maassen, “and asked me how I arrived at Schalke and whether I felt good.” Reis was able to affirm this, although he found it difficult to show it in Augsburg. “It outweighs the disappointment,” he said contritely.
Sure, his Schalke team remained undefeated in the eighth game in the second half of the season. But given the 47-minute majority, the save by Marius Bülter (90+3, penalty kick) was a draw for the 17th-placed team. too little.
Schalke were lucky that they didn’t have to play with ten men themselves. Eder Balanta, who had already been warned, could have been sent a yellow card – “a bit because of stupidity,” as FCA manager Stefan Reuter complained about the “key scene” when the midfielder prevented a free kick from being taken (29′).
Reis was “extremely and brutally angry”
But after Arne Maier’s 1-0 lead (51′) in Augsburg’s 200th Bundesliga home game, FCA striker Ermedin Demirovic saw a red card (53′). The strike partner of the DFB newcomer Mergim Berisha, who was largely unregistered this time, had unfortunately hit Tom Krauss on the head, Schalke was bleeding. “That was certainly not intentional,” said Maassen, who called the dismissal, which was nevertheless justified, “very annoying”.
However, Reis was even “extremely and brutally annoyed” – about the way Royal Blue played in the majority. It was “very, very bad”, especially after Simon Terodde came on as a second attacker. “If there are no crosses, you can also put in eight strikers,” Reis quarreled.
Terodde at least got the penalty kick when FCA captain Jeffrey Gouweleeuw grabbed “a bit too impetuously” (Reuter). Bülter scored in the fourth game in a row.
In the dressing room, Reis emphasized, he tried to emphasize the positive. “We showed mentality and are still in the race,” he told the team, “that point is worth its weight in gold.”
He said he “also chatted about the future” with Maassen. His Schalke should “not rest” on their series. And Augsburg? “We’re seven points ahead, that’s very decent,” said Maassen in a forgiving manner.
He indulgently certified Berisha a “proper” performance. The attacker can now show his “extraordinary abilities” in the national team: “He fought for this dream for a long time.”