45
19:20
Mid-term conclusion:
At the break, Gladbach and Schalke are still 0-0 in a not-so-entertaining NRW duel. The guests from Gelsenkirchen touched concrete from the back and effectively kept the Foals away from their own goal for a long time. The eleven from the Lower Rhine sometimes acted overly cautiously in the build-up and lacked surprising actions overall, which meant that S04 almost didn’t burn anything. It was only a minute before the end of the first half that there was a fire after a corner in Schalke’s penalty area. Conversely, the Knappen were also far too sluggish in the game forward, which means that the 0:0 very aptly depicts the very few chances and events in the first round.
45
19:16
Official stoppage time (minutes): 1
44
19:16
And when it comes to a corner kick, it almost rings in Schalke’s goal. First Fährmann is there with his foot against Itakura, before Yoshida steers Kramer’s follow-up shot over the bar with his head. The following corner then brings nothing further.
43
19:14
On the other side, Thuram is suddenly through and can penetrate the penalty area on the right. Jenz takes full risk and separates Thuram from the ball with a perfectly timed tackle. The Foals get a corner kick.
42
19:14
Now it’s Soichiro Kozuki who shoots from the second row again and this time even puts the ball on target. However, the left-footed shot comes completely central and half-high to Omlin, who grabs it safely.
40
19:11
On the other hand, Skarke can work his way through the center to the Gladbach penalty area with the ball at his feet. Teammate Terodde is covered twice, so the 26-year-old has to do it himself. The right-footed shot from 16 meters, however, clearly misses the foals’ goal to the right.
39
19:10
With a random product it is now at least a bit dangerous in front of the Schalke goal. Koné pulls from the edge of the penalty area and Brunner deflects the ball very sharply with his toe into the far corner. Fährmann stretches in vain, but the ball just misses the right post. The subsequent corner then fizzles out again in full.
37
19:09
The game ripples along completely uneventfully. Both teams defend very disciplined, but come up with no dangerous attacks. The match takes place almost entirely between the penalty areas.
34
19:05
Yellow card for Julian Weigl (Bor. Mönchengladbach)
Weigl goes into the aerial duel with Skarke with his leg stretched and catches Schalke on the thigh. That gets him a yellow card with consequences: he misses the next away game at Hertha BSC.
32
19:03
Almost nothing goes offensively with the Gelsenkircheners. First Král missed the right moment to pull away from the second row, and then Balanta overpowered a turbulent through ball into the side.
29
19:00
Koné sends Thuram over the left after winning the ball, but Brunner is there with a perfectly timed tackle and separates the Gladbacher from the ball. Strongly defended.
27
18:59
On the other hand, Gladbach can go through the wall with his head. Ko Itakura starts to dribble in the center and leaves Éder Balanta and Moritz Jenz, both of whom are not determined enough because of their yellow cards. The low shot from the right from 19 meters is not without danger to the right corner, but Ralf Fährmann is down in time and holds the ball.
26
18:58
Koné fritters away the ball in the center and via Kozuki Schalke gets into a three-on-three situation in the switching game. This time the Japanese also wants to put it down directly, but unnecessarily makes a bad pass to Stindl.
25
18:56
The team from the Lower Rhine gets a corner kick, but there is no danger here either. Ralf Fährmann can safely pluck the leather out of the air at the first post.
24
18:56
Now Schalke attacks on the right wing and Soichiro Kozuki can penetrate the penalty area with the ball at his feet. Instead of laying across for Simon Terodde, who started into the interface, he pulls straight away, but doesn’t hit the ball properly, which rolls into the goal. An attack that is symptomatic of this hitherto little entertaining game.
23
18:54
What’s happening on the pitch still doesn’t match the good mood in the stands. The royal blues touch concrete and effectively keep the colts away from their own third, but do not look for a playful solution in the offensive game, which means that Borussia has not had to stretch too much defensively so far.
20
18:52
It remains tough in Borussia Park, where a lot of midfield banter and small-small dominates the action. Gladbach tries again and again to switch to the wings, but Schalke defends very broadly and effectively prevents this approach.
17
18:49
So far, this NRW duel has certainly not been a football firework display. Both teams tighten the center with all their might and cleverly block the passing stations, so that hardly any progress can be made in the game.
14
18:45
Yellow card for Moritz Jenz (FC Schalke 04)
Jenz comes too late against Thuram and hits the Gladbach attacker hard on the ankle. There are no two opinions on this yellow card either.
13.
18:44
In the game forward, not too much is coming together at Schalke. Moritz Jenz starts from his own third and then simply hits the ball far forward on suspicion. However, no other player runs high. The consequence is losing the ball.
10
18:42
Schalke is relatively deep and has defended very disciplined so far. Accordingly, the men from the Lower Rhine found it difficult to bridge the center in the initial phase.
7.
18:38
Hofmann himself brings the dead ball up into the box, where Král jumps the highest and can clear with his head.
6.
18:37
Yellow card for Éder Balanta (FC Schalke 04)
Balanta does not show good positional play with a high ball from Borussia, which means that Hofmann threatens to rush. The Colombian grabs resolutely, tears down his opponent from behind and sees the early yellow card for it.
5.
18:36
A high ball from the right half-field happily slips through to Skarke, who is too surprised to get the ball from eight meters and can no longer finish in a controlled manner. The header clearly misses to the right. Kick off Gladbach.
2.
18:34
Scally tanks past Skarke on the right wing and then crosses up to the other side where Bensebaini takes the direct take with maximum risk. The ball doesn’t come badly, but is blocked by Yoshida.
1.
18:31
The ball rolls in Borussia Park. The Gladbachers appear all in white. The guests from Gelsenkirchen are dressed in the usual royal blue. Here we go.
18:04
Incidentally, when Gladbach met the current bottom team in the Bundesliga, the foals had won eight times in a row. Borussia was last beaten in January 2018 by a team that had held the red lantern at the beginning of the match day. At that time it was 1:2 against 1. FC Köln.
17:58
133 clashes between the two NRW teams have been recorded so far, with the record being remarkably even. Gladbach have won 49 times, while S04 have also won 48 games against the Foals in 36 draws. Away in Gladbach, however, there was usually not much to get for the royal blue. The eleven from the Lower Rhine won 30 of their 48 Bundesliga home games against Schalke. Only against Werder Bremen can Borussia boast more home wins in the top tier of German football (31).
17:52
In the eleven that should end Schalke’s dry spell in the distance today, Thomas Reis is making two changes compared to the 0-0 win against Cologne: Marius Bülter (bench) and Danny Latza (not in the squad due to knee problems) start with Éder Balanta and Alex Kral.
17:47
FC Schalke 04 finally managed to score again last weekend (0-0 against Cologne), but have lost ten of their last twelve league games (one win, one draw). The Royal Blues continue to hold the Red Lantern, which is not only due to the weak offensive (only 14 goals from 18 league games) but also to Gelsenkirchen’s blatant away weakness. Across the seasons, S04 have not been able to win for 36 Bundesliga away games in a row (ten draws, 26 defeats).
17:41
Gladbach coach Daniel Farke can currently draw on the full, as the entire A team is ready for action. Nevertheless, the 46-year-old did not change his starting line-up after the 4-1 win in Kraichgau tonight, but sent exactly the same eleven players onto the field from the start.
17:36
After two defeats in a row, the team from the Lower Rhine celebrated a 4-1 away win at TSG Hoffenheim on the last matchday. Although the Foals could not keep a clean sheet in this game for the eleventh league game in a row, they still climbed up to eighth place in the table. Now, in their own stadium, where six of the nine home games have already been won, the game is to be followed up. It would be the first time that Gladbach has won two Bundesliga games in a row so far this season.
17:30
Hello and welcome from Borussia Park. This is where Borussia Mönchengladbach welcomes FC Schalke 04 at 6:30 p.m. today as part of the 19th match day of the Bundesliga.