FC Schalke 04 missed a win in the last home game in the Bundesliga in a 2-2 (1-1) win against Eintracht Frankfurt and has to worry about staying up. The final decision will be made on the final day.
If someone wasn’t aware of how much the game between Schalke 04 and Eintracht Frankfurt is at stake, a look at the Gelsenkirchen Arena would have been enough to see how explosive it was. For the last home game of the relegation candidate from the Ruhr area, fans of the host dressed in the club colors blue and white – in the upper tier everyone came in blue shirts, in the lower tier they wore white shirts.
This blue and white wall created a very special atmosphere long before kick-off. And it was just 48 seconds into the game before that crowd of fans erupted in cheers. After a free-kick from Rodrigo Zalazar, Simon Terodde headed the ball and gave Schalke a very early 1-0 lead – and gave them great hopes of staying up in the league.
Frankfurt’s Kamada shocks Schalke
The atmosphere was correspondingly relaxed afterwards, Schalke was inspired by the strong performance on the field and in the stands in the early stages. But Daichi Kamada put out that fire. The Japanese shot from 18 meters and benefited from the fact that S04 goalkeeper Alexander Schwolow made a mistake – the 1: 1 (21st minute). Referee Daniel Schlager still checked whether there had been a foul on Cedric Brunner in the run-up, but the goal counted.
Schalke harms itself
It was a moment that changed the game. At first the game flattened out, there were no more highlights. But again emotions at the end of the first half. And they showed again how much is at stake for Schalke. Because two very important players didn’t have their feelings under control and each saw their fifth yellow card completely unnecessarily. Terodde complained repeatedly (40th) and is suspended in the last game of the season at RB Leipzig, as is defender Moritz Jenz, who pushed Randal Kolo Muani (44th).
However, there was still a big chance for the third goal of the game. Immediately after Terodde’s warning, Aurelio Buta crossed into the Schalke penalty area, where Kamada got the ball to his toes, but shot it just wide of the opponent’s goal (40′).
A straddle like a goal – but then it falls
At the beginning of the second half, Frankfurt was the offensively much stronger team, but Schalke put up a fight and this effort was worth it. After a cross from Buta, Kolo Muani was ready at the far post to put the ball into the empty goal, but Sepp van den Berg jumped in between with a stretched leg and tipped the ball wide (52′).
A little later Schalke couldn’t get a foot between them and fell behind. Mario Götze put through to Junior Dina Ebimbe, whose cross Tuta converted from five meters to Frankfurt 2:1 (59th). While this goal fueled Schalke’s fears of relegation, it was also an important goal for Eintracht. With a win, coach Oliver Glasner’s team (meets SC Freiburg on the last day of the game) would have drawn level with sixth-placed Bayer Leverkusen on 49 points and increased their chances of winning the European Cup.
Trapp prevents the Schalke compensation
However, Schalke stayed in the game and had chances themselves. Alex Kral just missed the opponent’s goal after putting Terodde down from 20 meters (72′). After the subsequent corner, the 25-year-old got the ball again, but it went wide from his shoulder. An even greater opportunity soon followed. Zalazar crossed and Kevin Trapp prevented with a strong reflex that Kenan Karaman scored the equalizer three meters from the goal (74th).
Shortly thereafter, however, the Gelsenkircheners were very lucky. After a tackle by Henning Matriciani, Buta fell to the ground – but neither Schlager nor the video referee recognized a foul. The Schalke full-back hit the opponent clearly (77th). Luck ran out on the other side, however, when Trapp was able to fend off a header from Jenz (79′).
At least Polter gets a point
Schalke put pressure on, took a lot of risks, but knew how to please football-wise. The “Royal Blues” deserved the equalizer – and they did it too. Matriciani prevailed on the left, passed on to Tobias Mohr and his cross put Sebastian Polter into the goal to make it 2-2 (85th).
We couldn’t do more – and that might not be enough. Because VfL Bochum equalized in added time in the game at Hertha BSC, Schalke remains in 16th place for the time being. VfB Stuttgart can overtake Mainz 05 on Sunday – then even a win in Leipzig on the last matchday could not be enough .
“Faith is still very, very big”
Nevertheless, Schalke are going into the season finale with a lot of self-confidence. “The goal was very important to stay reasonably in the game“Said 2: 2 shooter Polter in the Sportschau interview. “Faith is still very, very big. You could feel that over the last few months. We’re living this dream of staying in class.”
And coach Thomas Reis still believes in the turnaround. “Now we have another final next week. It may hurt a bit today, but tomorrow the focus will be on Leipzig. But it doesn’t get any easier“said the S04 coach. “We have not achieved what we all wished for. Let’s see what else needs to be done in the table on matchday 34.“