Domenico Tedesco: Galatasaray are even stronger away from home

“In my opinion, Galatasaray are even stronger away from home,” warns Tedesco, who expects Tuesday’s opponents to make tactical changes compared with two weeks ago. He also warns of the strong, quick attacking ability Galatasaray possess. Schalke had several chances to take all three points from their trip to the Türk Telekom Stadion a fortnight ago but had to settle for a 0-0 draw.

Tedesco was satisfied with his side’s performance in Istanbul but was critical regarding the failure to take one or two of Schalke’s chances. “Galatasaray were strong in front of goal for the first 30 minutes of the match and in certain situations, we were too passive,” analyses the coach. “It was certainly one of our best performances in attack, but defensively we allowed far too much space for our opponents to play in.”

Last season’s Bundesliga runners up want to take the momentum gained out of Saturday’s 3-1 home win against Hannover into the Champions League clash. The Royal-Blues were especially strong in the closing stages of the match. “We feel good know that we played really well at time against Hannover. We want to continue from where we left off,” targets Tedesco.

The 33 year old admits that faith within his side was always there even during the difficult start of the season, when Schalke lost their opening five matches of the season. “I know I am lucky to have these boys. We possess some quality players,” said Tedesco regarding his squad. “Success will come if we believe in ourselves,” said a confident Schalke head coach.

Praise for Stambouli, Fährmann a potential option for the squad

Benjamin Stambouli, who missed the start of the season due to injury, wore the captain’s armband for the first time in Istanbul. “You can see from our performances last season, how much we have missed him,” said Tedesco, who praised Stambouli’s mentality both on and off the pitch. “He made a super first appearance of the season, was calm on the ball and reads the game well. He is a true leader and very important to us.”

Club captain Ralf Fährmann could return to the squad for Tuesday’s Champions League match. However, he is not fit enough to start the match as Tedesco explains. “Ralf Fährmann is making good progress on his return from injury,” said Tedesco, but he added: “We will most likely play Alexander Nübel in goal against Galatasaray. Ralle isn’t fully fit so it would be a small risk to play him and we don’t want to take any chances.”