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Miron Muslic: We’ll have to give absolutely everything again
2025 comes to an end for the Royal Blues with an away trip to Eintracht Braunschweig on Sunday (21/12, 13:30 CET). One final test of endurance awaits Schalke before the festive break, as head coach Miron Muslic made clear in his pre-match assessment.
After last Sunday’s 1-0 home win over 1. FC Nürnberg, both the players and head coach were open in admitting that the performance did not fully meet their own expectations. Goalkeeper Loris Karius subsequently called for the team to give their absolute best in training for one final week this year. His coach struck a similar tone: “We’re ready for an intense game and a final push in this calendar year where we’ll have to give absolutely everything again,” Muslic said.
Heiner Backhaus has framed this game like a cup tie, indicating that both teams will go all in.
The 43-year-old immediately explained what that means for the 90 minutes against Eintracht: “We know exactly what Braunschweig will bring to the table and we’re fully aware of the challenge. After their win in Dresden, Heiner Backhaus has framed this game like a cup tie, indicating that both teams will go all in. But if we bring our intensity and structure, and also get the basics right again, we have every chance of getting a positive result,” said the Schalke coach. “With the mindset and the core principles we’ve shown over the past few months, we’ve managed that many times already – now it’s about finding that level one more time.”
Muslic was largely pleased with the week on the training ground – not least because of the influence of senior figures such as his goalkeeper: “We always demand 100% as the coaching team, but not every drill can be perfect. That’s when it’s important for leaders within the group to step up to the plate. Sometimes a word from a player carries even more weight than one from the coach,” explained Muslic, who is planning to travel to Braunschweig with the same squad as last week before the team heads into the Christmas break.
Eintracht unbeaten in their last three games
There’s no doubt that Sunday’s game will be a tough one for the Royal Blues. Eintracht currently sit 14th on 17 points, but recent results have lifted them away from the bottom end of the table. Victories in Dresden and at home to 1. FC Kaiserslautern (2-0), along with a 1-1 draw in their most recent home match against Holstein Kiel, followed a run of four straight defeats. Overall, Braunschweig have kept just two clean sheets in 16 league games so far – in the win over Kaiserslautern and on matchday 1, when they beat 1. FC Magdeburg 1-0, the first of their five victories this season.
Several familiar faces will be waiting for Schalke at the Eintracht-Stadion. Ron-Thorben Hoffmann and Mehmet Can Aydin both started in Braunschweig’s recent 3-2 win at Dynamo Dresden, while Sidi Sané and Sebastian Polter came off the bench. Lino Tempelmann, Florian Flick, Sven Köhler and Lukas Frenkert have also all worn Royal Blue in the past – either for the first team or as part of the Knappenschmiede.
