Good performance only enough to secure 1-1 draw against Düsseldorf

One change to the side

Kees van Wonderen had initially named the same side that won in Paderborn but was forced into a late change after the warm-up. Amin Younes was replaced by Christopher Antwi-Adjei in the starting XI.

Fortuna keeper Kastenmeier in fine form

It was a fast start on the freshly relaid pitch at the VELTINS-Arena. With less than a minute played, a shot from Myron van Brederode was blocked for a corner. Schalke broke quickly from the resulting set piece and Moussa Sylla took an ambitious shot from the halfway line, one that didn’t get near the goal. Fortuna goalkeeper Florian Kastenmeier was called into action for the first time a minute later, pushing Kenan Karaman’s strike from the edge of the box to safety (3’).

The Düsseldorf shot-stopper was on his toes again 10 minutes later. As Kastenmeier was expecting a cross from Moussa Sylla, the S04 striker tried to catch him out at his near post with a powerful shot, but he got a strong hand on it to keep it out. Schalke continued to press forward in search of an opener and Kastenmeier was required once more for the visitors. He initially parried Christopher Antwi-Adjei’s cross and then saved Mehmet Can Aydin’s follow-up while still on the ground (17’).

Düsseldorf, who hadn’t threatened much up until this point, looked to have broken the deadlock with just over half an hour played. Myron van Brederode had the ball in the back of the net, though the attacker didn’t celebrate as he seemingly knew that Dawid Kownacki was offside in the build-up. At the other end of the pitch, Moussa Sylla had a huge chance to give Schalke the lead but couldn’t get the better of Kastenmeier from close range.

The away team had a good opportunity before the break as Emmanuel Iyoha cut inside past Taylan Bulut and fired towards goal, only to miss the target by some distance (40’). The final notable moment of the first period saw Sylla head a Murkin cross towards goal – Fortuna’s keeper was comfortable with the header.

Sylla equalises, then hits the bar

The second half started similarly to the first with Fortuna enjoying a dangerous attack in the first two minutes. Kownacki wasn’t able to divert Sobottka’s cross on target. For Schalke, Kenan Karaman’s shot on the turn was blocked by defender Tim Oberdorf and then Ron Schallenberg headed Murkin’s free-kick wide (49’).

The next chance for van Wonderen’s side came after Bulut intercepted André Hoffmann’s attempted pass. The right-back pulled the trigger from 20 yards out and saw his effort parried clear by Kastenmeier (57’). Two minutes later, some nice interplay got the Royal Blues into the box and Karaman looked set to shoot, only for Sobottka to get his foot in to make a crucial tackle. Seconds later, an Antwi-Adjei cross was narrowly missed by several Schalke attackers.

The visiting side then went ahead in the 62nd minute almost completely against the run of play. A long ball by Oberdorf allowed Kownacki to run in behind and he got the better of Murkin, before placing the ball past Justin Heekeren and into the back of the net via the inside of the post (62’). Schalke got their leveller exactly 10 minutes later. Antwi-Adjei’s cross from the left wing was headed home by Sylla, leaving Kastenmeier with no chance on this occasion.

Schalke’s number 9 came close to getting his and the side’s second in the 80th minute. His curling effort looped towards the far corner, hit the underside of the bar and then the post. The Royal Blues pushed for a winning goal late on and unsurprisingly it was Kastenmeier who stopped them from getting one. Firstly, the goalkeeper tipped a Ron Schallenberg header over from a Seguin corner (88’) and then showed off his reflexes in the final minute of injury time when Schallenberg again shot towards goal following Adrian Gantenbein’s cross.

Final game of the year in Elversberg

The Royal Blues have one more game to come in 2024 before the winter break. Matchday 17 sees FC Schalke 04 play away at SV Elversberg on Friday (20/12) at the URSAPHARM-Arena an der Kaiserlinde (18:30 CET).