Late Džeko and Karaman goals secure a point against Kaiserslautern

Three changes to the starting XI, two new faces in the squad

Head coach Miron Muslic made three changes to his starting line-up from the side that drew 0-0 at Hertha BSC last weekend. Finn Porath came into the XI on the left in place of Vitalie Becker, who missed out with a knee problem. Mertcan Ayhan replaced Mika Wallentowitz on the opposite side. Christian Gomis also started in place of Moussa Sylla, who is set to leave FC Schalke 04 for a move abroad. New signing Edin Džeko, who completed his move to Gelsenkirchen last Thursday, made the squad for the first time, beginning on the bench at a sold-out VELTINS-Arena. New second-choice goalkeeper Kevin Müller also took his place among the substitutes for the first time.

Kuruçay with the best chance of the first half

42 days after S04’s last home game, the fans in the Nordkurve welcomed the team back with an impressive tifo. Blue and white flags were waved in a chequerboard pattern, while a large banner bearing the word Schalke was unfurled across the stands. Almost straight from kick off, Miron Muslic’s team were awarded a free kick on the right. Amin Younes stepped up, but Kenan Karaman’s header inside the box was blocked by the Kaiserslautern defence (1’). The visitors had their first sight of goal through a cross from Paul Joly, which Loris Karius gathered comfortably (5’).

Nikola Katic then slid in to block a potential effort from Nattan Skyttä just outside the box (8’). Kaiserslautern enjoyed a little more control in the opening phase, but the best chance belonged to Schalke. Hasan Kuruçay met Soufiane El-Faouzi’s cross from the right with a header that forced Julian Krahl into a strong save (12’). Schalke then began to take control, while remaining alert defensively when Karius reacted quickly to a loose touch from Skyttä inside his own penalty area after the midfielder had been played through by Kaiserslautern captain Marlon Ritter (21’).

A well-weighted through ball from Amin Younes sent Timo Becker into a promising position, but the right wing-back looked for a square pass instead of shooting from close range and the chance came to nothing (24’). The following moments were a lot more hectic inside the VELTINS-Arena. Soufiane El-Faouzi won the ball on the edge of the box against Atanas Chernev but stumbled as he moved towards goal. The ball fell to Christian Gomis, whose effort from 18 yards out failed to hit the target. From the resulting counter-attack, Hasan Kuruçay was shown a yellow card for a foul on Norman Bassette (29’).

Shortly afterwards, a low cross from Paul Joly flashed across the Schalke penalty area and produced the visitors’ best chance of the half. Marlon Ritter found himself free at the far post, but once again Loris Karius was equal to the task (32’). Leon Haas then had a follow-up effort for Kaiserslautern, which was blocked by Mertcan Ayhan.

As the first half drew to a close, Schalke looked to regain control. Loris Karius was called into action once more after a high ball from Joly, punching clear inside the six-yard box (45’). After one minute of stoppage time, the teams went into the break goalless.

Džeko and Karaman rescue a point

The second half started without any changes. Mertcan Ayhan made an early intervention against FCK striker Norman Bassette, before trying his luck himself from around 20 yards on the left, albeit without success (47’). Schalke came closer soon after when Nikola Katic brought down a high ball from Mertcan Ayhan on his chest and fired a volley just wide of the right post (51’). At the other end, Loris Karius and Norman Bassette clashed following a cross from Mika Haas, but the Schalke goalkeeper came out on top in the aerial duel (54’).

Finn Porath then had Schalke’s best chance to that point after a set piece from Mertcan Ayhan. The ball fell kindly to him via a deflection, but Julian Krahl was equal to his effort at the near post (58’). The resulting corner proved even more dangerous: Timo Becker rose unchallenged to meet Amin Younes’ delivery, but his bouncing header failed to find the net.

Moments later, the visitors struck. Just seconds after coming on for Norman Bassette, Ivan Prtajin made an immediate impact, meeting Nattan Skyttä’s free kick from the left to head past Loris Karius from close range into the bottom corner to make it 1-0 (61’). Kaiserslautern remained the more active side in front of goal and went close again through Mika Haas, who opted to look for a pass from inside the box. Nikola Katic was on hand to intervene (65’).

Schalke then turned to attacking reinforcement in the 67th minute, with Edin Džeko replacing Amin Younes. With the Bosnian leading the line, the hosts immediately had a new target up front. Soufiane El-Faouzi looked for him first with a cross from the right, but Džeko headed wide under pressure from two defenders (72’). The visitors responded shortly afterwards with a double substitution, as Semih Sahin and Daniel Hanslik came on for Marlon Ritter and Nattan Skyttä (74’). Schalke also made changes, with Felipe Sanchez and Mika Wallentowitz replacing Timo Becker and Finn Porath for the final quarter of an hour.

Julian Krahl was then forced into action, punching clear a dangerous cross from Soufiane El-Faouzi (78’). Soon after, Kenan Karaman attempted an effort on the turn, but was unable to generate enough power. As Schalke pushed forward in search of an equaliser, Kaiserslautern struck again. Ivan Prtajin broke clear on the break and finished calmly past Loris Karius to make it 2-0 (84’).

Schalke refused to give in and pulled a goal back in the 87th minute through Edin Džeko. The new number 10 showed superb control to bring down a looping ball from Mika Wallentowitz inside the box before calmly finishing on his right foot. Head coach Miron Muslic then introduced another attacking option, bringing on Zaid Tchibara for Hasan Kuruçay, and Schalke continued to press — with immediate reward. A corner from Soufiane El-Faouzi dropped to Kenan Karaman, and the captain kept his composure in the crowded area to fire home a low shot and level the score at 2-2, sparking scenes of pure ecstasy inside the VELTINS-Arena (90’). It proved to be the final act of a breathless closing phase.

Local derby in Bochum

S04 play away against VfL Bochum next Saturday (31/1). The local derby against the side currently 11th in the 2. Bundesliga kicks off at 13:00 CET at the Vonovia-Ruhrstadion. In the reverse fixture, the Royal Blues ran out 2-1 winners.