Schalke fall to 3-0 defeat in Magdeburg

Unchanged starting line-up

The same players who started in the 1-0 victory over SV Wehen Wiesbaden last week were all named in the starting XI for the clash against Magdeburg. Karel Geraerts did make a few changes to his bench, however, with Derry John Murkin and Brandon Soppy both returning to the matchday squad.

Gnaka puts FCM in front

Magdeburg dominated possession from the word go, with goalkeeper Dominik Riemann coming up as far as the centre circle to serve as another option for his side in possession. S04 kept things tight in the middle of the park in the first 15 minutes and forced FCM to play out from the back time and again.

The hosts managed to make some progress in the ninth minute, as Silas Gnaka managed to get a shot off, but Tomas Kalas came to the rescue at the last second and blocked the midfielder’s effort. Gnaka would give Magdeburg the lead eight minutes later, however. Baris Atik lofted the ball over to FCM’s number 25, who duly fired home from the edge of the box to put the hosts ahead.

El Hankouri, Ito extend Magdeburg’s advantage

Christian Titz’s side looked to get forward even more after going in front and they would get their reward in the 35th minute. Brunner appeared to foul Tatsuya Ito in the box and the referee pointed to the spot after consulting the pitchside monitor. Mohammed El Hankouri stepped up and slotted the ball into the bottom-right corner to double Magdeburg’s lead.

El Hankouri and Ito were also involved in Magdeburg’s third goal. The former laid the ball off to the latter, who slipped past Cedric Brunner and smashed the ball home to give the home side a three-goal cushion.

Four changes to start the second half

Karel Geraerts reacted to his side’s poor first-half performance by making four substitutions. Brandon Soppy – who was making his competitive debut for Schalke -, Tobias Mohr, Bryan Lasme and Simon Terodde all entered the fray, with Timo Baumgartl, Cedric Brunner, Blendi Idrizi and Darko Churlinov being taken off.

Schalke were much better going forward in the second 45, but just couldn’t put the ball in the back of the net. Dominik Riemann denied Kenan Karaman from close range after S04’s number 19 was played through on goal by Paul Seguin. Karaman had another big opportunity to reduce the deficit 13 minutes later. He latched onto a ball from Bryan Lasme, but his shot was deflected and flew wide of the target. Marius Müller was only called into action on a couple of occasions at the start of the second half, as he palmed an Atik free-kick away from danger in the 55th minute, before Amara Condé’s shot went just wide of the post.

Lasme, Ouwejan, Terodde spurn big chances

The next opportunity for Schalke fell to Bryan Lasme. The Frenchman managed to get a shot off inside the box, but it went just past the far post (75’). In the 78th minute, Brandon Soppy whipped a dangerous cross in towards Thomas Ouwejan, but the left-back’s header didn’t trouble Riemann. Substitute Simon Terodde found himself in a good position after rounding Magdeburg’s keeper, but the angle proved to be too tight and the striker’s shot rippled the side-netting (86’). FCM also had their chances as the game drew to a close, with Jason Ceka firing just wide in the 84th minute. Neither side created anything else of note, as the game ended in a disappointing 3-0 defeat for the Royal Blues.

Back home against St. Pauli on Friday

S04 will face off against FC St. Pauli at the VELTINS-Arena on Friday night. The game against the league leaders will kick off at 18:30 CET.