S04 come out on top in chaotic eight-goal thriller against Magdeburg

Kevin Müller replaces Loris Karius between the sticks

After the 2-1 away win against Holstein Kiel, Miron Muslic was forced into making one change to the Schalke starting XI. Kevin Müller started in place of Loris Karius, making his debut for the Royal Blues in the process. Karius was unavailable for the match, as he was experiencing back complaints shortly before kick-off. The line-up was identical aside from the change between the sticks – Johannes Siebeking was named on the bench as a back-up shot stopper.

Aouchiche makes it 1-0 via Hugenot and the post

From the moment the referee blew his whistle to get the match underway, an even contest unfolded in front of the noisy crowd at the VELTINS-Arena. The visitors had the first opportunity of the match after Dejan Ljubičić lost possession. Laurin Ulrich pounced on his mistake and laid the ball off to Noah Pesch whose shot went behind for a corner. Kevin Müller looked solid right from the get-go, as he plucked the resulting delivery out of the air with confidence.

The Royal Blues had their first chance of the encounter shortly after that and, little by little, began to take control of the game. They threatened to take the lead through Adil Aouchiche in the 13th minute. After a long throw in from Timo Becker, the Frenchman latched onto the ball on the edge of the box and volleyed it goalwards, but his effort flew over the bar. Two minutes later, the winter signing would go one better to spark jubilant scenes in the stands. Aouchiche picked up the ball on the left wing following a pass from Edin Džeko, before he drove into the box and lined up a shot into the far corner. The ball took a deflection off Jean Hugonet, looped over a helpless Dominik Reimann and kissed the inside of the post before nestling in the back of the Magdeburg goal.

Nollenberger with an instant reply, Džeko heads S04 back in front

Just two minutes later, the away side were level pegging once again. Alexander Nollenberger danced down the left wing and through Schalke’s defence, before crossing the ball in towards Mateusz Zukowski. The striker knocked the ball down and played it back to Nollenberger who curled it past Kevin Müller and into the bottom right corner to make it 1-1. The Royal Blues weren’t shaken by the quick equaliser and looked to create further opportunities on the break. However, Adil Aouchiche couldn’t find the final ball at a crucial moment (23’), and Dejan Ljubičič saw his shot saved by Dominik Reimann (25’).

Shortly after that, Ljubičič then turned provider and squared the ball to Edin Džeko. The Bosnian didn’t get enough power on his shot and didn’t trouble Dominik Reimann as a result (28’). Nine minutes later, Džeko was at the centre of the action once again, as he gave Tobias Müller the slip on a counterattack with a deft piece of skill. However, his effort was inches away from restoring Schalke’s lead. As is so often the case, though, the third time was the charm for Džeko. In the 39th minute, Kenan Karaman received the ball on the left wing from Nikola Katic and found Adil Aouchiche on the opposite side of the pitch with a pinpoint pass. Aouchiche then crossed the ball into the middle, where Džeko emerged victorious in an aerial duel against Alexander Nollenberger at the far post. The Bosnia international nodded the ball past Reimann to put Schalke back in front, and the scoreline remained 2-1 up until the break.

Karaman extends lead, Zukowski reduces deficit again

Adil Aouchiche opened up the second 45 with a corner from the left-hand side. The ball was headed on towards the far post by Nikola Katić and ended up making contact with Philipp Hercher’s hand (47’). Referee Timo Gerach didn’t hesitate in awarding S04 a penalty. Captain Kenan Karaman stood over the spot kick and coolly slotted it home to make it 3-1 in the 49th minute. Soufiane El-Faouzi almost made the start to the second half even better by adding to Schalke’s two-goal advantage. After some impressive passing play in Magdeburg’s box, he was prevented from getting a shot off by the opposition defence, though.

In spite of the pressure from the home side, FCM put their first chance of the second half to good use and reduced the deficit to 3-2. Philipp Hercher’s deflected cross landed at Zukowski’s feet who, from around 17 yards out, didn’t waver and instead found the back of the net (53’). Just like at the beginning of the match, the hosts remained undeterred and looked to react quickly to the setback. Another cross from El-Faouzi led to another Džeko header, but the Bosnian didn’t cause any problems for Dominik Reimann on this occasion (59’).

Ljubičič and Karaman bring fans to their feet, Zukowski makes it 5-3

FCM’s keeper was powerless to stop Schalke’s fourth goal in the 64th minute, however. This time, the goalscorer for the Royal Blues was Dejan Ljubčič. He benefitted from Edin Džeko’s excellent vision, with the Bosnian striker cutting inside after a pass from Kenan Karaman and opting to tee up his better positioned teammate instead of going for goal himself – the rest was a formality. It only took three more minutes for Schalke to finally establish a three-goal cushion. Substitute Lubambo Musonda’s headed backpass didn’t have enough power on it and was intercepted by Kenan Karaman. In a one-on-one with goalkeeper Dominik Reimann, he effortlessly slotted it into the back of the net to make it 5-2 to S04.

Schalke dominated this phase of play and carved out numerous chances. Moussa Sylla, who replaced Dejan Ljubičič in the 72nd minute, only took two minutes to make his presence felt. First, he had a shot parried away by Reimann, before he laid the rebound off to Adil Aouchiche. Unfortunately, the midfielder was unable to add to the home side’s lead and could only win a corner.

The chaotic encounter at the VELTINS-Arena produced another goal in the 84th minute to make the closing stages interesting. On this occasion, the visitors were awarded a penalty. Mertcan Ayhan, who had come on for Timo Becker in the 72nd minute, fouled Mateusz Zukowski from behind in the penalty area. The striker stepped up to take the spot kick that he won, smashing it into the bottom corner to make it 5-3. The away side repeatedly tried their luck in the dying embers of the match. However, following six minutes of added time, the scoreline remained 5-3. The eight-goal spectacle was Schalke’s first home win since the winter break.

Another evening game in Fürth

On matchday 24 of the 2. Bundesliga season, S04 have another primetime fixture. On Saturday (28/2), they take on SpVgg Greuther Fürth, with kick-off scheduled for 20:30 CET against the Shamrocks.