Vitalie Becker scores the only goal of the game to defeat Nürnberg

Timo Becker back in the squad

Head coach Miron Muslic made one change to the team that won 2-0 away against Fortuna Düsseldorf last time out. Ron Schallenberg, who missed that game with a thigh strain, returned in midfield to replace Paul Pöpperl, who dropped to the bench. Timo Becker, who suffered an MCL injury in the home game against SpVgg Greuther Fürth at the end of September, made his return to take his place among the substitutes.

A quiet first half

The first highlight came even before kick-off, as the Nordkurve delivered an impressive tifo, displaying a giant S04 logo transformed into Nürnberg’s crest as the teams emerged – a powerful symbol of the decades-long friendship between the two sets of supporters. The first notable moment on the pitch took a few minutes to arrive. Nürnberg forward Adriano Grimaldi first slipped a through ball into the Schalke box for Julian Justvan, but Nikola Katic cleared before the offside flag went up (8’). Soon after, Vitalie Becker whipped in a cross from the left and Moussa Sylla flicked on at the near post, but the ball drifted wide of the far corner (10’).

The visitors then began to play with intent and made it clear they were ready to test the Knappen. After Hasan Kuruçay lost possession going forward, FCN broke quickly, with Julian Justvan releasing Mohamed Zoma. He raced through on goal but was denied by Loris Karius and the covering Mertcan Ayhan, before offside was again signalled (19’). Following a brief stoppage for treatment, Zoma was involved once more, though his cross from the left found nobody in the middle (22’).

Schalke also looked to push forward. A move involving Moussa Sylla and Soufiane El-Faouzi ended with Mika Wallentowitz receiving the ball on the edge of the box, but his touch let him down (23’). Moments later, Moussa Sylla tried his luck from around 24 yards, but his effort flew well wide (25’). The most promising Schalke break up to that point came soon after, as captain Kenan Karaman surged forward on the counter, with Sylla to his left and Christopher Antwi-Adjei in support. Just before the box, however, Adam Markhiyev slid in to halt the attack (33’).

Another quick break followed down the right through Mika Wallentowitz and Christopher Antwi-Adjei, but a misunderstanding just outside the Nürnberg area saw the move break down (39’). Shortly before the break, Schalke won two free-kicks on the left and one from the right – with Nürnberg’s Luka Lochoshvili shown the first yellow card of the game – yet the deliveries from Christopher Antwi-Adjei and Vitalie Becker came to nothing. In stoppage time, Christopher Antwi-Adjei tried his luck from distance, but Nürnberg goalkeeper Jan Reichert punched the ball clear (45+4’).

Vitalie Becker fires home

At the start of the second half, head coach Miron Muslic made two changes: Finn Porath and Christian Gomis came on for Mika Wallentowitz and Christopher Antwi-Adjei. FCN’s corner in the 51st minute – their first of the match – soon saw the VELTINS-Arena erupt. From a counter led by Moussa Sylla, the ball found Kenan Karaman, who slipped a perfectly weighted pass through to Vitalie Becker on the left. After taking one touch, Schalke’s number 33 pulled the trigger and found the far corner to make it 1-0 (52’).

Hasan Kuruçay then picked up a yellow card for a foul (54’) – and Schalke almost repeated the move moments later. Once again, Kenan Karaman reacted sharply after a Nürnberg free kick and released Vitalie Becker through the middle, but this time Tim Drexler halted the move (55’). Just a minute later, Moussa Sylla had the next chance: following a headed clearance by the visitors, the S04 forward struck a volley from 18 yards, narrowly clearing the crossbar (55’).

The visitors were far from beaten, however. Time and again they looked to get forward quickly, and after a sprint down the right by Tim Drexler, his pass found Luka Lochoshvili bursting into the box. His close-range effort was superbly saved by Loris Karius (66’). Schalke’s goalkeeper was also alert on several occasions with sweeping interventions, racing off his line to deal with long balls ahead of the onrushing Nürnberg attackers.

The contest was being played at a high tempo, with Schalke repeatedly waiting for turnovers to break at pace. One example came from the edge of their own box, when Moussa Sylla sent Christian Gomis through with a long pass, but FCN goalkeeper Jan Reichelt was quick off his line to clear the ball into touch (74’). Moments later, the crowd rose to applaud as Timo Becker made his return after his knee injury, replacing Hasan Kuruçay (77’). Paul Pöpperl also came on in midfield for Ron Schallenberg, who had also been booked a few minutes earlier (67’).

The hosts remained solid at the back. A shot from Mohamed Zoma was blocked by the Royal Blues’ back line for a corner, which goalkeeper Loris Karius then claimed comfortably (81’). As Nürnberg committed more bodies forward, spaces opened up for Schalke to counter, though the final pass was often lacking. Loris Karius did have to produce one more notable save late on, parrying a close-range header at the far post from Artem Stepanov out for a corner (89’). In the four minutes of added time, the Knappen held firm with the backing of the home support – Christian Gomis and Nürnberg’s Rafael Lubach both saw yellow after a heated exchange – before celebrating their 12th win of the season.

Final game of the year in Braunschweig

S04’s last match of 2025 is on Sunday (21/12) away at Eintracht Braunschweig. The matchday 17 clash kicks off at 13:30 CET. Braunschweig won 3-2 at Dynamo Dresden on Friday night and are currently in 14th place.