Schalke win 3-0 in Ingolstadt

Büskens in isolation – Kreutzer takes charge

Schalke were without interim head coach Mike Büskens at the Audi-Sportpark. The 53-year-old has to remain in quarantine at home after testing positive for Covid-19 last week. He had hoped to make the game by testing negative in time.

Büskens watched the game at home in Gelsenkirchen and had contact with match analyst Lars Gerling throughout the 90 minutes. Assistant coach Matthias Kreutzer led the team from the touchline, having taken training in Büskens’ absence. He was supported by former S04 player Tim Hoogland (part of the U17s coaching setup), Gerald Asamoah and further members of the coaching staff.

4-4-2 with three changes

There was a change in system for the Royal Blues in Ingolstadt. Schalke began with a 4-4-2 formation, whilst there were three alterations to the side that lost 4-3 to Hansa Rostock last time out. Dominick Drexler, Reinhold Ranftl and Malick Thiaw replaced Rodrigo Zalazar, Henning Matriciani and Salif Sané in the starting XI. Sané was missing due to a muscle injury he suffered on the last matchday. Danny Latza was also absent after testing positive for Covid-19.

Terodde header hits the bar

Schalke were on top in the opening few minutes against the side bottom of the league. The visitors came close to taking the lead after 11 minutes. Ko Itakura’s long ball found Reinhold Ranftl and he crossed it from the byline to pick out Simon Terodde. Schalke’s top goalscorer hit the bar with a header from close range.

Ingolstadt, who initially focused on defending, grew into the game more and more in the first half. Like Schalke though, they had little dangerous moments to speak of. Their best chance was a shot from distance by Florian Pick, which Martin Fraisl easily saved (39’).

Zalazar involved in all three goals

Both teams began the second half unchanged and Schalke once again were the more dominant side. With 55 minutes played, the away team broke the deadlock thanks to substitute Rodrigo Zalazar. The midfielder, who had only been on the pitch for three minutes, found the bottom corner with a low shot after Simon Terodde’s initial effort was blocked.

The hosts had a chance to equalise 10 minutes after going behind. Merlin Röhl played it through to Filip Bilbija, whose shot was straight at Martin Fraisl. Schalke reacted well and soon doubled their lead. A Zalazar corner found Malick Thiaw and his shot was deflected home by an Ingolstadt defender’s knee (71’).

The Knappen killed the game off in the 81st minute. Zalazar chipped a ball into the six-yard box that found Dominick Drexler. He brought it down with a lovely first touch and then beat the goalkeeper from close range to make it 3-0. There was still time for Martin Fraisl to impress, expertly tipping wide Stefan Kutschke’s strike to earn himself and his defence a clean sheet (86’).

Home game against Hannover

Next week sees Schalke play their last game before the final international break of the season. Hannover 96 will visit the VELTINS-Arena on Saturday (19/3) at 13:30 CET.