Ron Schallenberg: I think we’re well-prepared for the last three games

“I think we’re well-prepared for the last three games,” Schallenberg also emphasised. Even though three points against Düsseldorf would have been a huge bonus in the battle for survival, he believes that the draw should still be seen as “very important.” “The point is good for us in the end. We played against a very good team and mostly kept them quiet.” Fortuna were the top-scoring side in the division prior to their visit to the VELTINS-Arena, but the Knappen defended bravely and produced another inspired goalkeeping performance from Marius Müller in order to fend off the opponents for long stretches of the game.

The only goal Schalke conceded went in in the 67th minute. Schallenberg was very pleased with his team’s reaction to that. “When you concede an equaliser against a team like this, it’s easy to just cave in. We didn’t do that though.” The Royal Blues didn’t just sit back and defend, and instead pushed forward themselves in the closing stages, with Assan Ouédraogo firing narrowly wide just before the penalty controversy.

The sense of disappointment after the final whistle quickly dissipated and turned into more of a feeling of “keep this up!” Schallenberg is keen to make clear that they haven’t achieved that yet, and set out his side’s aim for the next few weeks. “We still need to pick up points. A win against Osnabrück would be huge.”