Moussa Sylla on his chances, goal and celebration

On Saturday (14/12), Moussa Sylla was close to bringing out his celebration on multiple occasions before he was finally able to on 72 minutes. After his equaliser against Fortuna Düsseldorf, the striker put the ball under his shirt and his thumb in his mouth. “The celebration was for my wife. She’s pregnant. We’re really excited about a new addition to the family,” said the 25-year-old. He doesn’t want to say yet if it’s a boy or a girl.

Against Fortuna, Sylla netted his ninth goal of the season already, drawing him level with Kenan Karaman. The two are now Schalke’s joint top goalscorers in the 2. Bundesliga this season. The Mali international could easily be ahead of his teammate with a bit more luck in the final third.

“I should have scored at least one more goal,” he said, self-critically. “I should have finished the chance on the half-hour mark better, and Florian Kastenmeier reacted well, like he did several times during the game. And it was very unlucky when the ball hit the bar and then the post in the 80th minute. Sometimes that’s the way it is in football. The ball just doesn’t want to go in. It’s important not to let your head drop in these situations, but instead to keep believing in yourself.”

The celebration was for my wife.

Moussa Sylla

Sylla was full of praise for the assist from Christopher Antwi-Adjei. “It was a great cross. I was in the perfect position to make it 1-1,” said the striker, who was also keen to emphasise the hard work of all of his teammates. “We put in a strong performance as a team and would have deserved all three points in the end.”

The forward is now targeting a victory away at Elversberg on Friday (20/12). “We’ll remain hungry, and we’re desperate to round off the year with a win,” stressed Sylla.

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