1-0 defeat in Bielefeld confirms S04 will play in the second tier next season

Two changes

Goncalo Paciencia made his first start since matchday 8 at the SchücoArena. The Portuguese striker had been out for several months with a knee injury and had come off the bench in each of the last three games. He replaced Can Bozdogan in the team, which meant Amine Harit dropped deeper in the 3-5-2. The other change saw Shkodran Mustafi come in for Timo Becker.

Voglsammer with the best chance

Neither side were on top in the early stages, with both failing to really get into the penalty box. The first shot of the match came from range – Ralf Fährmann easily kept out Manuel Prietl’s strike (9’).

Four minutes later, Arminia, who were growing into the game, had the next opportunity. Malick Thiaw blocked Fabian Klos’ effort, before Mascarell got in the way of Ritsu Doan’s dangerous shot. Andreas Voglsammer came close for the home side in the 29th minute, poking the ball just wide from a Maier free-kick.

The Bielefeld striker was again in the action six minutes later. Fährmann kept out a close-range shot from Voglsammer with his feet.

Schalke had no notable attacking moments in the first 45 minutes, despite putting in a committed performance and pressing high. Ultimately, the final ball was lacking once winning possession back.

Klos opens the scoring soon after the restart

The first chance of the second half fell to Schalke’s Mehmet Can Aydin, who let fly from the right but saw his shot sail comfortably wide. At the other end, Bielefeld captain Fabian Klos’ 50th minute effort from distance beat Ralf Fährmann and put the hosts 1-0 in front.

A Prietl free-kick just minutes later almost resulted in Arminia’s second of the night as a deflected effort dipped dangerously but landed just outside of the goal (55’). Klaas-Jan Huntelaar’s free-kick moments before at the other end was blocked by the Bielefeld wall.

In the 71st minute, S04 had to continue chasing the game with ten men, as Malick Thiaw was shown a second yellow card for a slightly late challenge on Fabian Klos. Ten minutes before the end, the referee awarded Arminia a penalty after Sead Kolasinac caught Ritsu Doan’s leg just inside the area. Christian Dingert had initially awarded a free-kick but eventually pointed to the spot with some video assistance. Fabian Klos had his penalty saved by Ralf Färhmann and finished the rebound after the ball returned to his feet via a teammate, albeit from an offside position. The video assistant referees stepped in again to rule the goal out.

The final chance of the game belonged to the Royal Blues. Sead Kolasinac hammered over from a tight angle at the death, meaning Bielefeld took all three points.

Two free weekends

Schalke are not in action this coming weekend (24/4) due to the home game against Hertha BSC being postponed after the Berliners have to quarantine for 14 days after several positive COVID-19 infections. The fixture has not yet been rescheduled.

No Bundesliga games are to be played the following weekend, with the two DFB-Pokal semi-finals due to take place. Schalke lost in the round of 16 to VfL Wolfsburg in February in this competition.