Disappointed with the result and sympathy for the fans

“After a performance like that you have to be able to deal with it – the reaction is understandable,” said Head of Sport Jochen Schneider after the 1-1 draw in Nürnberg, who also described the team’s performance as ‘disappointing’. In the defeats against Werder Bremen and Eintracht Frankfurt, the performances of the team were significantly more appealing. “We have shown recently that we can do better than that. The performance today was a step backwards,” said Schneider.

Nübel saves Schalke from defeat

The Knappen’s player of the game was undoubtedly goalkeeper Alexander Nübel, who didn’t only deny Nürnberg’s Hanno Behrens from the penalty spot, but also saved Schalke from defeat with a number of impressive saves. “We have Alexander Nübel to thank that we were still in a position to be able to get the equalizer,” acknowledged Schneider.

The Royal Blues never really found their stride in the Max-Morlock-Stadium and their opponents were the ones who enjoyed the better goal scoring chances. Nürnberg took the lead in the 82nd minute through Yuya Kubo. “Nürnberg were clearly the better side for 70 minutes and deserved more,” said Guido Burgstaller after the game against his former club. The Austrian claimed that the team’s pressing as a group was ineffective, and the passing game was not creative enough to be able to create good scoring chances. “It was simply not enough,” admitted the attacker.

However, the Royal Blues did not travel back to Gelsenkirchen empty handed. Around 120 seconds after the home side’s opener, Matija Nastasic leveled the game. The centre back was able to get the decisive touch on Omar Mascarell’s shot following a Sebastian Rudy corner. The Serbian’s 85th minute leveler was his first Bundesliga goal of his career, after 87 games. “I am happy to have scored the equaliser,” said Nastasic, who also added that he was not impressed with the performance shown by the team. “We wanted to show that we have improved, but today wasn’t our day. At the moment I can’t really explain it – we have to analyse the game first,” said the defender.

A different performance against Hoffenheim

Next week, the Royal Blues will want to show a significant improvement as they welcome TSG 1899 Hoffenheim to the VELTINS-Arena (20/04). For Burgstaller, there is only one way to overcome the difficult situation. “We have to keep on believing in ourselves,” explained the attacker. Schneider said after the game, “Against Hoffenheim we need a different mindset and a different performance, in order to pick up points.” For Schalke, five games remain in the battle for survival and there are still many points to be played for. Schneider: “We have to keep fighting!”