Schalke come from behind twice to earn a point in the Revierderby

Aydin replaces Balanta

Head coach Thomas Reis made one change to his team that beat VfL Bochum 2-0 away from home last weekend. Mehmet Can Aydin replaced Éder Balanta, who dropped to the bench. Niklas Tauer was named in a matchday squad for the first time since joining the club over the winter break.

Zalazar misses a great chance

Dortmund had more of the ball early on and that resulted in them having the first chance of the derby. Raphael Guerreiro dribbled down the right and crossed for Sébastien Haller in the box. He set up Julian Ryerson, whose shot flew narrowly past the post (5’). Schalke were happy to let Dortmund have the ball and tried to catch them out on the break. In the 12th minute, Mats Hummels’ slide tackle saw the ball come to Michael Frey, but he couldn’t find Mehmet Can Aydin with his through ball. BVB had more chances in the first half and Ralf Fährmann was called into action on several occasions, including when he parried a Guerreiro toe-poke (18’).

Schalke had a great chance to go 1-0 up in the 24th minute. Mats Hummels couldn’t fully control Nico Schlotterbeck’s over hit pass and Rodrigo Zalazar nipped in to steal the ball. He was clean through on goal, but his shot was wild and missed the target.

Schlotterbeck gives Dortmund the lead

Dortmund continued to pressure the Schalke goal in search of an opener. Moritz Jenz shanked a Donyell Malen cross over the bar (27’) and then Fährmann saved the Dutchman’s shot two minutes later. Schalke’s number one then also denied Marius Wolf with his legs (37’).

Fährmann couldn’t prevent the visitors from taking the lead just a minute later. Nico Schlotterbeck was given too much space and fired a low drive into the bottom corner from outside the box (38’). Further opportunities via Jude Bellingham (41’) and Malen (43’) weren’t taken and so the first half ended 1-0 to BVB.

Bülter’s tap-in, Guerreiro’s rocket

The second half began perfectly for the majority of fans in the VELTINS-Arena. Alex Král won the ball from Emre Can and then started the attack. Tom Krauß gave it to Rodrigo Zalazar and he then played it to Michael Frey on the right. The striker fizzed the ball across the six-yard box and Marius Bülter was there to tap into an empty net at the far post (50’).

Dortmund were clearly not fazed by the equaliser and quickly responded with a second goal of their own. Emre Can picked out Raphael Guerreiro in acres of space with a through ball and the Portugal international smashed it into the top corner (60’). Five minutes later, Jamie Bynoe-Gittens shot past Ralf Fährmann but also the far post from a good position.

Karaman’s crucial header

Thomas Reis made four changes within a five-minute period, introducing Tobias Mohr, Éder Balanta, Kenan Karaman and Simon Terodde to the game. These substitutions breathed new life into Schalke’s play. Firstly, Cedric Brunner’s volley from a corner was deflected wide by Moritz Jenz (75’), before the Knappen got a second equaliser of the night 04 minutes later. Marius Bülter crossed from the left flank and Kenan Karaman beat off two defenders in the box to head the ball past Alexander Meyer and into the bottom corner for 2-2 (79’).

Both teams now were aiming to take all three points in the closing stages. Guerreiro smashed a low shot wide for BVB (81’), while Éder Balanta’s attempt was well saved by Meyer (88’). There was time for one more golden chance and it came for the away team. Just as Mahmoud Dahoud lined up a shot from a central position, Henning Matriciani threw himself in the way to secure a massive point for Schalke.

Away in Augsburg

Schalke’s final game before the next international break is away to FC Augsburg next Saturday (18/3). Kick off on matchday 25 is at 15:30 CET.