S04 beaten 1-0 by Mainz at the VELTINS-Arena

Three changes to the starting XI

Head coach Miron Muslic made three changes from the side that lost in Freiburg last time out. Moussa Sylla, who was unavailable after picking up an injury to his leg in that defeat, was replaced in the side by Edin Džeko. The other two alterations saw Adil Aouchiche and Timo Becker come in for Junior Adamu and Maximilian Wöber, with the Austrian duo named on the bench.

Tietz scores after three Karius saves

The game got off to a frantic start, with Mainz creating three good chances inside the opening minute, all of which were brilliantly kept out by Loris Karius. Sheraldo Becker was the first to threaten, racing onto a through ball down the left before curling an effort towards the bottom-right corner. Schalke’s goalkeeper was equal to it and then reacted quickly to deny Jae Sung Lee on the rebound. The visitors were back in the box moments later, with Becker once again unable to find a way past Karius.

Those early scares seemed to wake the Royal Blues up, and they soon won their first corner. Robin Gosens delivered the ball into the box, where Kenan Karaman’s header from near the penalty spot struck Kaishu Sano on the arm. Referee Richard Hempel waved away the appeals for a penalty (6’), with replays showing that Sano’s arm was tucked in by his side.

The contest settled into a fairly even affair, with both sides working hard out of possession and largely cancelling each other out in midfield. Schalke, meanwhile, were struggling to find the cutting edge needed to make things happen in the final third.

Mainz took the lead in the 24th minute. Kaishu Sano won possession on the edge of the box and slid in to play the ball to Anthony Caci, whose low cross found Phillip Tietz at the near post. The Mainz number 9 poked the ball past Karius and into the far corner for his fifth goal of the season.

Phillip Tietz almost added a second shortly afterwards from a Sheraldo Becker cross from the left, but Loris Karius reacted brilliantly to keep out his effort from 12 yards (34’). Schalke, meanwhile, were unable to find a way to trouble Mainz goalkeeper Alexander Schwolow before the break. The visitors had one more chance in first-half stoppage time, when Kacper Potulski headed an Amiri free kick from the left onto the roof of the net.

No goals after the break

Neither head coach made any changes at the start of the second half. Mainz again began brightly, although without creating any real danger. They did have two efforts from crowded situations in the opening minutes after the restart, but both were blocked by the Schalke defence.

Miron Muslic made a double change on the hour mark. Hee Chan Hwang replaced Edin Džeko, who had suffered a cut in an aerial challenge in midfield, while Junior Dina Ebimbe came on for Adrian Gantenbein. Schalke began to make more of an impact going forward midway through the second half. The Royal Blues won a number of free kicks and spent more time in the Mainz half, although Alexander Schwolow was still not seriously tested.

Mainz almost made it 2-0 in the 68th minute. Sheraldo Becker broke forward at pace after a quick counter and headed towards Loris Karius, but dragged his shot wide. Two minutes later, Miron Muslic made another double substitution, with Maximilian Wöber and Junior Adamu replacing Nikola Katic and Adil Aouchiche. Loris Karius was called into action again in the 72nd minute, racing off his line and sliding in to clear against Sheraldo Becker on the edge of the box.

At the other end, Satoshi Tanaka went close to an equaliser less than two minutes later. After Robin Gosens’ throw-in from the left and a flick-on from Maximilian Wöber, the Japanese midfielder then fired a left-footed effort towards the bottom corner. Alexander Schwolow got down in time and kept it out despite having his view partially blocked.

Miron Muslic made his final change of the afternoon in the 79th minute, sending Vitalie Becker on for Robin Gosens. Six minutes later, the left-back delivered a good cross for Hee Chan Hwang, whose close-range header was too central and comfortably held by the Mainz goalkeeper. Schalke continued to push forward in the closing stages, but were unable to find an equaliser before the end of four minutes of stoppage time.

Away in Cologne

FC Schalke 04 are away against 1. FC Köln on matchday 7. Kick off at the RheinEnergieSTADION on Saturday (24/10) will be at 15:30 CEST.