Nastasic cancels out Kubo’s goal: S04 draw 1-1 in Nürnberg

Sané, Harit and Skrzybski back in the side

Huub Stevens made three changes to the side that unluckily lost 2-1 to Eintracht Frankfurt last weekend. Salif Sané, Amine Harit and Steven Skrzybski replaced Jeffrey Bruma, Suat Serdar and Breel Embolo. Serdar was suspended after his red card against Frankfurt.

Nürnberg more threatening

Nürnberg were the better of the two sides in the early stages and had the first chance of the game in the ninth minute, when they struck on the break with Schalke outnumbered. Luckily for the Royal Blues, Matija Nastasic was on hand to react to Mikael Ishak’s square ball and turned it behind for a corner. Just two minutes later, Nürnberg had another great chance to take the lead. The ball deflected inadvertently off Benjamin Stambouli, forcing Alexander Nübel into a fantastic reaction save to keep the scores level.

Although the Knappen came into the game more and began to enjoy their share of the ball, they were unable to create many significant chances. Guido Burgstaller’s 24th minute effort from a tight angle was their best opportunity, but hardly troubled Nürnberg goalkeeper Christian Mathenia. Eleven minutes later, the ball was almost in the back of the Schalke goal. Ishak was brought down by Stambouli on the edge of the area, but the home side were unable to hit the target from the resulting free kick.

S04 somewhat lucky before the break

Schalke failed to find gaps in Nürnberg’s defence and were lucky to not go behind in the 43rd minute. Daniel Caligiuri chested the ball back to Alexander Nübel, however his pass was too short and Hanno Behrens intercepted it, squeezing the ball past Nübel with his leg raised. Referee Dr. Robert Kampka gave a foul – which was a questionable decision.

Nürnberg then also had an even better chance in added time at the end of the first half. Kampka gave the hosts a penalty for a foul on Matheus Pereira by Nübel. Hanno Behrens stepped up and hit the ball in the far corner – Nübel got down and tipped it round the post brilliantly. After 45 minutes, it was 0-0, which was somewhat fortunate for Schalke.

Nübel also strong after the break

A slow start to the second half saw Schalke defend their own goal securely, but the visitors were unable to make any impact at the other end of the field. A number of consecutive corners also failed to provide a solution.

In the 64th minute, the home side had a fantastic double chance. Matheus Pereira found Ishak in the box, whose attempt from five metres was parried by Nübel. The parried ball fell to the feet of Hanno Behrens, who squared to Sebastian Kerk. The Schalke goalkeeper was able to deflect Kerk’s effort and Omar Mascarell’s goalline clearance kept the Royal Blues level. The home side continued to control the game and in the 76th minute, Matheus Pereira was the next to attempt to break the deadlock but was unable to beat Nübel once again, as his shot from 22 metres out was turned round the corner by the 22-year-old at full stretch.

Kubo scores, Nastasic responds straight away

The final stages of the game saw both teams celebrate once in a frantic period of the game. After Breel Embolo’s goal was disallowed in the 78th minute due to Salif Sané being in an offside position, FCN then took the lead four minutes later. Matheus Pereira crossed for Yuya Kubo, who headed home from around five yards out.

Less than 120 seconds later, the away fans were celebrating. Christian Mathenia punched a Sebastian Rudy corner out of the box to Omar Mascarell. The Spaniard then drove the ball back into the danger zone and Matija Nastasic poked the shot home to score his first Bundesliga goal for the club. The Knappen had a chance to win in it in the fifth minute of added time when they had a dangerous counter attack. Bastian Oczipka couldn’t keep his shot down though and Stevens’ men had to settle for a point.

Hoffenheim next up on Saturday

The next Bundesliga game is against TSG Hoffenheim on Saturday, 20th April (20:30 CEST).