Rouven Schröder: What’s fundamental for me is how the fans reacted

“When the opposition score so late on, of course, it’s frustrating. We kept the game open for a long time, we were organised and defended against their attacks well,” said Schröder. “Defensively, it was a united team performance against a strong opponent.”

Lucky Punch goes missing for Royal Blues

The fact it remained deadlocked for so long was, in part, due to the services of Alexander Schwolow. “Alex played well. He made some strong saves and radiated lots of calm from the back,” said Schröder in his praise of the keeper, who, however, conceded after 79 minutes. Schröder explained, “It was very difficult to save that from such a close distance.”

Schalke defended solidly and were stable at the back, but rarely found themselves in front of the opposition goal. “In attack, we lacked one or two movements that would have unsettled the opponent more. In a game like this, perhaps, you need to be dangerous from your set-pieces. You have to make the most of the few chances that you get,” explained Schröder.

“In the end, we left without any points and that’s tough to take,” summarised the sporting director, who took some positives from the game. “What’s fundamental for me is how the fans reacted. They have the intuition and know what we have been working towards every day for over a year. The league is very tight – it shows from the results week in week out. We must continue to work hard.” The Royal Blues now have a two-week break before they host FC Augsburg at the VELTINS-Arena on Sunday 2nd October, following the first international break of the season.