Schalke beaten 4-0 by Fortuna Düsseldorf

Duo return to the side

Benjamin Stambouli returned after over a month out with a cheekbone fracture, taking over the captain’s armband and sporting a protective mask. The Frenchman took Sebastian Rudy’s place in the side. Guido Burgstaller also made his starting XI comeback – Steven Skrzybski making way for him.

There were two further changes to Domenico Tedesco’s side. Bastian Oczipka, who started in Mainz, missed out due to a bruised toe. Hamza Mendyl therefore started on the left-hand side. His fellow Moroccan, Amine Harit was included in the starting XI, meaning that Omar Mascarell was only on the bench. The biggest positive on the day was that Breel Embolo was also fit enough to be named among the substitutes – the first time he was included in a Matchday squad since fracturing a metatarsal in his foot on November 11th in Frankfurt. He came on late in the game.

Lukebakio scores from the spot

The Royal Blues struggled to get anything going in the first 45 minutes and the visitors were tight at back. Schalke failed to break the Fortuna defence down – Salif Sané had the best chance in the tenth minute, but couldn’t direct his header from a Daniel Caligiuri free-kick towards goal.

On the back of their strong recent form, Düsseldorf played with some confidence and were celebrating a goal after 21 minutes. Dodi Lukebakio’s goal was however disallowed due to a foul on Amine Harit by Benito Raman in the build-up. The referee, Dr. Felix Brych, came to the decision after consulting the VAR monitor on the side of the pitch. 15 minutes later Lukebakio was again celebrating – and this time the goal stood. The Belgian striker converted a penalty after Matija Nastasic had been penalised for handball, again with help from VAR. Alexander Nübel got close to the shot, albeit not close enough.

Düsseldorf add three more goals

S04 played more offensively after the re-start, looking to push forward for the equaliser. After a number of positive moments, Amine Harit had the golden chance to equalise in the 55th minute after being played in by Daniel Caligiuri. Unfortunately, Fortuna’s keeper Michael Rensing produced a fine save to deny Harit. After this moment, Schalke failed to really trouble the Fortuna defence again.

Düsseldorf withstood this period of play and then found a second goal soon after. Benito Raman played Dawid Kownacki in behind and he stayed cool to make it 2-0. They continued to play dangerously on the counter and Raman made it 3-0 in the 68th minute with a thunderous strike. Kownacki finished the rout in the 84th minute, picking up a loose ball after Nübel had parried Takashi Usami’s shot.

Friday night game in Bremen

The next Bundesliga game is on Friday away at Werder Bremen. The game will take place at 20:30 CET.