Schalke celebrate 2-0 win in Stuttgart

FC Schalke 04 have claimed their first win of the Rückrunde seeing off VfB Stuttgart in emphatic fashion this afternoon. Courtesy of two quick fire goals from Naldo (14’) and Amine Harit (19’), Schalke ran into a 2-0 early on which they held throughout.

Bundesliga

27.01.18, 17:26

VFBS04 2017/2018

Schalke break into early 2-0 lead

Head coach Domenico Tedesco made three changes to the side which started against Hannover 96. Alessandro Schöpf, Marko Pjaca and Guido Burgstaller made way for Daniel Caligiuri, Yevhen Konoplyanka and Franco di Santo.

Schalke flew out of the blocks in the Mercedez-Benz Arena. The Royal Blues dominated in terms of possession and chances. It took only 14 minutes before the Stuttgart net bulged. Naldo rose highest to head home from Daniel Caligiuri’s free-kick to score his fifth goal of the season and marked his record-breaking 337th Bundesliga appearance in style. Less than five minutes later, Bruun Larsen fouled Leon Goretzka in the penalty area. Amine Harit stepped up and scored his first ever Bundesliga penalty to double the Knappen’s lead. Following the goals, Schalke controlled the game remaining solid defensively but countering effectively. Yevhen Konoplyanka’s chip went narrowly wide but, at the other end, the hosts mustered their best chance of the first half seconds before the whistle as Max Meyer was alert to deny Mario Gomez on the line. Schalke’s lead at the break was thoroughly deserved.

Pressure from Stuttgart but chances for Schalke

Stuttgart came out after the break with a point to prove and their double substitution saw them take the ascendancy initially in the second half but could only create half chances. Schalke on the other hand continued to threaten. Goretzka’s flick from Harit’s cross was denied by Zieler and Ralf Fährmann was called into action from a Ginczek header. The story of the second half was Stuttgart having the pressure and Schalke having the chances. On a swift break, Harit broke behind the Stuttgart defence and squared it Konoplyanka only for the Ukrainian to misplace his strike narrowly wide of the gaping goal. Burgstaller came off the bench and troubled Zieler on numerous occasions Naldo once again went close with a header in the final stages.

At least until tomorrow, Schalke return to second place and the Royal Blues’ next game is against Werder Bremen on Saturday 3rd February in the VELTINS Arena at 15:30 CET.

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