Schalke draw 1-1 with Union Berlin

Two changes to the side – Burgstaller out for the season

Head coach David Wagner made two changes to the side that lost 1-0 to Werder Bremen last weekend. Weston McKennie (suspension) and Jean-Clair Todibo (ankle) made way for Benito Raman and Bastian Ocizpka. Guido Burgstaller tore his LCL in the final training session on Saturday and will therefore miss the remainder of the current season. Matija Nastasic was also missing with a muscular problem.

U19s captain Can Bozdogan appeared in a first-team squad for the first time, taking his place on the bench. Both teams made a clear statement against racism before the game by kneeling together in the centre circle.

Andrich puts Union in front

The hosts began the stronger of the two sides and had a good chance after four minutes. Marius Bütler ran down the left-hand side and cut it back to Yunus Malli. The former Mainz man took a first-time shot – straight into the arms of Alexander Nübel. It was fair to say that Schalke struggled to make an impact up front early on.

Union took the lead early on after Anthony Ujah won possession from Juan Miranda on the right, before giving it to Robert Andrich in the centre. The midfielder burst through and slotted it past Nübel to make it 1-0 (11’).

Kenny scores from distance

Union continued to create dangerous chances after scoring. Ozan Kabak made a vital block against Sebastian Andersson in the 14th minute, while Florian Hübner’s effort just cleared the bar a minute later. Ujah was then denied by Nübel as Union looked to press home their advantage (25’).

After 28 minutes, the Royal Blues found a surprising equaliser. Daniel Caligiuri played it to Jonjoe Kenny on the right, who fired a powerful low drive past Gikiewicz – his second goal of the season. The game evened out after Schalke’s leveller, with no further notable moments before the half-time whistle came.

Andersson denies Sané a good chance

Schalke came out of the blocks in the second half quicker than they had in the first. Caligiuri put in a dangerous ball into the six-yard box aimed at Salif Sané, however Sebastian Andersson was on hand to head away the chance (50’).

A hard-fought game ensued, with few chances to speak of. Wagner’s men were able to keep Union away from their goal for the majority of the second half, although the final pass wasn’t coming off for the S04 attackers.

Nübel saves from Schlotterbeck

Matondo’s effort from Gregoritsch’s knock-down on the 70th minute mark ultimately left a lot to be desired. Gregoritsch then had a chance himself four minutes later as he tried his luck from the free kick, however he was unable to beat the wall.

Gregoritsch was involved once again six minutes from time as the recently substituted Ahmed Kutucu showed his strength to get past his man down the right-hand side of the penalty area, however he couldn’t quite find the Austrian with his resulting pass. Union went back on the offensive in the closing moments of the game. Kenny did well to block Marvin Friedrich’s shot for a corner, before Nübel earned a point for his side with a great save from Keven Schlotterbeck from the resulting corner (86’).

Leverkusen on Sunday

The Royal Blues are in action on a Sunday again next weekend. Bayer Leverkusen will visit the VELTINS-Arena for matchday 31 (14/6, 18:00 CEST).