Schalke win 2-0 in Leverkusen

Two changes to starting XI

Head coach Domenico Tedesco made two changes to the team which won 2-1 against Hoffenheim last weekend. Benjamin Stambouli and Alessandro Schöpf were replaced by Bastian Oczipka and Max Meyer.

Burgstaller scores, Kohr sees red

The Royal Blues didn’t take long to find their rhythm in Leverkusen. The team, captained by Ralf Fährmann on his 100th consecutive Bundesliga appearance for the Royal Blues, were well-organised and pushed back the Werkself. While Burgstaller’s opener was Schalke’s first real chance in the game, their lead wasn’t undeserved. The goal itself was a fantastic one. Tireless work from Caligiuri saw him press and steal the ball from an opponent before pinging an inch-perfect long switch ball forward to Burgstaller who brought the ball down perfectly with his first touch. The touch gave Burgstaller enough space to flick the ball with his boot over the onrushing Leverkusen and into space. Burgstaller tore down on Leverkusen’s goal and stayed cool as he slotted calmly past Bernd Leno and into the bottom left corner. A truly special way to end his recent scoring drought. With half an hour played, Schalke almost doubled their lead. Leon Goretzka rose highest from Caligiuri’s free-kick and headed powerfully towards the bottom corner but Leno parried it to safety.

Leverkusen were quiet for large periods of the first half with Schalke’s defence keeping the likes of Leon Bailey at bay who did have Leverkusen’s best chance as his strike went wide of the mark from the edge of the box. It soon didn’t get any easier for the hosts. In the 38th minute, Dominik Kohr was given his marching orders as he picked up two yellow cards in the space of seven minutes.

Bentaleb seals deal from spot

Schalke had to keep their focus in the second half as they came up against a Leverkusen team determined to work their way back into the game. The second half lacked quality chances as Schalke stood firm, limiting the hosts to weak efforts from range but failed to punish Leverkusen on the break.

As the game went into the closing stages, Leverkusen poured players forward with the likes of Lucas Alario and Stefan Kießling entering the fray for Heiko Herrlich’s side. However, the defence stayed strong and had a couple chances to extend their lead. Amine Harit broke through the lines of the Leverkusen defence and opted to square it to Breel Embolo who was denied by a Leno wonder save. However, Breel found himself one-on-one once again and was brought down from behind by Panagiotis Retsos. Nabil Bentaleb, subbed on for Leon Goretzka, took the resulting spot kick and made no mistake. His calm effort sent Leno the wrong way as it nestled in the bottom right corner. Soon after, the final whistle went and Schalke celebrated a huge win in their hopes of European football next season.

Schalke played with purpose and a plan

Domenico Tedesco prepared his team perfectly for this afternoon’s clash and will be hoping to do the same next Saturday. The Knappen head back to the VELTINS Arena where they face Hertha BSC at 15:30 CET.