Gosens, Aouchiche and Wöber fire S04 to first win of the season in Berlin

Sylla absent after welcoming baby daughter, Karaman back in starting XI

Head coach Miron Muslic made two changes to the side that drew 0-0 with reigning champions FC Bayern. Moussa Sylla missed the trip after welcoming a baby daughter, with Junior Adamu taking his place and leading the line. Captain Kenan Karaman also returned to the starting XI after recovering from a hip injury and making a brief appearance against Bayern, while Junior Dina Ebimbe dropped to the bench. New signing Hee Chan Hwang was included in the squad for the first time.

Ljubičić forced off early as Gosens opens the scoring

Schalke made an assertive start. After Union had enjoyed the first spells of possession, the visitors registered their first effort from an offside position, Adil Aouchiche heading the ball on to Kenan Karaman, who fired over the bar (3’). An early corner (7’) and a centrally positioned free kick from Aouchiche (9’) came to nothing, before Karaman went close again. Robin Gosens picked out the S04 captain with an excellent pass, but his shot from 16 yards flew just over (10’).

The hosts spent much of the opening stages in their own half but remained ready to break whenever the opportunity arose. Emmanuel Latte Lath looked to get away on 14 minutes, only for Timo Becker to match his pace and bring the attack to an end. Schalke were looking to move the ball forward quickly themselves, and Dejan Ljubičić received it on the right before cutting inside, but Tom Rothe denied him a clean strike at the last moment (16’). The challenge took its toll, however, and Ljubičić was unable to continue, with Junior Dina Ebimbe replacing him five minutes later.

S04 continued to have the better of proceedings. Kenan Karaman headed over from a corner (18’), before Adil Aouchiche forced former Schalke goalkeeper Frederik Rönnow into an impressive save at his near post (20’). Four minutes later, though, there was nothing the Union keeper could do. Soufiane El-Faouzi delivered from the right and Leopold Querfeld’s attempted clearance fell to Robin Gosens on the left, who drilled his shot across goal and in off the far post to give Schalke the lead (25’).

Union tried to respond, but Schalke remained disciplined without the ball and broke forward with purpose whenever they regained possession. One such counter sent Adil Aouchiche clean through, and although his shot went through Frederik Rönnow’s legs, Tom Rothe managed to clear the ball off the line (33’). Moments later, Junior Dina Ebimbe poked the ball through to Junior Adamu, whose shot on the turn from close range was kept out superbly by Rönnow’s outstretched leg (35’).

Chances for the hosts remained few and far between. Michel Aebischer’s 25-yard effort straight into the arms of Loris Karius was one of their rare sights of goal before the break (42’). Union then picked up the first booking of the evening when Aljoscha Kemlein pulled Soufiane El-Faouzi back by the shirt (44’). El-Faouzi had one final attempt from distance shortly afterwards, but Frederik Rönnow gathered comfortably (45’), and Schalke took their 1-0 lead into the interval after two minutes of added time.

Aouchiche fires home right after the restart

Schalke attacked towards the away end in the second half and made a spectacular start. Just 31 seconds had been played when Adil Aouchiche exchanged passes neatly with Junior Adamu on the right side of the box before smashing the ball in off the underside of the bar for 2-0. The offside flag initially went up, but a VAR check showed that Aouchiche had been onside. The goal stood, sparking huge celebrations in front of the travelling support (46’).

Union had made a double change at the break, introducing Marin Ljubičić and Andras Schäfer, but it was S04 who threatened again first. Adil Aouchiche crossed from the left and, when the ball broke loose, Soufiane El-Faouzi arrived from deep and tested Frederik Rönnow with a powerful strike (51’). The hosts then responded with three chances in quick succession. Loris Karius comfortably dealt with Marin Ljubičić’s long-range effort (52’) before producing an excellent save to deny Andras Schäfer’s first-time shot (54’). A minute later, Tom Rothe met a dangerous delivery into the six-yard box with a header that struck the crossbar (55’).

Just as Union were beginning to build some sustained pressure, there was a lengthy and unusual stoppage on the hour mark. Referee Timo Gerach limped off for treatment and, after a delay of more than nine minutes, fourth official Jarno Wienefeld took his place for the remainder of the game. The hosts looked to pick up where they had left off once play resumed, although Marin Ljubičić was shown a yellow card for a late challenge on Satoshi Tanaka (73’).

Union continued to push forward. Tom Rothe found space on the left and aimed for the far corner, but Loris Karius once again made a strong save (75’). Schalke looked for opportunities to relieve the pressure and almost found a third goal. Adil Aouchiche powered his way into the box from the left and squared for Junior Adamu, whose close-range effort was kept out by Frederik Rönnow (79’). Head coach Miron Muslic then made a triple substitution, with Edin Džeko, Maximilian Wöber and new signing Hee Chan Hwang replacing Junior Adamu, Robin Gosens and Kenan Karaman (80’).

The Royal Blues still had plenty of defending to do in the closing stages as Union kept up the pressure. The woodwork came to Schalke’s rescue again when Marin Ljubičić collected a throw-in inside the area and hit the post with a shot on the turn (87’). 12 minutes of added time were subsequently indicated, largely as a result of the lengthy stoppage following the referee’s injury.

Union pull one back, but Wöber seals the win

Three minutes into added time, head coach Miron Muslic made another change, with Janik Bachmann replacing Adil Aouchiche. Union then found a way back into the contest. Tom Rothe headed the ball across goal from the left side of the box and Tim Skarke converted from close range to make it 2-1 (90’+6). Two minutes later, Skarke threatened again, but Maximilian Wöber got there first to clear the danger in front of the Union forward (90’+8).

The hosts threw everything forward in search of an equaliser, while Loris Karius was booked for time-wasting (90’+9). The goalkeeper could afford to shrug that off, though, as Schalke had the final say. A superbly worked counter-attack saw Janik Bachmann find Hee Chan Hwang on the right, and the South Korean sent a low ball across for Maximilian Wöber to finish and seal a 3-1 victory (90’+13). The final whistle followed immediately afterwards.

Battle of the promoted sides next Sunday

Schalke return to action on matchday 4 next weekend before the Bundesliga pauses for the international break until mid-October. The Royal Blues host fellow promoted side SV Elversberg at the VELTINS-Arena on Sunday (20/9, 17:30 CEST).