2-0 win against Galatasaray – Schalke on course for last 16

Fährmann back in the squad

DomenicoTedesco made two changes to the team that defeated Hannover 96 3-1 at the weekend. Sebastian Rudy and Guido Burgstaller came in for Nabil Bentaleb and Suat Serdar, who started on the bench. Ralf Fährmann was also back in the squad for the first time after his adductor injury, but Alex Nübel still retained his place in goal.

Maiden goal for Burgstaller

Not 04 minutes had passed before the Royal Blues went 1-0 up. The goal was a result of a rather curious incident involving Galatasaray ‘keeper Fernando Muslera, who had rushed out of his goal to claim a loose ball on the right side of the penalty area. With the ball in his grasp, the goalkeeper continued to slide towards the edge of the box and, realising that he would otherwise be penalised for handball, let go of the ball. Guido Burgstaller reacted quickly, dragged the ball away from the now out-of-position Muslera and curled it into the open net from a tight angle. This was the Austrian forward’s first ever Champions League goal and Schalke’s earliest in the competition for over eight years.

The early goal gave Schalke another confidence boost. Domenico Tedesco’s men stood strong at the back, and if the defensive line was ever breached, Alexander Nübel was on hand to prevent the goal. Nübel’s moment of the match came in the 17th minute when he anticipated the breakthrough and rushed out to clear the ball out of Henry Onyekuru’s path and away from danger.

Schalke recorded the better of the chances on the whole, the best of which fell to Amine Harit midway through the first half: Breel Embolo squared the ball for his teammate in a good position in front of goal, but the youngster couldn’t keep his first-time effort under the bar. After 38 minutes, Schalke came close to a second through Sebastian Rudy, who let fly from 18 yards but saw his shot strike the post. Schalke’s last opportunity of the first half presented itself to goalscorer Guido Burgstaller, who was this time denied by Fernando Muslera.

Uth scores to make it 2-0

Schalke 04 came out in the second half and continued to fight against an opponent that only improved as the game went on. However, in the 57th minute Schalke’s commitment was rewarded as they doubled their lead. The goalscorer was Mark Uth, his second in as many games. After good work down the right from Daniel Caligiuri, the ball was passed back to Guido Burgstaller, who then superbly cut the ball back into the box where Mark Uth was waiting. From just over 12 metres out, the Germany international coolly slotted the ball home into the back of the net.

After the second goal that evening from the Royal Blues, the away side lost optimism. There was little threat to Alexander Nübel’s goal for the remainder of the game, even though Galatasaray had much of the ball. Just like in the first game, the young goalkeeper kept a clean sheet.

Porto beat Lokomotiv Moscow

In the other game in Group D, FC Porto beat Lokomotiv Moscow 4-1 and they now sit top of the table above Schalke. FC Porto have 10 points while Schalke have 8 points. Both teams will meet again on 28th November.

However, before the game against FC Porto, Schalke will face Eintracht Frankfurt in the Bundesliga (11/11/18, 18:00 CET) in the Commerzbank-Arena. The week after the match against the Europa League participators, there will be the third international week of the season.