A strong team performance ends in a draw

Schalke 04 remain unbeaten in this season’s Champions League. A strong performance wasn’t enough for the three points – the game in Istanbul with Galatasaray ended goalless. The Royal Blues had the better chances to defeat the Turkish champions, but ultimately couldn’t beat Fernando Muslera in the home goal.

Champions League

24.10.18, 22:59

Stambouli takes the captain’s armband

Tedesco was without captain Ralf Fährmann for the second game in a row, with his adductor injury ruling him out. Alexander Nübel replaced the 30-year-old in goal once again. Naldo was also missing due to an infection; his place was taken by Benjamin Stambouli, who also took the captain’s armband in his first appearance of the season.

There were six further changes to the team that faced Werder. Matija Nastasic, Suat Serdar, Sebastian Rudy, Yevhen Konoplyanka, Mark Uth and Breel Embolo all came in for Omar Mascarell, Nabil Bentaleb, Alessandro Schöpf, Weston McKennie, Amine Harit and Guido Burgstaller.

S04 denied a clear penalty

Both teams were solid in the opening exchanges, not ducking out of any challenges or battles. Galatasaray had more of the ball early on, but failed to get close to the Schalke goal often enough to be dangerous. After 13 minutes, Yehven Konoplyanka had the first chance for the away side, sprinting into the home penalty area, before being clearly fouled by goalkeeper Muslera. Referee Benoit Bastien, however, failed to award the penalty, instead giving a corner.

Schalke grew into the game after his chance and continued playing good football in Galatasaray’s half. Alexander Nübel was largely untroubled in the first period, although he remained alert to deny ex-Leverkusen front man Eren Derdiyok on the stroke of half time. The same could be said for Uruguayan national keeper Muslera, who also denied Konoplyanka moments before the half-time whistle.

Celebrations quickly cut short

The second half began with a big chance for Breel Embolo who was able to beat Fernando Muslera before his shot was cleared near the goalline by defender Ozan Kabak. After this near miss, the Royal Blues continued to press forward and put the Galatasaray defence under pressure. The visitors thought they had been rewarded for this pressure with a goal in the 58th minute as Breel Embolo was able to force the ball over the line with some help from Muslera. Around 30 seconds later, the referee disallowed the goal with some advice from his assistant for offside. This was a tight but correct decision. Embolo continued in search of the breakthrough just a few minutes later as his shot from a tight angle found only the side netting of the goal.

The home side came back into the match around halfway through the second half, having been forced back into a defensive game for the first twenty minutes of the second period. Schalke were alert and strong in tackles just like they were in the first half. Additionally, any attacking threats from the Turkish side were not strong enough to break down Schalke. The visitors continued to place the emphasis on attack but despite their superiority on the pitch, they were not able to find the goal they needed to secure all three points. Nevertheless, a draw was met with a lot applause from the 1,600 travelling fans who were honoured to an engaged performance by the Royal Blues.

Porto win as Schalke go second in the group

In the other Group D match, FC Porto defeated Lokomotive Moscow 3-1 to put the Portuguese side top of the table after three matches on seven points. FC Schalke 04 are second on five points.

The return match against Galatasaray takes on the 6th November in the VELTINS-Arena. After travelling back from Istanbul, the Royal Blues travel to RB Leipzig for their next Bundesliga match on Sunday, 28th October at 15:30 CET.

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