Schalke knocked out of DFB-Pokal by Dynamo Dresden

Four changes to the starting XI

Kenan Karaman (muscular problems) and Dejan Ljubičić (knee injury) both returned to the squad after missing Saturday’s (24/10) goalless draw away to 1. FC Köln. They were joined by U23 players Jean-Paul Ndiaye and Edion Gashi. Ndiaye had received his first call-up to the senior squad for the trip to Cologne, while Gashi was included for the first time against Dresden. Head coach Miron Muslic was without Robin Gosens and Soufiane El-Faouzi, who had both picked up injuries in a collision in Cologne, as well as Janik Bachmann, who was ruled out at short notice.

Muslic made four changes to his starting XI. Mertcan Ayhan replaced Timo Becker in defence, while Vitalie Becker came in for Robin Gosens. Luca Vozar took Soufiane El-Faouzi’s place, and Edin Džeko replaced Junior Adamu up front. Nikola Katic captained the Royal Blues for the first time.

Plenty of midfield action, few chances

The cup encounter in Dresden got off to a lively start. With a light mist hanging over the pitch, Edin Džeko registered the first effort on goal inside two minutes, but his header was too central to trouble Dynamo goalkeeper Lennart Grill. Moments later, Vitalie Becker delivered a cross from the left, which Junior Dina Ebimbe headed back into the middle for Džeko, whose second header was again straight at the goalkeeper (3’). The hosts then launched their first counter-attack, with Ben Bobzien sprinting forward from the halfway line. Nikola Katic did enough to put him off, however, and his shot flew well wide (4’).

Much of the play then took place in the middle of the park. Dynamo enjoyed more possession, while the Royal Blues looked to break quickly through the likes of Adil Aouchiche, Vitalie Becker, Luca Vozar and Hee Chan Hwang. At the other end, the back three of Hasan Kuruçay, Nikola Katic and Mertcan Ayhan dealt comfortably with Dresden’s attacking moves, apart from one moment of confusion in the Schalke defence. Vincent Vermeij pounced on a back pass but failed to find a teammate with his ball across the face of goal (20’).

Schalke looked to move the ball quickly into the final third with a series of passes, but their final ball was often lacking in accuracy. One example came when Adil Aouchiche tried to play Vitalie Becker through on goal, only to put too much on his pass into the box (23’). Clear-cut chances remained few and far between as the half wore on. Edin Džeko was shown a yellow card for a foul on Ben Bobzien (37’), before Hee Chan Hwang collided with Friedrich Müller while battling for the ball near the Dresden penalty area (40’). The Schalke forward was then booked four minutes later, but still had time to register the final attempt of the half. Hwang met a cross with a header that Lennart Grill turned over the bar for a corner (45’).

Dresden take the lead after the break

Both sides emerged unchanged for the second half, and it was Schalke who had the first effort on goal. After winning possession in the Dresden half, Edin Džeko quickly fed Adil Aouchiche, but his shot was weak and straight at the goalkeeper (48’). The hosts made no such mistake with their first chance after the restart. Simon Straudi raced down the left and delivered a cross to the far post, where Patrice Covic controlled the ball before firing inside the near post to make it 1-0 (53’).

Schalke looked to respond, with Hee Chan Hwang heading a free-kick delivery towards goal, although his effort was again too central (55’). Tensions then flared after Robert Wagner pushed Adil Aouchiche, leading to an altercation between the Schalke midfielder and goalscorer Patrice Covic. Both players were booked (60’). Head coach Miron Muslic then made his first substitution, bringing on captain Kenan Karaman for Luca Vozar.

Dresden began to focus more on protecting their lead, while looking for opportunities to hit Schalke on the break. The Royal Blues made two further changes, with Timo Becker and Dejan Ljubičić replacing Mertcan Ayhan and Junior Dina Ebimbe. Shortly afterwards, Dynamo broke forward through Ben Bobzien, who cut inside from the left edge of the penalty area, only for Nikola Katic to race across and deflect his shot behind for Dresden’s first corner (73’). Schalke then worked the ball out wide to Vitalie Becker, whose dangerous cross was turned narrowly wide of the far post by Edin Džeko (74’).

Junior Adamu replaced Hee Chan Hwang to give Schalke another attacking option (77’), and the Royal Blues continued to push for an equaliser. A cross from Timo Becker and a follow-up ball from Dejan Ljubičić were both cleared (83’), before Becker saw a close-range effort blocked after Nikola Katic had headed a cross back into the danger area (85’). At the other end, Jakob Lemmer launched a counter-attack and got past both Nikola Katic and Vitalie Becker, but Timo Becker made a crucial last-ditch intervention to concede a corner (86’). That set-piece proved decisive. Nikola Katic and Nicolai Rapp were first shown yellow cards following a tussle in the box, before Christoph Daferner headed home from the resulting corner to double Dresden’s lead (88’) and put the result beyond doubt.

Leipzig visit on Saturday

The Royal Blues return to Bundesliga action on Saturday (31/10), when they host RB Leipzig at the VELTINS-Arena. Kick-off is at 15:30 CET. The visitors booked their place in the next round of the DFB-Pokal with a 2-1 win away to Rot-Weiss Essen on Tuesday night, having previously beaten SV Elversberg 4-0 at home on matchday 7.