Guido Burgstaller shoots Schalke into semis

Four changes to starting XI

Following Schalke’s 2-1 defeat to Werder Bremen, four changes were made for the cup clash. In place of Nabil Bentaleb, Daniel Caligiuri, Yevhen Konoplyanka and Franco di Santo came Leon Goretzka, Alessandro Schöpf, Marko Pjaca and Guido Burgstaller. Schalke’s winter recruit from Nuremberg, Cedric Teuchert, came off the bench in the closing stages to make his Schalke debut.

Burgstaller fires Schalke in front

Despite being played in freezing temperatures, Schalke started the match on fire and gained immediate control of the game. This dominance was quickly reflected in the scoreline as Guido Burgstaller finished off a rapid Royal Blue counter-attack. Amine Harit played his way out of trouble in his own area before the ball was cleared to Marko Pjaca who thread the ball between the Wolfsburg centre-backs to put the Austria international through on goal. Guido kept his cool, waited for his opportunity and took it with aplomb. Minutes later, Marko Pjaca went close twice as Schalke sought to double their lead and make the most of their quick start. The Wolves eventually got a foothold in the game after the 20 minute mark. Wolfsburg’s best chance of the match was their first one. Yunus Malli struck an effort from range which rattled off the crossbar and bounced down the right side of the line for relieved Royal Blues around the VELTINS Arena. Following that effort, chances soon became few and far between for either side as Schalke’s calmed down after a frenetic start.

A second half of few chances

The second half begun with both teams focusing on controlling possession rather than creating goal-scoring opportunities. Both sides’ goalkeepers were chiefly left untroubled for large parts having only to gather hopeful shots from distance. Schalke’s defence stayed strong as Wolfsburg were forced to attack more and more as the half wore on.

It wasn’t until the 85th minute where the visitors had a really good chance to score. Leon Goretzka was called into action on the line to clear after a goalmouth scramble following Maximilian Arnold’s set-piece. Aside from that, neither team were able to get a crucial second goal in a game which hung in the balance throughout. Schalke’s early goal proved to be a decisive one.

Draw takes place on Sunday

Schalke’s final game of the week comes on Saturday in Munich. Schalke’s trip to the Allianz Arena is Saturday’s headline game in the Bundesliga and kicks off at 18:30 CET.