Schalke play out goalless draw with Panathinaikos

On Wednesday (9/7), Schalke drew 0-0 against last year’s runners-up in the Greek Super League, Panathinaikos. Around 1000 spectators at the Silberstadt Arena in Schwaz, most of whom were clad in black and white, watched the Royal Blues carve out some promising opportunities, especially in the first half. Christopher Antwi-Adjei had the best chance of the game, as his header crashed off the bar in the 30th minute of the match.

Schalke 04 - Panathinaikos

25 players in action for S04

Head coach Miron Muslic sent his team out for the first half in a 3-4-1-2 formation. Timo Becker captained the side for the first 45 minutes, with Ron Schallenberg sporting the armband after the break. Over the course of 90 minutes, Muslic used a total of 25 players.

Schalke 04 - Panathinaikos

Schalke with the better chances before the break

Both sides flew into their challenges in the opening stages of the friendly. Schalke looked to get forward against the Greek side who have qualifiers for the upcoming Champions League season in two weeks’ time.

After a few promising attacks which faltered before the players could test Panathinaikos shot-stopper Bartlomiej Dragowski, Ilyes Hamache had the first real chance of the evening in the 22nd minute. Soufiane El-Faouzi won the ball back on the right flank and laid it off to the Royal Blues’ number 24. Hamache then let fly but his shot was gathered safely by the opposing keeper.

Schalke threatened once again shortly after that. Vitalie Becker’s corner was flicked on towards the back post by Felipe Sanchez, where Moussa Sylla was lingering with intent. The striker could not quite latch onto the header, however, and the chance went begging (27’). At the half-an-hour mark, Dragowski was beaten by Antwi-Adjei’s header, but the bar prevented him from giving his side the lead.

After 35 minutes, Adrian Gantenbein lined up a long-range effort and almost provoked wild celebrations in the stands at the Silberstadt Arena. His driven shot whistled across the turf and was inches away from nestling in the bottom corner. At the other end of the pitch, Nemanja Maksimovic came closest to putting Panathinaikos ahead. The ball ended up at the Serbia international’s feet on the edge of the box following a free kick, but his shot ballooned over Justin Heekeren in the Schalke goal (39’). The final opportunity of the first half fell to Schalke, too. Moussa Sylla tried his luck from around 20 yards out. His effort was deflected by Ahmed Touba and went wide of the post.

Schalke 04 - Panathinaikos

Intense second half with fiery challenges

Miron Muslic sent ten sets of fresh legs out onto the pitch at the start of the second half. Only Justin Heekeren remained on the pitch for S04. The keeper played until the 61st minute, when he was replaced by Luca Podlech. With fifteen minutes to go before the final whistle, Schalke’s coach made another set of planned changes. One of these substitutes was Emil Højlund, who entered the fray for the first time in pre-season.

The Greek team had the first opportunity after the break and started the second 45 better than they had been in the first period. Nemanja Maksimovic was played through by a teammate and fired goalwards. He still couldn’t hit the target, though, with his shot flying just wide.

Apart from the Serb’s effort, there was a real dearth of chances for both sides. Instead, the Royal Blues and their opponents battled things out with crunching tackles and fought tooth and nail for every loose ball. Ten minutes before the end of the game, there was another chance for S04. Ron Schallenberg combined nicely with Emil Højlund but was denied by Panathinaikos’ keeper when he got a shot off.

The final chance of the evening fell to Muslic’s men. Tidiane Touré whipped a ball across the face of goal, with Ayman Gulasi centimetres away from connecting with it and poking it into the back of the net in the box (89’). Shortly afterwards, referee Samuel Sampl blew his whistle and brought the game to a close.

Double matchday against Wiesbaden and St. Gallen

On Saturday (12/7), there are two fixtures on the agenda for Muslic’s side. The Royal Blues will take on 3. Liga outfit SV Wehen Wiesbaden at the training pitch in Neustift at 11:00 CEST. 04 hours later, at 15:00 CEST, Schalke will face off against Swiss Super League side FC St. Gallen at the Velly Arena in Imst. The double matchday represents an opportunity for Miron Muslic to give all of his players game time at a competitive level.

Statistics:

Schalke: Heekeren (61′ Podlech) – T. Becker (46′ Khadr), Katic (46′ Ayhan), Sanchez (46′ Noode) – Gantenbein (46′ Matriciani/75′ Touré), Grüger (46′ Schallenberg), El-Faouzi (46′ Zalazar), V. Becker (46′ Donkor) – Antwi-Adjei (46′ Ba), Hamache (46′ Younes/75′ Gulasi) – Sylla (46′ Remmert/75′ Højlund)
Panathinaikos: Dragowski – Vaginannids, Jedvaj (46′ Palmer-Brown), Touba, Kyriakopoulos – Maksimovic, Bakaseta (63′ Brecu), Siopis – Pellistri, Swiderski (63′ Jeremejeff) Tete (46′ Djuricic)
Goals:
Referee: Samuel Sampl
Attendance: 1000

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