Guido Burgstaller’s strike seals a 1-0 win against SCO Angers

Several S04 casualties

Domenico Tedesco had to do without several players against last year’s fourteenth-placed team in Ligue 1. On the injury list alongside Bastian Oczipka, who didn’t even travel to Hohe Tauern after undergoing a groin operation, are Amine Harit (partial tear in thigh), Yevhen Konoplyanka (strained adductor), Suat Serdar (sprained knee ligament), Ralf Fährmann (thigh problem), Sascha Riether (ligament damage), Steven Skrzybski (adductor problem), Mark Uth (back problem), whilst Weston McKennie was rested.

Plenty of applause for Burgstaller

In the opening stages of the game, die Knappen looked sharp and solid. The players were communicating well with each other, whilst Tedesco barked instructions from the sideline. After about ten minutes, the Royal-Blues took their first chance and stormed into the lead. Guido Burgstaller volleyed a Caligiuri cross home from close range. The striker received a wave of applause from his compatriots in the crowd.

The French side almost came up with the perfect answer. Flavien Tait’s shot hammered into the post (17’). Up the other end, Cedric Teuchert had the chance to double the advantage after 26 minutes. After some link-up play with Daniel Caligiuri, he fired the ball high over the bar. Shortly after, Tedesco was forced into a change. Omar Mascarell picked up a knock to the thigh and was replaced by Nabil Bentaleb. The game then calmed down towards the end of the first 45. Both teams cancelled out the other’s attack and Schalke went into the break 1-0 up.

Slow second half

Tedesco made four changes before the restart. Benjamin Stambouli, Matija Nastasic, Johannes Geis and Breel Embolo replaced Naldo, Thilo Kehrer, Alessandro Schöpf and Cedric Teuchert. Die Knappen dominated the game with fresh legs on the pitch, yet failed to create goalscoring opportunities. Angers also ramped up their pressing intensity and hardly gave S04 an inch of space. Schalke themselves remained compact in defence and the match trundled on until referee Bernd Hirschbichler blew for full time.

Final friendly for Schalke

Next Saturday (11.08.), FC Schalke 04 face their final challenge before the competitive fixtures arrive in earnest. They take on Fiorentina in the VELTINS Arena at 16:00 CEST.

Match Facts

Schalke: Nübel – Kehrer (46‘ Nastasic), Naldo (46‘ Stambouli), Sané – Caligiuri, Mascarell (31‘ Bentaleb), Schöpf (46‘ Geis), Baba – Di Santo (68‘ Goller) – Burgstaller (86‘ Wiemann), Teuchert (46‘ Embolo)
Angers: Butelle – Manceau, Traoré (60‘ Pavlovic), Thomas, Santamaria – Mangani, Fulgini (78‘ Reine-Adelaide), Capelle (82‘ Kanga), Bamba, Tait – Bahoken (82‘ Manzala)
Goals: 1-0 Burgstaller (15‘)
Referee: Hirschbichler (Austria)
Attendance: 2000