Dhe FC Schalke 04 has not been able to end its seemingly endless series of failures against newly promoted VfB Stuttgart. The team of coach Manuel Baum did not get past a 1: 1 (1: 0) on Friday evening at the start of the sixth game day of the Bundesliga despite the lead and again missed the longed-for first win of the season. With his first Bundesliga goal, defender Malick Thiaw (30th minute) brought the Royal Blues in the ghost game in the Veltins Arena, before Nicolás González (56th / penalty) equalized for the Swabians. Schalke have been waiting for a league win for 22 games and 287 days.
The 19-year-old youngster Thiaw provided the first Schalke leadership ever this season. Previously, the miners were up for the last time on June 14 in a 1-1 draw against Leverkusen. The Finnish central defender redeemed the Royal Blues in his sixth Bundesliga game with a diving header after a free kick by Amine Harit. And the opening goal did the Schalke players visibly good at first – they acted much more confidently and decisively.
However, this phase did not last long. The miners, who acted with a lot of commitment and passion, were able to hope for the longed-for first Bundesliga success since the 2-0 win against Borussia Mönchengladbach on January 17, 2020 for a good 25 minutes. At the latest with the equalization by Joker González, the security of the hosts was gone again. Above all, the Swabians were the better team in terms of play and, thanks to a clear increase in performance, they definitely deserved a win.
Due to the worsened corona infection situation, no spectators were allowed at Schalke, unlike two weeks ago in the 1-1 draw against Union Berlin. The energetic commands from coach Manuel Baum echoed loudly through the almost empty arena. Schalke fought against it, but playfully disappointed the Baum-Elf again.
An intensive game developed on a manageable level with many tackles, fouls and ball losses. Offensive highlights and clear scoring chances remained on both sides for a long time. The promoted team from Stuttgart initially had better scoring chances through Mateo Klimowicz (4th) and Pascal Stenzel (25th), but after falling behind, he temporarily lost control of the game.
Stuttgart equalizer: Nicolas Gonzales converts a penalty.
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Image: EPA
A penalty kick then brought the Swabians back into the game: After Schalke’s central defender Salif Sané had unlucky enough to get the ball to his outstretched arm in the penalty area, referee Benjamin Brand decided on a hand penalty after viewing the video. Substitute González did not miss the chance to equalize. It was already the fourth penalty against the Revierklub this season – league high.
The equalizer gave the guests a boost, and Pellegrino Matarazzo’s team now pushed for their third win in their third away game of the season. With a little luck, the Schalke team at least managed to secure the second point win of the season. “That’s what I dreamed of as a child. But we are still disappointed, “said the Schalke goal scorer Thiaw at DAZN. “We weren’t consistent in the second half. We remain optimistic and look ahead. “
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