On the pitch, Max Kruse is not yet really gaining momentum, apart from that, he does.
Photo: imago images / Matthias Koch
Urs Fischer took up position on Monday lunchtime in front of the press area in the An der Alten Försterei stadium. While the 1. FC Union coach was standing, the media representatives sitting at the desks typed the Swiss man’s statements directly into their laptops. The 1: 1 (0: 0) on Sunday evening at FC Schalke 04 made Fischer still satisfied. “It was a good game. Maybe we need to take the lead sooner. Our 1-0 was deserved, ”explained Fischer. »After conceding the goal, Schalke got a little more breathing space without really being forced. My team stayed cool and consistently played it to the end. “
The hits only fell in the second half in the Schalker Arena, which was only filled with 300 spectators due to the corona. Union central defender Marvin Friedrich had headed for the lead after a cross from captain Christopher Trimmel. Goncalo Paciencia also saved the first point of this season with a header for the previous bottom group Schalke. After the home debut of the new coach Manuel Baum, Schalke remains without a win for the 20th time in the Bundesliga across all seasons.
Union, on the other hand, found the inner center after the 1: 3 home defeat at the start against FC Augsburg. For the third time in a row, the Köpenicker scored points. As with the 1-1 draw at Borussia Mönchengladbach, there was another well-deserved point away. So the 4-0 home win against Mainz was at least silvered.
The Iron are more concerned with luxury problems. After the loan from goalkeeper Loris Karius from Liverpool FC, many observers expected that the former Mainz goalkeeper will now play his 92nd Bundesliga game at Union. But also in Gelsenkirchen, Andreas Luthe, who had come from league rivals FC Augsburg in the summer, was preferred. “We exchanged views. Andi has done really well so far. I felt our performances were stable. The goalkeeper is one of them. Andi has been with us since the beginning. Loris was only there for the first time at the Mainz game, “said Fischer, explaining his decision. Union coaches did not make a very clear commitment to Luthe before the home game against SC Freiburg on Saturday. There will also be a decision by the coach before the next game. Fischer said he did not yet know what would happen during the week. That probably means: Karius should get his chance soon.
The focus was again on Max Kruse – because the striker had spread videos of his digital gamble in a Berlin bar last Thursday via Instagram. In the case of a high pandemic level, the league association believes that professionals should not maintain any contact with the neighborhood or the public in everyday life. Union manager Oliver Ruhnert pointed this out to the team again on Friday. Fischer then took Kruse a little more protection. “Why do you have to ask him ten times and only ask others once? In the end, it’s about the same thing. We made it clear that we didn’t like it. At some point it’s good too. It’s annoying, ”said Fischer. Kruse had played against Schalke from the start and then for almost 80 minutes. It was evident that the former international is far from being in top form.
The external conditions at the game were dreary. The association issued the permitted 300 tickets to employees in systemically relevant professions. The mood on the back straight rarely emerged. Ultras weren’t there. But some of them made their appearance after the game. A group of around 80 people who had gathered in front of the arena tried to swear the unsuccessful players about an hour after the final whistle in their own way to the derby at Borussia Dortmund next Saturday. The team then appeared completely at the stadium gate. If the team does not present itself at least as it did against Union, then they will meet again. But then it won’t be so peaceful, the fans are said to have threatened.
Schalke already had additional worries in the U19 game between S04 and BVB (2: 3) on Sunday. Youssoufa Moukoko, the three-time Dortmund goal scorer, was racially insulted several times. “That is to be condemned in the strongest possible way,” said the Schalke sports director Jochen Schneider and apologized to both the player and the Dortmund club management. The DFB control committee has now taken on the matter. Exceptional talent Moukoko, who will be 16 years old in a month and then also make his debut in the Bundesliga, does not want to let that get him down, he said via Instagram.
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