5th matchday
Terodde counters Führich: Schalke and Stuttgart still winless
Stuttgart’s Silas Katompa Mvumpa (r) in a duel with Schalke’s Maya Yoshida. photo
© Marijan Murat/dpa
VfB and Schalke share the points in a chaotic game and remain in place in the table. The small derby is now waiting for royal blue, and FC Bayern for Stuttgart.
FC Schalke 04 presented themselves better after last week’s gossip, but not good enough. VfB Stuttgart robbed themselves of a great opportunity with the next dismissal.
The two traditional clubs are still waiting for their first win of the season in the Bundesliga. At 1: 1 (1: 1) in the Stuttgart Arena, which was sold out with 47,500 spectators, they offered a game that was largely at odds. They are still treading water in the table, but nobody gets nervous about that.
Schröder and Kramer see a good reaction to the Union gossip
“We’ve felt the pressure from outside since the first second in the Bundesliga. We face the whole thing and are completely with ourselves,” said Schalke’s sporting director Rouven Schröder. In the small derby against the still pointless VfL Bochum next weekend, three points are the clear goal of the promoted team, he emphasized. He would also have liked to have taken two more points from Stuttgart after the yellow-red card against VfB defender Josha Vagnoman in the 67th minute. All in all, Schröder and Schalke’s coach Frank Kramer saw their team’s “good reaction” to the 6-1 loss to Union Berlin.
The gossip the week before was a “fall”, said Kramer. Overall, however, the Gelsenkircheners have shown in the course of the season so far “that we are suitable for the Bundesliga”.
Matarazzo unsatisfied in the stands
The people of Stuttgart were less impressed by their own performance. VfB coach Pellegrino Matarazzo saw a “proper initial phase” and “proper behavior when outnumbered” from the stands. “Anything in between just wasn’t enough.” It was therefore “a little bit happy” that it stayed at 1: 1, he said. After his yellow-red card in the last away game at 1. FC Köln (0-0), he was not allowed to watch the game from the bench as usual. It was “unusual, not nice and also stressful,” reported Matarazzo. “It wasn’t a nice feeling. I don’t want to experience that again.”
VfB sports director Sven Mislintat was also dissatisfied – with the performance of the referee team around Florian Badstübner, but also with that of his own team. “We didn’t play well, we hardly played football,” defender Waldemar Anton agreed. However, according to the Stuttgart team, they are not worried that they could slip down the table early on. Neither Mislintat nor Anton nor Matarazzo. “We are competitive when we step on the gas,” emphasized the coach. In the difficult away game at champions FC Bayern Munich next Saturday, they want to attack and “do everything to score”.
Simon Terodde, one of the Stuttgart champions of 2017, countered VfB’s lead by Chris Führich (18th) with his first goal of the season in the 21st minute. Schalke’s newcomer Sepp van den Berg didn’t look good when he conceded and had problems afterwards.
The Swabians had a little more of the game overall, but the guests had the better chances – two of them at the end by Rodrigo Zalazar (89th, 90th). They didn’t want to be too tempted, explained coach Kramer, explaining the initially somewhat hesitant offensive efforts of Schalke in the majority. The draw was a “partial success” for him. It’s not enough for more – neither for Schalke nor for Stuttgart.
