Schalke 04 can continue to hope for relegation in the Bundesliga after an emotional point win. The team of coach Thomas Reis fought back in the charged “final” against Eintracht Frankfurt after a deficit of 2:2 (1:1). This puts the Royal Blues in 16th place, but VfB Stuttgart can overtake them on Sunday.
Simon Terodde (1st) got Schalke off to a good start in the sold-out arena, while Daichi Kamada (21st) and Tuta (59th) turned the game around. Sebastian Polter managed the much-acclaimed equalizer shortly before the end (85th).
Should Stuttgart win at FSV Mainz 05, the Royal Blues will be relegated to the Bundesliga final next weekend. At RB Leipzig, however, top performer Moritz Jenz will be missing, who, like Terodde, saw his fifth yellow card.
The Europa League winner from Frankfurt, on the other hand, kept the small remaining chance for the international ranks. In the DFB Cup final against Leipzig on June 3rd, however, the Adlerträger have another opportunity to play in Europe again in the coming season.
Coach Reis had described the last game in his own living room as a “final”, his team had to be “brave” and “rigorous in the duels”. The Schalke supporters did the rest: the spectators in the lower tier came dressed in white, those in the upper tier in blue. Together they whipped their team forward.
The hosts got off to the lightning start they wanted: In the first minute of the game, Terodde headed in a free-kick cross, and deafening cheers erupted in the stadium. Schalke fought fiercely, but often left the center open – as in the equalizer, when Kamada pulled inside, completed and goalkeeper Alexander Schwolow slipped the unplaced shot.
The Eintracht coach Oliver Glasner, who was on the sidelines for the third time from last, was more enthusiastic about the game. The invited Schalke worked on Randal Kolo Muani and Co. again and again with exaggerated harshness.
On the offensive, Schalke did little without top scorer Marius Bülter, who was suspended. Unlike Eintracht, who took command at the beginning of the second half. The hosts seemed inhibited – and mistakes crept in. After a cross, the released Tuta only had to push in from a few meters.
The goal showed its effect, but Schalke got up again. Driven by their own fans, the home side mobilized the last of their strength, and Reis also brought on further attackers in Sebastian Polter and Tobias Mohr for the final offensive. Schalke rewarded themselves – and yet they don’t know what will happen next.
