Second division: Fourth game, third defeat – Schalke slides into crisis early on

2. Bundesliga Second division

Fourth game, third defeat – Schalke slips into crisis early on

Status: 25.08.2023 | Reading time: 2 minutes

FC Schalke also loses against Holstein Kiel. The Royal Blues have only three points after four matchdays. The appearance against Kiel gives little hope for improvement.

Bundesliga relegated FC Schalke 04 suffered their third defeat on the fourth match day of the second Bundesliga. Coach Thomas Reis’ team lost to Holstein Kiel deservedly 2-0 (1-0). In front of 60,000 spectators in the Gelsenkirchen Arena, Benedikt Pichler (15th minute) and Shuto Machino (59th) scored the goals for the guests, who at least temporarily took the lead in the table. Schalke midfielder Ron Schallenberg also saw the red card (39′).

While Schalke seemed nervous from the start, Kiel started straight. After winning the ball, the North Germans played forward quickly and without frills and rewarded themselves early on. Tom Rothe, who was loaned to Kiel by Schalke’s arch-rival Borussia Dortmund, shot the post from the left-hand position. Pichler reacted quickly and grabbed the rebound into the goal.

FC Schalke loses against Kiel and has a very weak start to the season

Source: dpa/Fabian shrub

Kiel was simply faster in crucial situations. The ex-Schalke player Steven Skrzybski hurried to Schallenberg, who knocked over the man from Kiel and was rightly sent off by referee Deniz Aytekin for the emergency brake. In injury time of the first half, the very conspicuous Skrzybski missed the second Holstein goal clear in front of S04 keeper Marius Müller. That was achieved by Machino, who overcame Müller after a strong pass from Rothe. In the majority, Kiel played confidently. Victory was no longer in danger.

SC Paderborn – 1 FC Kaiserslautern 1:2

1. FC Kaiserslautern has clinched its second win in a row. Coach Dirk Schuster’s team won 2-1 (0-0) at SC Paderborn. For Kaiserslautern it was the first second division away win since January 28th.

The hosts dominated the game before the break, but Kaiserslautern earned the three points thanks to a strong second half. The best chance of the first half was missed by Sebastian Klaas for Paderborn after 29 minutes when he appeared alone in front of Kaiserslautern’s keeper Julian Krahl, but he made a strong save.

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After the restart, FCK came out strong and Marlon Ritter gave the Palatinate a 1-0 lead in the 59th minute. Just six minutes later, Richmond Tachie crossed to Ragnar Ache, who headed in to make it 2-0. Despite a final offensive, Paderborn was no longer able to score points because Adriano Grimaldi only scored the goal to make it 1-2 in the 73rd minute.