Schalke loses in Paderborn, HSV leads the table with a win in Düsseldorf

Schalke 04’s crisis is getting worse. Even after coach Thomas Reis was released, the beleaguered Gelsenkirchen team still have to wait for a breakthrough in the second Bundesliga. Under the interim duo of Matthias Kreutzer and club legend Mike Büskens, they suffered a deserved 0-3 defeat at SC Paderborn on Friday evening.

Former Schalke player Felix Platte (43′) and Florent Muslija (53′, penalty kick/76′) scored, the Royal Blues remained largely harmless. Yusuf Kabadayi (90th + 9) at least scored the consolation goal. With just two wins and five defeats from eight games, Schalke remains in 16th place in the relegation zone. It is not yet clear who will lead the traditional club to direct promotion again. On Wednesday, the former European Cup permanent guest released coach Reis.

Before kick-off in Paderborn, sports director André Hechelmann once again explained to Sky that they were following a clear plan and were looking for a coach, so far with no result. The club is pursuing a long-term solution.

There was hardly any uncertainty at Schalke at first. The seven-time German champions played lively combination football in front of 15,000 spectators in the early stages, but the guests couldn’t get in front of the goal. The relegated team was lucky in the 17th minute when Paderborn’s striker Adriano Grimaldi hit the crossbar with a header. It was supposed to be the turning point of the game.

The Schalke team seemed increasingly unsettled. Paderborn knew how to take advantage of this: After several good chances, Platte, who played at Schalke for four years from 2012, headed in to take the lead shortly before half-time.

HSV wins in the majority

Schalke tried to react after the break, but a clumsy foul by Cedric Brunner in their own penalty area quickly destroyed any rebellion. Instead, Muslija made everything clear with a shot into the right corner. Kabadayi scored a consolation goal.

Meanwhile, Hamburger SV regained the lead in the table from Fortuna Düsseldorf and ended its negative streak. Thanks to a goal from Laszlo Benes (83rd) from a penalty kick, the Hanseatic League deservedly defeated the Rhinelanders 1-0 and pushed them out of first place. The guests were outnumbered when the decisive goal was scored. Matthias Zimmermann (76th) saw the yellow-red card.

The success for HSV coach Tim Walter’s team was also psychologically important after they recently lost to promoted teams SV Elversberg and VfL Osnabrück. Hamburg are at the top with 16 points, at least until Saturday evening, but can still be overtaken by city rivals FC St. Pauli (13) with a win at Hertha BSC. Fortuna (14) slipped into second place for the time being.

In front of 56,00 spectators in the Volksparkstadion, which was not completely sold out for the first time this season, the hosts’ desire to make amends was evident. They tried to control the game and pressed Fortuna, who was defensively trained by former HSV coach Daniel Thioune.

There were very few dangerous chances to score, only a header from Bakery Jatta (17th) from close range caused danger. On the other hand, Felix Klaus (35th) missed the opportunity to take Düsseldorf’s lead twice in a row.

Published/Updated: Published/Updated: Daniel Theweleit Published/Updated: , Recommendations: 2

Düsseldorf came out of the half-time break more courageously, but Hamburg was quickly able to resume its possession game. A free kick from HSV defender Miro Muheim (56th) was extended by Düsseldorf goalkeeper Florian Kastenmeier to the post. The Düsseldorf team went into the final phase with ten men. Benes made the decision with his sixth goal of the season.