1-2: Aubameyang goal not enough in the derby

Felix Ulrich reporting

Although BVB were the dominant side in the second half they were unable to find the crucial spark of inspiration in the final third. There was also an element of misfortune at play, too, when referee Gagelmann opted not to give a penalty for a Matip challenge on Ramos in the 67th minute. Schalke offered little as an attacking force in the second half save for a Huntelaar effort in time added on.

The Scenario:

Thirteenth plays eighth with both sides so far not meeting pre-season expectations so far.Club captain Mats Hummels had pinpointed the goals against record as the core of the problem, “If you consistently let in two goals a game then winning becomes very difficult.” The last BVB win at Schalke came in October 2013 when goals from Aubameyang, Sahin,  Blaszczykowski led to a 3-1 win.

Personnel Matters:

There were four changes to the starting eleven in the midweek 2-2 draw with VfB Stuttgart. Sokratis made way for Hummels return from the start while Erik Durm replaced Marcel Schmelzer at left back. In defensive midfield Jojic made way for Matthias Ginter to partner Bender while Ramos started up front instead of Kagawa. Jürgen Klopp explained the changes, “The small amount of wiggle room we have to rotate with quality players had to be exploited.” Still missing for the 145th derby were: Mkhitaryan, Kehl, Blaszczykowski, Gündogan , Kirch, Reus and Sahin all of whom are injured.

Hosts Schalke were also without a number of players: Giefer, Felipe Santana, Höwedes, Kolasinac, Goreetzka aand Farfan (all injured) and Draxler who was suspended. Jens Keller made two changes from the team that had won 3-0 in Bremen with Matip coming in for Ayhan, Boateng for Fuchs.

Tactics:

Schalke lined up in a 4-2-3-1 system while BVB started in 4-4-2 with Ramos and Immobile up top supported wide from midfield by Großkreutz and Aubameyang with Bender and Ginter holding.

The Game and Analysis:

A game of football could scarcely be more intense than this. In terms of commitment both teams gave everything. Indeed, after just 20 seconds Choup-Moting and Piszczek clashed headsleaving the Dortmund man nursing a cut above his eye which required treatment.

Choupo-Moting and Piszczek was to be a key match-up in this game because the home side sent most of their attacks in the first half down their left flank. And so it was that their opening goal came from that area of play when Weidenfeller finally cleared a Choupo-Moting effort for a corner which Aogo swung in to find the head of Matip who had escaped the clutches of Mats Hummels; 1-0 after ten minutes and for the tall Schalke man it was his 13th Bundesliga goal all of which have come from dead-ball situations.

Borussia vulnerable defensively

BVB seemed to take this early setback in their stride and five minutes later almost equalised when a long ball from Hummels, flicked on by Immobile, found Großkreutz whose strike ws deflected wide for a corner. Three minutes later Immobile seemed unable to decide whether to shoot or cross resulting in his effort dribbling wide of the goal.

But just as BVB were getting into their stride, Schalke scored again! Once more the goal came from a corner, but was a scrambled effort as Weidenfeller first parried from Huntelaar, then Ramos could only help the ball back to the Dutchman who this time had his shot blocked by Subotic before the ball fell for Choupo-Moting to rifle home to make it 2-0 on 23 minutes. The more unsteady the defence appeared the more effective the team seemed going forward.

Aubameyang hits third of the season

It was a mistake by Neustädter that allowed Ramos to cross for Aubameyang to shovel the ball home for BVB on 26 minutes and now, properly at the races, BVB went for the equaliser and yet by half-time just two small chances for Piszczek were all they had to show for their efforts as the teams went in for half-time.

Fährmann, in the Schalke goal, was soon tested at the start of the second period by a low Immobile drive as Dortmund pressed for the equaliser. On the hour Klopp rung the changes bringing on Kagawa and Jojic for Immobile and Großkreutz respectively. A tame effort by Boateng on 51 minutes had been all Schalke offered going forward as from early on they seemed to be happy to protect what they had.

Matip brings Ramos down on the edge of the box

BVB though could only improve on their corner, rather than goal count (9-4) and the killer touch was proving elusive despite dominating the game. On 67 minutes Ramos seemed to be brought down by Matip at the edge of the box, but BVB had no luck as referee Gagelmann waved play on. By the end of the game BVB had enjoyed 56% of possession and had run five kilometres (123-118) than their opponents whilst having more shots on goal (17-11) too and yet the equaliser just didn’t come.

Teams & Goals

Bundesliga, Matchday 6
FC SCHALKE 04 - BORUSSIA DORTMUND 2-1 (2-1)

FC Schalke 04: Fährmann - Uchida, Matip, Neustädter, Aogo - Höger, Boateng - Sam, Meyer, Choupo-Moting - Huntelaar
Borussia Dortmund: Weidenfeller – Piszczek, Subotic, Hummels, Schmelzer – Bender, Ginter – Aubameyang, Großkreutz - Ramos, Immobile
Substitutions: 37. Clemens for Sam, 71. Fuchs for Boateng, 79. Ayhan for Höger  - 57. Kagawa for Immobile, 69. Jojic for Großkreutz, 85. Sokratis for Hummels
Goals: 1-0 Matip (10., corner Aogo), 2-0 Choupo-Moting (23.), 2-1 Aubameyang (26., Ramos)
Corners: 4-9 (HT 2-2), Chances: 5-5 (3-2)
Referee: Gagelmann (Bremen), Yellow cards: Matip - Subotic
Attendance: 61,673 (sold out), Weather: clear, 18 degrees

Prospects:

The games keep on coming! On Wednesday BVB travel to play RSC Anderlecht (kick off 2045 CET) in the Champions League before next Saturday hosting a Bundesliga fixture with SV Hamburg (kick off 1530 CET).