Marius Bülter has been one of FC Schalke 04’s best players lately. After his fifth yellow card, he will miss the important match against Frankfurt.
FC Schalke 04 experienced a first half at Bundesliga leaders FC Bayern Munich that was to be expected: The Munich side, who have to fight to defend their title, took an early 2-0 lead with goals from Thomas Müller and Joshua Kimmich.
But as if that wasn’t enough of a damper, things got really bitter for Schalke 04 shortly afterwards: Marius Bülter saw a yellow card after a clear foul. The attacker undercut a Bayern pass and knocked down Noussair Mazraoui – the yellow card was clear and justified. “I don’t know what he’s doing back there,” said Sky pundit Dietmar Hamann. A defensive action so far back in the field should not have been necessary. “Very, very bad news for the fans us Schalke 04.
Why is it so momentous for Schalke? It was the fifth yellow for the 30-year-old, so he is suspended for the next game. Unfortunately, it is the important home match against Eintracht Frankfurt (Saturday, 3.30 p.m./Sky) – the game that has been chosen as the key match in the difficult remaining programme of the Schalke team, which is struggling against relegation.
There, the Schalkers will now have to do without one of their best and most accurate players. Bülter’s penalty in the 12th minute of stoppage time gave the team a win over Mainz 05 – and gave the relegation candidates new courage.
For tactical reasons, coach Thomas Reis could have spared Bülter in Munich, where Schalke were clear underdogs, to prevent him from seeing yellow. But Reis stressed immediately before the game that Bülter might be smart enough “not to draw a yellow card – and if he does, someone else will play next week”.
He had already stressed at the press conference on Thursday: “We will see to it that we field the best team. It may be that one or the other player who has a record will not play. But that would not only be because of the fourth yellow card, but also because of tactical reasons.”
The coach’s relaxed attitude was not rewarded: Bülter will be missed by the Schalkers.
