The fact that Steven Skrzybski, of all people, scored the winning goal against Schalke somehow fits with the S04 misery.

FC Schalke 04 lost 1-0 at Holstein Kiel. Steven Skrzybski scored the winning goal for the “Kieler Störche”.

Skrzybski, of all people, has to be mentioned at this point. Because the 31-year-old was still playing for Schalke in the 2020/2021 season and is a big fan of the club. 32 games, four goals, five assists: but Skrzybski was no longer good enough for S04, so he went to Kiel.

And he is performing well there, as he has done this season. 18 appearances, seven goals and two assists are an impressive tally. However, he didn’t seem particularly happy to become the match winner against Schalke, of all teams.

Skrzybski was only able to celebrate briefly and was already thinking of “his Schalke” in the second moment. He said on Sky: “The desire for a win was great. We were close against Magdeburg last time out. I’m happy that we won and kept a clean sheet again.”

Skrzybski on Schalke: “I pursue what is possible for me very closely. Everyone knows what the club means to me. In this game, it was my job to play well for Holstein Kiel. But from now on, I’ll be keeping my fingers crossed for Schalke. It’s always special to play against Schalke, no matter who you’re playing against.”

Kiel coach Marcel Rapp, meanwhile, was delighted that Holstein recorded their first three points in 2024 and were now able to settle at the top: “That was a really good game from us. We were in it from the start. The only thing we can criticize ourselves for is our conversion rate. Otherwise, it was a really good performance.”

And there was also plenty of praise for Schalke fan Skrzybski, who scored against Schalke with a volley. Rapp: “Steven can take the balls like that, I know that. I see it in training. It’s great that it worked in the game too.”

Kiel are in second place with 39 points after 21 games and travel to SC Paderborn next weekend. SV Wehen Wiesbaden are waiting in the home arena at Schalke.