Schalke 04 wins 2-0 at Fortuna Düsseldorf. Kenan Karaman and Vitalie Becker score for the league leaders

The second division season remains a huge party for FC Schalke 04. Accompanied by around 20,000 fans, the Royal Blues defeated Fortuna Düsseldorf and extended their lead at the top of the table with a 2-0 (1-0) away win. “Leaders, leaders” was once again the favorite chant of the S04 fans.

It was an incredible sight at the Merkur-Spiel-Arena: when the traveling fans chanted “Stand up if you’re Schalke fans,” almost half the stadium stood up. Schalke had a home game in the state capital. And yet, Schalke coach Miron Muslic still had cause for concern before the game: for the first time this season, he had to reshuffle his defensive midfield duo, as Ron Schallenberg was sidelined with a strain. Once again, Muslic showed courage and paired Soufiane El-Faouzi with Paul Pöpperl, who was making his debut in the starting lineup. Pöpperl had impressed in the U23s and in professional training. The conditions before kick-off were clear: a confident Schalke side took to the field with huge support in the stadium against a crisis-stricken Fortuna. Muslic had nevertheless warned that Fortuna could make up for much of what had happened in recent weeks in this game.

In fact, Düsseldorf managed to keep the game open for long stretches of the first half and, like almost every Schalke opponent, had significantly more possession. However, there were hardly any scoring chances. The only notable events in the first 44 minutes were the fireworks set off by the Fortuna fans at kickoff and one chance for each team. In the 17th minute, Düsseldorf’s Florent Muslija danced past Nikola Katic in the Schalke penalty area and had a clear shot at goal. But he blasted the ball well over the bar. A quarter of an hour later, S04 captain Kenan Karaman had a free shot, but his curling effort was deflected for a corner by Fortuna goalkeeper Florian Kastenmeier.

Just as everyone was settling for a draw at half-time, Schalke were awarded another throw-in. Christopher Antwi-Adjei, the man with the strong throwing arm, hurled the ball deep into the Düsseldorf penalty area. Hasan Kurucay got his head to it, but Kastenmeier saved. Katic was in the best position to tap in the rebound, but was hit in the head by Düsseldorf’s Tim Oberdorf. Referee Felix Prigan immediately pointed to the penalty spot and showed Oberdorf the yellow card. Karaman took the penalty himself, slotting the ball into the right corner and running to celebrate in the Düsseldorf corner. Schalke took the lead without playing an exceptionally good game; a successful set piece was enough. Karaman: first goal, then out However, Karaman was unable to continue: the goalscorer remained in the dressing room, which Schalke initially described as a “precautionary measure.” Super sub Bryan Lasme came on in his place. Schalke started the second half much better, with Lasme (50′) and Moussa Sylla (51′) missing early chances. In the 55th minute, everything finally went Schalke’s way. Schalke’s Vitalie Becker won the ball well at his own corner flag and played it on to Antwi-Adjei. Oberdorf caught him with a tackle. Prigan showed the self-confessed Schalke fan a yellow-red card, and Schalke continued to play with a man advantage. But, similar to the 0-0 draw in Münster two weeks ago, Schalke failed to calm the game down. On the contrary, they lost the ball too often and allowed Düsseldorf to mount several good attacks. For example, in the 75th minute, striker Cedric Itten set up Christian Rasmussen, who curled the ball just wide of the goal. Fortuna had more to offer and were now hoping for a surprise win despite being a man down, while the Schalke fans suddenly began to worry.

But a moment of genius from Schalke in the 81st minute decided the game. Christian Gomis, who had come on as a substitute just seconds earlier, played a wonderful pass into the path of Vitalie Becker, who curled the ball into the net to make it 2-0 – and the Royal Blues’ celebrations could begin.