Twice, VfL Bochum caught Schalke 04 off guard with simple plays and won 2-0. That annoyed S04 coach Miron Muslic.
As confidently as FC Schalke 04’s defense had performed for most of the season so far, just as quickly was it caught off guard by VfL Bochum.
VfL got off to a dream start. Just 42 seconds into the game, Koji Miyoshi put the hosts ahead. After a pass from Gerrit Holtmann, the Japanese player stunned the league leaders. In light of the early goal, Schalke coach Miron Muslic spoke of a “worst-case scenario.”
Especially since Schalke were caught out again shortly before halftime in a similar fashion. Holtmann crossed, and this time Philipp Hofmann finished to make it 2-0 (43rd minute).
“Congratulations to VfL on the win. We knew that Bochum had those weapons on the wings, with excellent speed in behind. Defense has been our foundation so far this season, and we lacked that today. And yet we still had some good moments, like Kenan’s through ball to Mika in the first half. We defended the 0-2 extremely poorly, with five players against two Bochum players,“ Muslic lamented afterward.
He continued: ”Nevertheless, we’ll give it our all again after the break because we know how quickly games like this can turn around. Nikola’s goal would have been one such play, but moments like that are part of the game, and we’ll analyze it closely.”
Nikola Katic had scored what would have been the equalizer after 55 minutes, but the goal was disallowed due to an offensive foul in the build-up. The same went for Kenan Karaman’s supposed 1-2 goal (79th minute). Edin Dzeko had previously handled the ball illegally.
Muslic was frustrated by the loss and the team’s fourth consecutive game without a win, but remained determined. “I am absolutely convinced that the guys will respond. This current phase is a challenge, but we’ve already overcome quite a few of them in recent months. I’m certain—we’ll fight back,” he promised.
On Saturday, February 7, at 1 p.m., Dynamo Dresden, a relegation candidate in strong form, will visit the Veltins Arena.