Borussia Dortmund Vs. Schalke 04: Manuel Neuer Keeping Schalke Level

Schalke 04 have settled down and improved a bit since the first ten minutes, but that headline is still very fair -- with another man between the posts, this game could well be 3-0. After that rash of early chances, Schalke began to get back into the game. They started keeping the ball much better and even ventured up the pitch a bit to threaten Roman Weidenfeller’s goal. Still, Borussia Dortmund are clearly the better of the two sides and it looks like only a matter of time before they can find a way through.

Unfortunately for Schalke, although Dortmund have been creating fewer chances, the visitors have only had one very small opportunity off of a free-kick, but absolutely nothing came of it. By contrast, Neuer was forced to save a shot from Lucas Barrios, which the Paraguayan striker took in his stride from just inside the right edge of the penalty box, and another shot from Jakub Blaszczykowski from a central position just on the edge of the six-yard box. Not long after, a Nuri Sahin free-kick drifted into the space between Neuer and his defenders in the middle of the penalty area, but a flick from Mats Hummels deflected the ball just wide of goal. Also, Lukasz Schmitz and Anthony Annan were lucky to escape bookings for some aggressive fouls in wide areas. It’s still 0-0 in the Westfalenstadion, but only thanks to that tall blonde kid from Gelsinkirchen that Schalke have in goal.