Three points for Schalke brought them into a tie for second with Borussia Dortmund, but they remain behind their rivals in goal difference and also have played one more game. Looking comfortable almost the whole match, Schalke are showing that their young talents are developing and will be great to watch next season as well as the remainder of this one.
Schalke 04 vs. Frankfurt: Final score 2-0, win for Königsblauen keeps pursuit of second place alive
The Royal Blues were able to move ahead to match rivals Borussia Dortmund on 58 points, good enough for second-most points in the Bundesliga, but remain behind on goal differential.
A second half strike from 18-year-old Maximilian Meyer proved to be enough for the home side to come out on top. Despite a scoreless first half, the match was not without action.
Just 25 minutes into the match, Julian Draxler was shown a yellow card for a bad foul after making a tackle from the side and not getting the ball. In the 27th minute Marco Russ, (yes, not Marco Reus) escaped punishment despite cleaning Schalke keeper Ralf Fährmann in the box trying to get on the end of a Tranquillo Barnetta free kick.
In the 37th minute Schalke striker Klaas-Jan Huntelaar came within inches of scoring when he headed powerfully but straight to Frankfurt goalkeeper Kevin Trapp. Trapp made a perfect reaction save at the last possible moment to deny the Dutchman. Four minutes later, Frankfurt forward Joselu went down after Fährmann was put into a precarious position when his defender headed it back to him near the edge of the area with the Spainard right behind. He was able to carry on and despite sending a header wide three minutes after the injury, he proved to be a dangerous focal point of the visiting side’s attacks.
Draxler saw his effort go just inches wide six minutes into the second half, which was the first real chance after halftime. He wasted an even better chance three minutes later, when he slipped while attempting to strike the ball after a perfect dummy run from Kevin-Prince Boateng drew the Frankfurt center back out of position.
Maximilian Meyer provided the breakthrough 59 minutes in, cooly sticking away a bouncing ball that was parried by Trapp. Schalke had a 35-yard effort hit the post after left back Sead Kolasinac unleashed a belting effort that rebounded to Huntelaar. The Hunter shot and saw Trapp parry, but was unable to push it further than Meyer, who gave the Königsblauen the advantage.
Two minutes later Julian Draxler appeared to double the Schalke advantage when he poked home an effort that squeezed under Trapp, but was correctly ruled offside. Leon Goretzka had come in with a tackle, winning the ball back and giving Draxler a good angle to shoot, but a good call from the linesman ruled it out.
In the 65th minute, the one side were awarded a penalty when Huntelaar was brought down in the area. He elected to shoot bottom-right and his shot was kept out by Trapp.
Goretzka continued to show everyone why he is such a bright prospect, hitting the crossbar, but it came straight back and was out of the penalty area straight away. He had a positive impact throughout the game and showed why he’s one of the hottest talents in European football.
Despite Schalke having the majority of the chances, Frankfurt continued to be dangerous. Stefan Aigner headed just wide in the 83rd minute. This proved to be their last real chance of the match.
Jefferson Fárfan settled it just seconds into stoppage time, putting a free kick into the top left corner. The substitute, who came on four minutes earlier, hit a perfect effort from 30 yards out, leaving Trapp rooted to the spot.
Despite his side losing, Trapp was the man of the match, putting in a great performance making five saves. Without three of the saves, it would have been a much larger scoreline.
Schalke: Fährmann, Hoogland, Ayhan, Matip, Kolasinac; Boateng (Santana 82’), Neustädter, Goretzka, Meyer (Obasi 72’), Draxler (Farfán 86’), Huntelaar
Goals: Meyer (59’), Farfán (90+1’)
Frankfurt: Trapp, Jung, Zambrano, Madlung, Djakpa (Oczipka 82), Lanig, Russ, Meier (Kadlec 69’), Barnetta (Rosenthal 69’), Aigner, Joselu
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