“We also have ourselves to blame today,” commented a self-critical Kevin Volland after the match: “We turned in a poor display in the first half. We conceded the opener after I gave the ball away twice. That mustn't happen, I'm sorry for the team. Taken altogether we had too little impetus up front today.”
Bayer 04 announced positive news a quarter-hour before kick-off as Jonathan Tah has extended his contract with the club. The centre-back, sidelined with a bout of flu today, extended his contract to 30 June 2023. His previous contract would have expired in 2020.
Bayer 04 coach Heiko Herrlich fielded the same side that saw off Hamburg last weekend. Watched by Germany head coach Joachim Löw, the away side got off to a good start in glorious sunshine and cold temperatures. Volland lost possession, before Daniel Caligiuri's long diagonal ball found Burgstaller, whose excellent first touch was a lob to get past Retsos. With only Bernd Leno to beat, the forward finished clinically from 15 yards, crashing home inside the near post (11').
Bayer 04 needed a while to recover from the setback. The home side’s first gilt-edged chance fell to Leon Bailey. The Jamaican got hold of the ball when Schalke keeper Ralf Fährmann flapped at a corner, firing just inches wide of the post from 15 yards (20').
The Werkself struggled at times against the Royal Blues. The visitors were very agile, clever in defence and had another presentable opportunity following a set-piece. Bernd Leno was at full stretch to deny Leon Goretzka's header from Caligiuri's free-kick (29')..
When referee Daniel Siebert issued Dominik Kohr his marching orders for a second bookable offence following a foul on Embolo after just 38 minutes, it was clear the task would be even tougher for decimated Bayer 04.
Both teams were unchanged at half-time, but Schalke coach Tedesco introduced Amin Harit and Benjamin Stambouli for Burgstaller and Max Meyer just four minutes after the restart. The first chance fell to the hosts, Kai Havertz drawing a comfortable save from Schalke keeper Fährmann from 18 yards (53'). There was more danger at the other end a minute later, when the unmarked Naldo miscued a header following a corner.
The ten-man Werkself were looking to up the pressure and create chances, but efforts by Julian Brandt (61') and Tin Jedvaj (63') proved harmless. Lucas Alario, who had just come on as a sub, had the best chance following a fine move. The Argentinian controlled a Bailey cross with his back to the goal and fired on the spin, but aimed too close to Fährmann (64').
Heiko Herrlich brought on forwards Stefan Kießling, who made his 399th Bundesliga appearance, and Karim Bellarabi with 20 minutes to go.
The home team put up a fight but struggled to overcome Schalke's clever defending. The visitors had a gilt-edged chance when the unmarked Embolo had only Leno to beat, but the Werkself number one made a world-class save to deny the Swiss striker’s lob (73'). Schalke put the game to bed with two minutes to go. Embolo charged towards Leno and was felled by Retsos. Referee Siebert pointed to the spot but had a look at the pitch-side monitor in any case. The match official stuck to his decision, Bentaleb proving a cool customer from the spot and doubling the lead (88') to close out the meeting.
The match was overshadowed by an accident in the stands. Two Schalke fans fell down the stairs without any third party involvement and one of the pair suffered serious injury and was taken to hospital after receiving emergency first aid. Both sets of fans reacted sympathetically by withdrawing vocal support for their teams. After the game, the Schalke general manager Christian Heidel said the fan was "in critical condition."
It was a third home defeat this year for the Werkself, who have been overtaken by Schalke 04 in the table. Bayer 04 are back in action when they travel to face VfL Wolfsburg on matchday 25. The game at the Volkswagen Arena kicks off at 15.30 CET on Saturday 3 March.
Match stats:
Bayer 04: Leno – Jedvaj (Kießling 71'), Retsos, S. Bender, Wendell – Kohr, Aránguiz – Brandt (Bellarabi 71'), Havertz, Bailey – Volland (Alario 61')
Schalke 04: Fährmann - Kehrer, Naldo, Nastasic - D. Caligiuri, Meyer (Stambouli 49), Goretzka (Bentaleb 66'), Oczipka - di Santo - Embolo, Burgstaller (Harit 49')
Goals: 0-1 Burgstaller (11'), 0-2 Bentaleb (88' pen)
Referee: Daniel Siebert (Berlin)
Booked: Kohr, Retsos, Alario - Burgstaller, Meyer, Embolo, Harit
Sent off: Kohr (38')
Attendance: 30,210 (capacity)
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