Schalke fail to end winless streak against Bayer Leverkusen

A late own goal by Juan Miranda denied Schalke their first win in 12 games against a lacklustre Bayer Leverkusen.

Although they will rue their missed opportunity to take all three points, Schalke have plenty of positives to take back from the game, namely, the drive and attitude which the players showed on the pitch.

Schalke started the game really well, which has been rather uncharacteristic of them in recent times. Although they weren’t dominating the ball, they barely gave their opponents the time to breathe.

The Royal Blues created plenty of clear-cut chances for themselves, with the first one coming in the third minute. Weston McKennie’s powerful shot from range was fumbled by Lukas Hradecky, as the ball fell in the way of Ahmed Kutuku who failed to keep his close-range shot on target.

David Wagner had vowed for his team to come back stronger than ever, and their intensity in midfield pressure and tackling proved just that. Schalke’s second clear opening came through Daniel Caligiuri who stung Hradecky’s palms with a shot after cutting in from inside.

Going into the break, Schalke would have been delighted with their performance, and all they were lacking was a goal.

This came just six minutes after the break though, when they were handed a penalty after VAR handed them a highly contentious handball decision. Caligiuri stepped up and calmly slotted the ball straight down the middle of the goal.

Leverkusen almost responded immediately when a couple of chances fell to Nadiem Amiri and Lucas Alario, respectively. Both of their attempts were brilliantly dealt with by Alexander Nübel, who parried Amiri’s forceful shot from distance over the bar, and pushed Alario’s downwards header away for a corner.

Alario had another great opportunity but his shot from the edge of the box was outstandingly blocked by Ozan Kabak, once again highlighting Schalke’s grit and determination to win this fight.

They couldn’t hold on for long enough though as Wendell’s low cross was cut back to the centre of the 18-yard-box, where Paulinho was left unmarked. Miranda’s desperate last-ditch tackle couldn’t save the day though as he slotted the ball into his own net instead of diverting it away from goal.

Leverkusen almost instantly doubled their lead as Alario’s superbly timed header from the edge of the box nearly looped over Nübel’s head.

It wasn’t to be for Leverkusen though, as they climb back to fourth on the table, just one point clear of Borussia Monchengladbach. Schalke, on the other hand, can take back plenty of positives from the game, just not the win which is what they so desperately desire.

Lineups

Schalke: Nübel, Kenny, Kabak, Oczipka, Miranda, Caligiuri (Hofmann 88’), McKennie, Schopf, Bozdogan (Becker 69’), Boujellab (Mercan 88’), Kutuku (Gregoritsch 73’).

Bayer Leverkusen: Hradecky, Weiser, Tapsoba, Bender, Wendell, Demirbay (Paulinho 75’), Aranguiz (Baumgartlinger 85’), Havertz (Volland 70’), Amiri (Sinkgraven 70’), Diaby, Alario.