week 15 - match report

Schalke off the top after scoreless draw in Nürnberg

A goalless draw in Nürnberg saw the Royal Blues draw level on points with Werder Bremen, but as the north German outfit have a better goal difference it is they who top the table after Matchday 15. The 43,242 spectators saw a Schalke side that was solid at the back but lacking in ideas up front. And Marcelo Bordon was left rueing a fifth yellow card that puts him out of next Sunday's local derby against Dortmund due to suspension.

While general manager Andreas Müller was satisfied with the point, he was unhappy with the second-half performance. "If you play like that, you're not going to get three points, it's as simple as that. We shall now focus totally on the derby with Dortmund. Not having Marcelo Bordon available for that one is a particular blow."

Head coach Mirko Slomka made two changes to the side that beat VfL Bochum 2-1 last week. Fabian Ernst came in for the injured Zlatan Bajramovic (calf), while Dario Rodriguez dropped to the bench to make way for skipper Marcelo Bordon.

The Royal Blues got off to the better start but repeatedly put themselves under pressure by carelessly giving the ball away. Nürnberg exploited the mistakes cleverly to launch rapid counterattacks. And so it was that the most dangerous situation arose in the Schalke box. The home side moved the ball forward quickly and when the cross came in Christian Pander had to step in at the last second to clear with Markus Schroth shaping to shoot.

But the biggest chance of the half fell to Kevin Kuranyi. A Peter Lovenkrands cross found the former Germany striker unmarked in front of goal, but his header flew straight into the arms of Raphael Schäfer (25'). It was not the only chance for Schalke's number 22, who had previously seen a shot saved by Schäfer (22') and steered another header wide (9'). Overall, though, the Royal Blues were rarely able to trouble the home defence in the first period.

The second half was a scrappier affair, with a string of misplaced passes destroying the flow of the game. There was little goalmouth action to speak of. On 61 Manuel Neuer did brilliantly to stop an Ivan Saenko shot, and 11 minutes later a dangerous effort from Jan Kristiansen fizzed wide of the left-hand upright. And so it came as no surprise when the game petered out into a 0-0 draw.

1. FC Nürnberg: Schäfer - Reinhardt, Wolf, Beauchamp, Pinola - Galasek - Mnari - Kristiansen (Banovic 82') - Vittek, Saenko (Pagenburg 88'), Schroth (Benko 78')

FC Schalke 04: Neuer - Rafinha, Bordon, Krstajic, Pander - Ernst - Hamit Altintop (Lincoln 67'), Kobiashvili - Halil Altintop (Varela 58') Lovenkrands (Larsen 76'), Kuranyi

Attendance: 43,242

Yellow cards: Vittek - Rafinha, Kuranyi, Bordon

Referee: Weiner (Giesen)