week 1 - match report
Brave Blues draw 2-2 in Stuttgart
Schalke kicked off the 45th Bundesliga season with a 2-2 draw at champions VfB Stuttgart on Friday evening. Levan Kobiashvili (25') and Ivan Rakitic (76') got the goals for the Royal Blues, Sami Khedira (63') and Pavel Pardo (67') struck for the home side. In a courageous performance Mirko Slomka's men recovered from 2-1 down to secure a well-earned point in front of 55,000 spectators.
"We deserved a point tonight on account of our battling attitude", said Mirko Slomka after the final whistle.
The Schalke boss made two changes to the side that faced Trier in the DFB Cup, fit-again Mladen Krstajic coming in for Heiko Westermann in central defence and Peter Lovenkrands replacing the injured Halil Altintop on the left side of attack. Mesut Özil played behind the strikers and did very well as a carrier and passer of the ball.
But it was Stuttgart who got off to the better start. The home side dominated the opening exchanges. They combined neatly and forced a number of corners, but apart from a shot from Cacau in the eleventh minute they were unable to mount a serious threat on the Neuer's goal.
Schalke initially lacked precision when attempting to open up the play, with too many passes going astray during the build-up. Not until later in the half did things improve. Fabian Ernst, Mesut Özil and Levan Kobiashvili worked hard to direct the play, but were faced by an aggressive Stuttgart midfield. "We couldn't get a grip. It was tough for Fabian and Kobi in that phase", explained Slomka. But the Georgia international still made his mark in attack. After receiving a pass from Özil his 18 metre shot took a deflection off Roberto Hilbert and flew past the hapless Rafael Schäfer into the net to give the Royal Blues the lead.
The lead gave Schalke the assurance they needed and they controlled the proceedings from then on, with only a header from Ciprian Marica that went just over giving them cause for concern.
In the second half Slomka changed things around. Jermaine Jones came on for Özil and played in the central defensive midfield position, with Kobiashvili and Ernst slotting in on either side of him. In the wide positions Gerald Asamoah and Peter Lövenkrands tracked back even more, ensuring that Schalke were solid at the back while remaining dangerous on the break. "Mesut Özil had a very good game, but Stuttgart were dominating midfield, so we introduced an additional defensive midfielder in Jermaine", said Slomka, explaining the change. And it had the desired effect, as Schalke gradually increased their grip on the game. Along with a 54th minute Christian Pander free-kick Fabian Ernst had Schalke's best chance in the second half on 57.
In this phase Stuttgart grabbed a somewhat surprising equaliser. Sami Khedira took a pass from Hilbert, stepped inside and left Neuer with no chance with a shot from the edge of the box. And just four minutes later they were in front: Neuer initially pulled off a great save to deny Cacau, but when Marica went to ground under the goalkeeper's challenge, referee Fandel awarded a penalty. Pavel Pardo converted the spot kick with aplomb to make it 2-1 to the home side.
Momentarily stunned by this double blow, the Royal Blues attempted to put more pressure on the Stuttgart goal with the introduction of Ivan Rakitic. "We responded again and switched back to playing with a number ten. Ivan showed his quality as a finisher", said Slomka. On his Bundesliga debut the Croatian got his first goal, a strike that earned his side a hard fought for point.
Stuttgart: Schäfer - Hilbert, Tasci, Meira, Boka - Khedira, Pardo, Da Silva (Farnerud 84'), Hitzlsperger - Cacau, Marica (Ewerthon 77')
Schalke: Neuer - Rafinha, Bordon, Krstajic, Pander - Ernst, Kobiashvili (Rakitic 69') - Özil (Jones 46') - Asamoah (Bajramovic 81'), Kuranyi, Lovenkrands
Goals: 0-1 Kobiashvili (25'), 1-1 Khedira (63'), 2-1 Pardo (pen. 67'), 2-2 Rakitic (76')
Attendance: 55,000
Referee: Herbert Fandel (Kyllburg)
Yellow cards: Marica, Boka, Farnerud, Pardo - Kuranyi, Jones, Krstajic
