week 34 - match report

Bordon brace not enough to secure second place

The Royal Blues fulfilled their part of the bargain, winning 2-0 in front of a crowd of 47,000 in Nürnberg thanks to two Marcelo Bordon goals, but it was not enough to secure them second place in the final league table. Werder Bremen's win at Bayer Leverkusen means Schalke end their 40th Bundesliga season in third place with 64 points and will take part in the third round of the Champions League qualifying competition.

"First of all I'd like to congratulate the players", said caretaker boss Mike Büskens after the 2-0 win in Nürnberg. "In the last six games they've taken 16 of a possible 18 points. Unfortunately it wasn't enough for second place, but I still have to take my hat off to them for the way they've worked." Turning his attention to the runners-up, Büskens said: "Congratulations to Werder Bremen. They held their lead to the finish and deserve to qualify for the Champions League automatically."

The former Schalke left-back also reserved a few words of consolation for Nürnberg, saying: "I hope they only spend one season in the second division and have something to smile about on the final day next year. They certainly made it tough for us today."

Owing to the suspension of Mladen Krstajic the coaching tandem of Büskens and Youri Mulder were forced to change the side that beat Eintracht Frankfurt 1-0 last week. Christian Pander returned to the startling line-up at left-back after recovering from a groin injury, with Heiko Westermann moving across to centre-back in place of Krstajic. Levan Kobiashvili also came in for Ivan Rakitic, who dropped to the bench. The Georgia international was used on the left side of the midfield diamond, with Jermaine Jones on the right and Halil Altintop behind the two strikers.

Nürnberg: Klewer - Jacobsen, Wolf, Abardonado, Pinola - Galasek, Engelhardt - Charisteas, Mintal (Vittek 46'), Misimovic - Koller
Schalke: Neuer - Rafinha, Westermann, Bordon (Höwedes 73'), Pander - Ernst - Jones, Altintop, Kobiashvili - Asamoah (Rakitic 71'), Kuranyi
Referee: Fandel (Kyllburg)
Goals: 0-1 Bordon (19'), 0-2 Bordon (61')
Attendance: 47,000 (sold out)
Yellow cards: Wolf, Galasek, Engelhardt, Koller - Rafinha