week 5 - match report

Schalke claim well-earned point in Munich

A courageous performance saw Schalke claim a well-earned point in a 1-1 draw at Bayern Munich and scupper the home side's plans to open up a sizeable gap between the two teams.

Mirko Slomka opted for a 4-3-3 formation for the meeting with the league leaders. Compared with the side that started against Bayer Leverkusen Peter Lovenkrands came in as a third striker, with Mesut Özil dropping to the bench.

The Royal Blues got off to a sluggish start. "In the first 20 minutes it didn't look as if we'd get anything here. Bayern passed the ball very well", said Slomka after the game. Luca Toni had two good chances to give the home side the lead. And there were other situations when only the finish was lacking. "We failed to take our chances early on. Too often we tried to pick out a better placed team mate", criticised Bayern boss Ottmar Hitzfeld, "we were nowhere near clinical enough."

After their shaky start the Royal Blues began to give as good as they got. Defensively Jermaine Jones was more than a match for the much vaunted Frank Ribery, while the lively Ivan Rakitic was a frequent source of inspiration going forward. And the young Croatian international it was who put Schalke ahead with a shot from outside the box on 36 minutes.  "He then had another good chance on the break and really should have made it 2-0", said Slomka, recalling Schalke's 'match point' just before half-time.  But with just Oliver Kahn to beat the 19-year-old midfielder was unable to find the net a second time.

After the restart Schalke were determined to translate their lead into a win. "Our plan was to keep things tight at the back and then catch them on the break", said Slomka. But the 54th minute proved counter-productive for this strategy. When Marcell Jansen was challenged by three Schalker players on the left-hand side and going nowhere, referee Herbert Fandel came to his assistance by awarding a free-kick. And as a direct consequence of this decision Miroslav Klose headed home the equaliser.

Bayern then went out in search of a second, but when it failed to arrive Schalke were able to escape their grip. "We had more in the tank towards the end and could have got a second from various set pieces", said Heiko Westermann not without some justification.

But in the end it stayed 1-1. A draw that Hitzfeld was clearly uncomfortable with: "We were out to beat a top team and open up a bit of a gap on them. We didn't manage to do that", he said before acknowledging Schalke's role in this: "Both teams were well organised and desperate to win. Schalke pushed us to the limit. Our defenders were kept busy at all times and couldn't get involved in the attack. The scoreline is a fair one."

Yet the Royal Blues won more than just a point in Munich. "We were in fantastic shape and showed no fear in the tackle", said Kuranyi, before adding: "We showed that Bayern can be beaten and that teams can compete with them."

Munich: Kahn - Lell, Lucio, Demichelis, Jansen - van Bommel, Ze Roberto - Schweinsteiger (Hamit Altintop 67'), Ribery - Klose, Toni (Podolski 74')
Schalke: Neuer - Rafinha, Westermann, Bordon, Pander - Jones, Ernst - Rakitic (Azaouagh 83') - Asamoah (Halil Altintop 71'), Kuranyi, Lovenkrands
Referee:  Fandel (Kyllburg)
Goals: 0-1 Rakitic (36'), 1-1 Klose (54')
Attendance: 69,000 (sold out)
Yellow cards: Ze Roberto - Özil