Week 18 - Match report

Magath hails Neuer as Schalke labour to victory over Nürnberg

The winter break may have been short this season but the Royal Blues still struggled to find their rhythm on their return to Bundesliga action against Nürnberg. Nevertheless the bottom line was a win and three points that keep Schalke in touch with league leaders Leverkusen.

"We have Manuel Neuer to thank and no one else, he was outstanding", said head coach Felix Magath of his goalkeeper, who secured victory for his team with two brilliant saves. "That's why we're very glad to have him between the sticks and want to keep him at Schalke for a long time."

The 56-year-old made three changes to the side that started the last game before the mid-season break against Mainz, Rafinha and new signings Peer Kluge and Edu coming in for Carlos Zambrano, who is injured, Joel Matip and Lewis Holtby. Nürnberg's starting eleven also featured two new faces as Dieter Hecking, who took charge at the next-to-bottom side in December, went with Andreas Ottl and Breno, both on loan from Bayern Munich, with the aim of shoring up the defence.

And the visitors' compact style of play made things difficult for Schalke, especially in the first half. "It's totally normal for a team to struggle a little in the first game back after the winter break, we weren't the only ones this weekend", explained Magath. "We had problems with our attacking game during the first half of the season and 14 days isn't enough to do much about it. But it was also to do with the way Nürnberg played."

Angelos Charisteas set the alarm bells ringing when he hit the post after 26 minutes, which prompted Magath to change his formation by ordering Lukas Schmitz into midfield. Rafinha reverted to right-back, Benedikt Höwedes moved across into central defence and Heiko Westermann switched to the left of the back four. And with 35 minutes gone he was forced to make another change when Kluge limped off to be replaced by Christoph Moritz.

After the interval Jefferson Farfan switched from the left flank to the right. And the change paid off immediately. After collecting a pass from Rafinha the Peruvian turned smartly to shake off Javier Pinola and centred for Kevin Kuranyi, who was quicker than Dennis Diekmeier and prodded the ball over the line. It was to prove the only goal of the game, as Nürnberg's second clear-cut opportunity through Christian Eigner on 68 also smacked against the post thanks to a great reflex save with his foot by Neuer. "Nürnberg were the better side, especially in the first half, and were very unlucky to lose", said Magath. "They played much better than a team battling relegation." After his first game in change Nürnberg coach Dieter Hecking said he was "not disappointed, but unhappy with the result." He too emphasised the role played by Neuer, saying: "We played really well, but we were up against a really good goalkeeper who pulled off two brilliant saves."

Schalke: Neuer - Höwedes, Westermann, Bordon, Schmitz (Matip 74') - Rafinha, Kluge (Moritz 35'), Rakitic, Farfan - Kuranyi, Edu (Sanchez 90')
Nürnberg: Schäfer - Diekmeier, Wolf, Breno, Pinola - Ottl, Nordtveit (Eigler 64') - Gygax (Choupo-Moting 69'), Gündogan - Charisteas, Bunjaku (Mintal 85')
Goal: 1-0 Kuranyi (48')
Attendance: 61,515
Referee: Kempter (Sauldorf)
Yellow cards: Edu - Gündogan, Pinola (5), Ottl