Week 24 - Match report

2-1 derby triumph: Rakitic stunner seals it for Schalke

A run of four months without conceding a goal at home ended for the Royal Blues against BVB, but missing out on a record was the least of anyone’s worries by the end. The home side responded courageously to a looming defeat in the derby and battled back to beat Dortmund after going a goal behind.

The first half was hardly a candidate for inclusion in anyone’s record books. Felix Magath fielded Edu as a second striker alongside Kevin Kuranyi, but the contest soon became bogged down in a tactical midfield battle, with the sparse moments of excitement generally caused by mistakes from opponents. "We came out for the second half looking to attack,” the head coach commented, "and that started really well, didn’t it?"

The ironic remark was prompted by a calamitous incident just a minute after the restart. The VELTINS-Arena crowd had barely settled after the interval, and judging by the lack of reaction, many were not yet fully focused on the action when referee Manuel Gräfe pointed to the spot. Ivan Rakitic had tapped Nelson Valdez’ foot in the box, handing Borussia the chance to take the lead. Nuri Sahin converted the 47th-minute penalty, ending Schalke’s hopes of a club record seven consecutive home games without conceding, and tipping the balance of the match firmly the visitors’ way.

Going a goal behind served as a wake-up call to the men in Royal Blue – and not for the first time. "We obviously needed them to score first, like against Hamburg or Leverkusen," mused Magath. "It seemed to take all the pressure off my team." Half-time substitute Christoph Moritz played only a limited role in the fightback. Just 21 minutes into the second period, he gave way to Alexander Baumjohann. "But it had nothing to do with his performance," the coach clarified. "He’s stronger in defence, but I had to add attacking impetus." His men pressed forward now in search of the equaliser and were rewarded on 66 minutes, the vast majority in the crowd erupting to hail Benedikt Höwedes' leveller.

"We bottled it a little at that point. We lost our shape," lamented BVB coach Jürgen Klopp. "They turned up the pressure, and we never found an escape route." Klopp described Rakitic’ pinpoint 20-yard winner seven minutes from time as "goal of the month at the very least". Felix Magath finally saw in a match what he sees all the time on the practice ground: "Ivan’s been getting better and better in recent weeks. He has a great shot on him, one of the best here, and he should be trying his luck from long range more often. I reckon the goal will help him."

By bravely coming from behind, Schalke "deserved the win", Magath declared, offering his young team’s energy and intent as the main reasons for the victory, combined with the galvanising effect of falling behind: "Sometimes we’re a little too reticent. After they scored, we had nothing to lose. We threw off our inhibitions and played with the courage borne of desperation."

The Royal Blues’ second derby win of the season also edges them ahead in the long-running battle with Ruhr Valley rivals Dortmund: Schalke now lead by 27 Bundesliga victories to 26. There was a milestone for Magath too, as it was his 200th victory as a Bundesliga coach. Schalke were already guaranteed to remain third whatever the outcome this weekend, but the 2-1 triumph means the gap between Magath’s men and a direct rival for a European qualifying place has widened further, to a comforting nine points in the case of BVB.

Schalke: Neuer - Rafinha, Höwedes, Bordon, Schmitz - Kluge, Rakitic - Farfan, Edu (Asamoah 84), Sanchez (Moritz 46/Baumjohann 65) - Kuranyi
Dortmund: Weidenfeller - Owomoyela, Subotic, Hummels (Felipe Santana 82), Schmelzer - Bender (Kehl 86), Sahin - Blaszczykowski, Zidan (Hajnal 73), Großkreutz – Valdez
Referee: Manuel Gräfe (Berlin)
Goals: 0-1 Sahin (47, pen), 1-1 Höwedes (66), 2-1 Rakitic (83)
Attendance: 61,673 (capacity)
Yellow cards: Schmitz (3), Kuranyi (3) - Großkreutz (4), Valdez (5/1), Blaszczykowski, Bender (3)