Fortuna wins wild kick
Desolate Schalke miss the little miracle
November 25, 2023, 10:31 p.m
After 26 minutes, the top game of the 2nd Bundesliga seems to have already been decided. FC Schalke 04 is down 3-0 at Fortuna Düsseldorf. But in the second half the guests wake up and are close to an impressive resurrection. In the end it’s not enough.
Bundesliga relegated Schalke 04 simply can’t get out of the basement in the second division. The Knappen lost 3:5 (0:3) in the wild top game at Fortuna Düsseldorf after a long desolate performance and are stuck in relegation place 16. In the sixth competitive game under new coach Karel Geraerts, it was already the fourth defeat.
Düsseldorf, which lost captain Marcel Sobottka with a thigh injury, climbed to third place after two recent defeats. Vincent Vermeij, who returned after a concussion, scored twice (13th/26th). “I’m incredibly happy for Vince,” said sports director Klaus Allofs on Sky: “He’s worked a lot this season, but hasn’t scored that many goals yet.” The other Fortuna goals were scored by Felix Klaus (19th), Christos Tzolis (65th) and Jona Niemiec (90th + 4th).
But Schalke didn’t give up after the horror start. Former Düsseldorfer Marcin Kaminski (57th), Tomas Kalas (74th) and Bryan Lasme (75th) were still successful. But another 4:4 was not achieved on the sixth anniversary of the crazy derby at Borussia Dortmund, when Schalke caught up with four goals.
In addition to Vermeij, Fortuna coach Daniel Thioune was able to rely on clearer Yannik Engelhardt after his yellow card suspension had expired, while central defender Jordy De Wijs was missing due to muscular problems. But the defense was rarely tested. Vermeij headed in from Nicolas Gavory’s cross to take the lead. The 2-0 came after a low cross from Tzolis, Schalke goalkeeper Ralf Fährmann had no chance to defend against Klaus’ deflected shot.
On the third goal, the ball bounced off the crossbar back into the field, Fährmann wandered around disorientated in the five-yard box, and Vermeij headed in again. After a good half hour, Geraerts brought in three new players and switched to a back four. That helped his team recover. The Schalke ultras temporarily stopped their support – but woke up at the latest when Lasme connected from twelve meters.