Schalke 04 have suffered what could be a decisive setback in the race for Champions League qualification. The Royal Blues were held to a 0-0 draw by FC Augsburg in a stop-and-start game on Easter Sunday and are now eight points adrift of fourth place. Augsburg, who are one point behind S04 in sixth, were able to end a two-game losing streak and can carry on dreaming of qualifying for the Europa League for the first time.
The majority of the 30,660 fans inside the sold-out SGL arena had something to celebrate before kick-off, as the long-awaited contract extensions of manager Markus Weinzierl (until 2019) and sporting director Stefan Reuter (2020) were announced. FCA, who had captain Paul Verhaegh back on board after two months out injured, started the game conservatively, but Schalke were unable to turn their dominance into concrete chances. That led to Augsburg, who have never beaten the Royal Blues in a competitive game, growing in confidence.
Their more adventurous approach was almost rewarded in the 18th minute when Schalke keeper Ralf Fährmann, who was back in the team after over three months on the sidelines, could only parry a shot from Raul Bobadilla. Ragnar Klavan was unable to turn in the rebound though. The visitors from Gelsenkirchen were struggling to impose themselves in the final third, but when Max Meyer did make a rare foray into the FCA box, he was held by Dominik Kohr and went to ground. Referee Florian Meyer (Burgdorf) allowed play to go on though – a justifiable decision. Daniel Baier, Bobadilla and Caiuby all had further chances to open the scoring before the break but none were successful.
Schalke coach Roberto Di Matteo reacted to his side’s poor display and brought on Jefferson Farfan for Christian Fuchs at the break, switching from a 3-3-2-2 to a 4-2-3-1. The away side now had more purpose about them and could have broken the deadlock after Baier lost possession inside his own half in the 54th minute, only for Klaas-Jan Huntelaar to fire straight at FCA keeper Marwin Hitz.
Augsburg looked to respond with some chances of their own, but they lacked precision with their attacks. That was something Schalke’s Farfan was also missing when he missed the target from a tight angle, before Huntelaar had the final chance of the game which was comfortably sniffed out by Hitz.
Schalke 04 have suffered what could be a decisive setback in the race for Champions League qualification. The Royal Blues were held to a 0-0 draw by FC Augsburg in a stop-and-start game on Easter Sunday and are now eight points adrift of fourth place. Augsburg, who are one point behind S04 in sixth, were able to end a two-game losing streak and can carry on dreaming of qualifying for the Europa League for the first time.
The majority of the 30,660 fans inside the sold-out SGL arena had something to celebrate before kick-off, as the long-awaited contract extensions of manager Markus Weinzierl (until 2019) and sporting director Stefan Reuter (2020) were announced. FCA, who had captain Paul Verhaegh back on board after two months out injured, started the game conservatively, but Schalke were unable to turn their dominance into concrete chances. That led to Augsburg, who have never beaten the Royal Blues in a competitive game, growing in confidence.
Their more adventurous approach was almost rewarded in the 18th minute when Schalke keeper Ralf Fährmann, who was back in the team after over three months on the sidelines, could only parry a shot from Raul Bobadilla. Ragnar Klavan was unable to turn in the rebound though. The visitors from Gelsenkirchen were struggling to impose themselves in the final third, but when Max Meyer did make a rare foray into the FCA box, he was held by Dominik Kohr and went to ground. Referee Florian Meyer (Burgdorf) allowed play to go on though – a justifiable decision. Daniel Baier, Bobadilla and Caiuby all had further chances to open the scoring before the break but none were successful.
Schalke coach Roberto Di Matteo reacted to his side’s poor display and brought on Jefferson Farfan for Christian Fuchs at the break, switching from a 3-3-2-2 to a 4-2-3-1. The away side now had more purpose about them and could have broken the deadlock after Baier lost possession inside his own half in the 54th minute, only for Klaas-Jan Huntelaar to fire straight at FCA keeper Marwin Hitz.
Augsburg looked to respond with some chances of their own, but they lacked precision with their attacks. That was something Schalke’s Farfan was also missing when he missed the target from a tight angle, before Huntelaar had the final chance of the game which was comfortably sniffed out by Hitz.
