Schalke ends drought with Bundesliga win thanks to Gosens and Wöber

Schalke 04 booked Friday evening in Berlin the first Bundesliga win since their return, thanks to an early goal from Robin Gosens and a late finish from Maximilian Wöber, while coach Miron Muslic led the team to seventh place. The victory came after a disappointing start to the season, in which Schalke suffered a 3-0 defeat against Augsburg.

As champions of the 2. Bundesliga, Schalke returned last season to the top level of Germany. The first match ended with a 3-0 loss against Augsburg, but a week later the promoted side held a draw against champions Bayern Munich.

Gosens opens the scoring

After a good twenty minutes Robin Gosens delivered the first goal for Schalke. The former player of FC Dordrecht and Heracles Almelo struck a high cross into the air and the defender completed the ball with a half‑volley, sending it via the inside of the post into the net.

Fifteen minutes later Adil Aouchiche doubled the lead with a hard shot into the near top corner, making the score 0-2.

Consequences and outlook

In injury time Maximilian Wöber, who had come on for Gosens, arrived with a driven cross that produced the third goal. The former Ajax player made the difference in the 13th minute of added time, with Schalke finishing the match 3-1.

Union Berlin still got a consolation goal from Tim Skarke in the 96th minute, but that could not reverse the defeat. The match also saw an interruption when referee Timo Gerach was injured and was replaced by the fourth official; moreover Dejan Ljubicic had to leave the field after twenty minutes due to a knee injury.

With the win Schalke climbs to a respectable seventh place in the Bundesliga, while Union Berlin under new coach Mauro Lustrinelli is still winless in the league. The promoted side therefore continues an excellent start to the season and shows that the return to the German top now bears fruit.