Dominant Schalke held by Borussia Dortmund in entertaining Revierderby
Schalke dominated much of the match against bitter local rivals Borussia Dortmund, but were unable to finish a number of chances as the sides shared the points in a 0-0 draw.
Revierderby meetings are typically fierce, frenetic occasions and this one was no different at a packed-out Veltins-Arena. Jadon Sancho had the first clear sight of goal within two minutes, with Alexander Nübel brilliantly saving the Englishman’s shot from the edge of the box, but otherwise the hosts were on top throughout the first half. The Royal Blues bristled with energy and hounded their visitors high up the pitch, denying Dortmund any time or space to build from the back – even if a scuffed Rabbi Matondo shot that trickled wide was the best they had to show for their efforts in the first half hour. Schalke got ever closer as the half-time whistle approached, both Salif Sane and Suat Serdar hitting the woodwork before Marwin Hitz superbly denied Matondo, who had raced clean through on goal, as a relentless Schalke side pushed for the opener. AS such, Dortmund were somewhat fortunate to go into the break with the game still goalless.
The match followed a similar pattern after the interval and BVB were carved open early on when Guido Burgstaller’s flicked header sent Matondo one-on-one with Hitz again, but the BVB goalkeeper produced another good save to keep his side in the game. Sancho replied shortly afterwards in a rare Dortmund attack, but his curling shot from distance whistled past the post. Schalke’s next opportunity also fell to Matondo after a strong run from Jonjoe Kenny, but the Welshman fired wide of the target. The visitors had their best spell of the match in the closing stages as Schalke grew tired, with Sancho twice going close and Thorgan Hazard’s driving runs causing problems, but ultimately neither side was able to break the deadlock.
Match stats
- Hitz and Kenny both made their Revierderby debuts in this match.
- Hitz is undefeated in all nine competitive matches for Dortmund (W8 D1).
- Schalke had 12 attempts on goal to Dortmund's eight.
- Omar Mascarell covered more ground than any player of the 90 minutes (7.30 miles).
- Sancho had four shots in the match, more than any other player.
- The last time there was a Revierderby draw was when Schalke fought back from 4-0 down to draw 4-4 on 25 November 2017.
Watch: Kenny: "It gave me goosebumps!"
Line-ups
Schalke: Nübel (c) – Kenny, Stambouli, Sane, Oczipka – Serdar, Mascarell – Caligiuri (Schöpf 84'), Harit, Matondo (Kutucu 80') – Burgstaller (Kabak 90+1')
Unused subs: Schubert, Miranda, Nastasic, Uth, Raman, Mercan
Out: Bentaleb (groin), McKennie (calf)
Coach: David Wagner
Dortmund: Hitz – Piszczek, Weigl, Hummels, Guerreiro – Witsel, Delaney (Akanji 74') – Sancho, Reus (c), Hakimi (Brandt 86') – Götze (Hazard 57')
Unused subs: Oelschlägel, Zagadou, Dahoud, Schulz, Bruun Larsen, Raschl
Out: Alcacer (Achilles), Bürki (flu), Schmelzer (groin)
Coach: Lucien Favre
Watch: Reus: "We're not satisfied with our performance"
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