Schalke slip to defeat in Florida Cup finale

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FC Schalke 04 were beaten 2-0 by Club Atletico Mineiro in their final Florida Cup encounter on Wednesday.

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Andre Breitenreiter’s side were thus denied a 100 per cent record at the tournament, but the coach will be happy to have given his squad – and new signing Younes Belhanda in particular – a run-out ahead of the Bundesliga season’s restart - and a home game with SV Werder Bremen - in just over a week.

Costly miss from Geis

The Royal Blues came into this game in confident mood after a comfortable 2-0 win over local outfit Fort Lauderdale Strikers last Sunday, but they fell behind early on when Mineiro defender Leo Silva climbed highest to head in a corner.

Breitenreiter’s charges responded well, with Junior Caicara slamming a rebound against the post and Belhanda having a snapshot well saved by the goalkeeper. Johannes Geis was then presented with a golden chance to level when the referee awarded a penalty for a handball against Edcarlos, but the Germany U-21 midfielder was denied by an excellent Victor save.

Atletico made the most of the reprieve and doubled their lead through Patric’s clever chip, before Lucas Candido added a final flourish with an unstoppable drive into the top corner.

Match reaction

Andre Breitenreiter (Schalke head coach): “We tried to put them under pressure and keep them from getting close to our goal, even into the final stages of the game, and apart from the goal, we hardly conceded any chances in the first half. We also had a few good opportunities ourselves, but unfortunately we couldn’t convert the penalty. I expect us to show a bit more fight].”