Schalke end China tour with late win against Hebei Fortune
Three goals in the final five minutes earned Schalke a dramatic win against a Hebei Fortune side that included Hernanes, Gervinho and Ezequiel Lavezzi.
Hebei China Fortune 1-3 Schalke
Goals: 1-0 Xeuscheng (65’), 1-1 Teuchert (85’), 1-2 Uth (88’), 1-3 Yang (og 90’)
Schalke kicked off their tour of China with an entertaining 3-3 draw against English Premier League side Southampton, and came into the second of their two matches in Asia in good spirits. Two different teams played each half, and it was the first 45 minutes in which Domenico Tedesco’s side looked the most threatening. The attacking trio of Yevhen Konoplyanka, Franco di Santo and Steven Skrzybski were causing real problems for the hosts, although it was Bernard Tekpetey who had Schalke’s best chance. The 23-year-old forward couldn’t beat Cheng, though, after being played through on goal.
Weston McKennie and Mark Uth were among the wholesale half-time changes, but Schalke fell behind following a mix-up at the back. Substitute goalkeeper Michael Langer punched a misjudged clearance from Uth into the back of the striker’s head, allowing Xeuscheng to bury the loose ball. Tedesco’s side earned a late and great win, however, courtesy of two near-identical strikes from Cedric Teuchert and Uth, and a Yang own goal. The Royal Blues will now return to Germany and continue their pre-season against Schwarz-Weiß Essen on 21 July.
Watch: Highlights of Schalke's 3-3 draw with Southampton
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Line-ups
Schalke: Nübel (Langer 45') - Wiemann (Riether 45'), Stambouli (Geis 45'), Naldo (Kutucu 45') - Tekpetey (Caligiuri 45'), Serdar (McKennie 45'), Bentaleb (Mascarell 45'), Baba (Kübler 45') - Konoplyanka (Teuchert 45'), di Santo (Uth 45'), Skrzybski (Boujellab 45')
Absentees: Sane, Harit, Burgstaller, Schöpf (all holiday), Embolo (World Cup), Oczipka (groin), Höwedes (considering future)
Coach: Domenico Tedesco
Hebei: Cheng - Zhao, Zhunyi, Hang, Zhipeng, Yuhao - Hernanes, Chengdong - Gervinho, Lavezzi - Xuesheng
Absentees: None
Coach: Chris Coleman
Match stats
- Schalke and Hebei played against each other for the first time.The Royal Blues won 6-1 against fellow Chinese club Guangzhou R&F on their 2016 tour.Schalke beat Besiktas and drew with Inter Milan in China last year.New signing Mark Uth netted 14 goals in the Bundesliga last season – third behind Robert Lewandowski and Nils Petersen.Lavezzi is Hebei’s top scorer this season with seven goals from 11 matches.
As it happened