Steven Skrzybski scored twice as Schalke moved four points clear of the relegation zone with a crushing 5-2 win over fellow strugglers Nuremberg, who had Robert Bauer sent off.

Schalke 5-2 Nuremberg

Goals: 1-0 Skrzybski (27’), 2-0 Harit (32’), 2-1 Palacios (38), 3-1 (Burgstaller 70’), 3-2 Zrelak (78’) , 4-2 Skrzybski (84’), 5-2 Oczipka (90+3’)

Red card: Bauer (67’)

Schalke were without injured trio Weston McKennie, Breel Embolo and Mark Uth, but still managed to engineer a winning position in a keenly contested first half. Amine Harit and Hanno Behrens had already traded presentable scoring chances, when Steven Skrzybski capitalised on Christian Mathenia’s miscued clearance to give the Royal Blues the lead. Skrzybski was involved again as Harit added a second from close range, before Nuremberg halved the deficit through Federico Palacios.

Nuremberg lost Mathenia to injury, but their task got harder still when Bauer was sent off for a second bookable offence for a rash challenge on Harit. It took Schalke three minutes to make their numerical advantage count, with Daniel Caliguri’s strike deflecting in off the back of former Nuremberg striker Guido Burgstaller to restore the home side’s two-goal advantage. Adam Zrelak reduced the arrears after Behrens had hit both posts, before Skrzybski struck with his second of the night to kill off any lingering hopes the visitors had of getting anything from the game. The returning Bastian Oczipka added salt into the wound, lashing in a fifth in added time.

Schalke's Veltins Arena hosted an incredible fan choreography to celebrate 40 years of friendship between Schalke and Nuremberg. - © DFL DEUTSCHE FUSSBALL LIGA

Match stats

Schalke had only scored eight goals in 11 games prior to this fixture.The Royal Blues scored more than three goals in a single home game for the first time under Domencio Tedesco.Skrzybski scored on his first Bundesliga start. It was his first shot on goal in the Bundesliga.Burgstaller’s two goals this season have each come against promoted sides.Harit ended a run of 1145 Bundesliga minutes without a goal.Zrelak has had a direct hand in five goals in six competitive appearances for Nuremberg (three goals, two assists).

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Line-ups

Schalke: Fährmann – Sane, Stambouli (c), Nastasic - Caligiuri, Bentaleb, Rudy (Mascarell 80'), Oczipka – Skrzybski (Wright 88'), Burgstaller, Harit (Schöpf 86')
Unused subs: Nübel, Di Santo, Konoplyanka, Naldo
Absentees: Uth (hamstring), Embolo (foot)
Coach: Domenico Tedesco 

Nuremberg: Mathenia (Bredlow 43') – Bauer, Margreitter, Mühl, Leibold – Palacios, Petrak, Behrens (c), Rhein, Kubo (Misidjan 79') – Ishak (Zrelak 71')
Unused subs: Ewerton, Kerk, Erras, Fuchs
Absentees: Lippert (knee), Löwen (knee), Valentini (thigh)
Coach: Michael Köllner

Watch: Steven Skrzybski "honoured" to lead the Schalke line

As it happened

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