Rennes and Sevilla maintained their promising starts in Ligue 1 and La Liga, Fiorentina got its first win in Serie A, and Schalke beat Union Berlin 3-1 in a Bundesliga match where the referee was replaced on Friday.
Both teams had just one point after their first two Bundesliga matches but newly promoted Schalke went home happiest thanks in part to a fine goalkeeping display from player of the match Loris Karius.
Robin Gosens opened the scoring for Schalke with an angled volley and Aouchiche doubled their lead moments after the break with a superbly taken strike.
Karius held Berlin at bay for much of the second period and though he could not stop Tim Skarke from scoring in the sixth minute of added time, Maximilian Wober restored Schalke's two-goal lead with almost the last kick of the game.
The match was notable for the substitution of referee Timo Gerach early in the second half. Gerach complained of a sore calf and was replaced by fourth official Jarno Wienefeld, an experienced Bundesliga 2 referee who took charge of his first top tier game.

#schalke #referee #berlin

With four points from three games, FC Schalke have made more than just a respectable start to this Bundesliga season.
A large part of that is down to goalkeeper Loris Karius, who delivered a superb performance both in the sensational 0-0 draw against Bayern Munich and in the 3-1 away win over Union Berlin. Schalke fans in particular are therefore calling for him to be nominated for the German national team on social media.
Karius was asked about that in a Sky interview after the Union match. The TV reporter wanted to know whether there had already been any contact with Germany coach Jürgen Klopp and how realistic he considered a call-up to the national team.
"No, there has been no contact," Karius replied. "I see it as neither realistic nor unrealistic. I'm not thinking about it."
Even so, the 33-year-old, who has repeatedly faced heavy criticism over the course of his career, admitted: "If people ***** ociate me with that, it's a huge compliment to my performance."

#union #loris

When the Bundesliga schedule was first confirmed and it became clear Schalke 04 would host Bayern Munich on jut the second Bundesliga matchday, the expectation was that Die Königsblauen would be swept aside rather convincingly. After all, the team's last meeting, three years ago, ended 6-0 to Bayern. That was under Thomas Tuchel's inconsistent Bayern. What could Kompany & Co do?
Stutter to a 0-0 draw, that is what. A dour Bayern team struggled to get out of second gear and really punish a defensively solid Schalke, who celebrate their first point since their return to the Bundesliga. Here are some observations on the match:
It is easy to forget after the match, but the first 15 minutes completely belonged to Bayern. The Bavarians' counterpress utterly suffocated the hosts, who simply could not exit their own half in those minutes. The team pinged the ball around, kept it well and utterly annihilated any counter attacks.
But, in what would become an unfortunate running theme throughout the match, the passing was far too slow and the players seemed unsure of their positions. One of Bayern's most important strengths is their ability to move the ball quickly from side to side. Players know their positions, know how to move the ball on and ping it back and forth. This forces the opposition defense to move side to side, which opens up **** e in the middle and opportunities to score.
This was missing today. It was clear that the chemistry among forwards Nathaniel Brown, Ismael Saibari and Lennart Karl was missing, but regulars such as Konrad Laimer, Alphonso Davies and Dayot Upamecano also struggled to really get into the flow of things. It was possible to overcome these issues (Nathaniel Brown, after all, would still have given Bayern the lead if it had not been for a phenomenal save by Loris Karius in the Schalke goal) and perhaps the players would have grown into the match more.

#players #first

Bayern Munich did not see this coming. Schalke came out with intent, and their low block was executed to perfection. A well-deserved point for the Royal Blues.
Fantastic defending, coupled with quick, incisive passing, and attacking initiative on counters meant Schalke was a thorn up Bayern's backside the entire game. Bayern were a snoozefest in the first half, and only the substitutions of Harry Kane, Michael Olise, and Jamal Musiala into the game injected energy and purpose into the attack.
Tough day for the awards, but here are the standout performers from what was an absolute tussle of a game.
Karius just had the GAME OF HIS LIFE.
5 SUREFIRE goals saved. 3 high claims and 9 recoveries. There were other Schalke players having a better game up until the 60' mark, when Karius decided to single-handedly save his team on multiple occasions, denying Luis Díaz, Harry Kane, and Lennart Karl from point-blank range. Schalke have their star keeper to thank for keeping a point at home.

#royal

16' — Karius safely collects the corner from Joshua Kimmich.
13' — Lorius Karius denies Nathaniel Brown inside the box. Bayern corner.
8' — Alphonso Davies receives the ball on the left wing, and his intended cross nearly ended up in the net.
7' — Jonathan Tah collides with a Schalke player. Play is waved on.
5' — Luis Díaz beats three players inside the Schalke box but the hosts clear the ball.

#karius #corner #nathaniel #brown

The first round of the DFB-Pokal continues with the match between Hallescher FC and FC Schalke 04 - who will come out on top?
With just about one hour to go until kickoff, here are the confirmed lineups for both sides:
Halle (4-4-2): Bendel - Hauptmann, Halili, Landgraf, Kastull - Hartmann, Stierlin, Becker, Damelang - Benyamina, Ratifo
Schalke (4-4-2): Karius - T. Becker, Katic, Kurucay, V. Becker - Ljubicic, El-Faouzi, Schallenberg, Aouchiche - Ebimbe, Sylla

#hallescher #bendel #hauptmann

Schalke played host to European giants Real Madrid on the occasion of Veltins-Arena's 25th anniversary. Despite the 3-0 defeat to Jose Mourinho's star-studded side, the hosts performed admirably with no summer signing in their starting lineup.
On his first game back from finishing top-scorer at the World Cup, Kylian Mbappé opened the scoring in the sixth minute after he intercepted Ron Schallenberg's poor backpass for Loris Karius. Dean Huijsen doubled Real Madrid's advantage with a powerful header from Arda Güler's corner-kick.
Former RB Leipzig winger Yan Diomande made his debut for his new club minutes after fellow new signing Carlos Espi netted the third for Los Blancos. Edin Džeko, who was looking forward to playing against his former coach, entered as a substitute ten minutes from time as he played his first game since re-joining Schalke.
Huub Stevens, Clemens Toennies and Klaas-Jan Huntelaar were among several former Schalke figures present for the special day at Veltins-Arena.

#minutes #european