Baumgart warns: Schalke are “on an equal footing” with Cologne despite being at the bottom
Stephen Baumgart
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Before the duel between Schalke 04 and 1. FC Köln, Steffen Baumgart gives the warning. He doesn’t want S04 to be underestimated.
Schalke 04 and 1. FC Köln meet on Sunday. Despite the currently completely different starting position, Steffen Baumgart expects a duel between two equally strong teams.
First a 0:3 bankruptcy, in which the performance was quite acceptable, and then a 1:6 swatter, which was reminiscent of the worst games of the relegation season both in terms of the result and the performance retrieved. It quickly becomes clear: Schalke started the new year very badly.
The people of Cologne, on the other hand, have played two good games: First was Werder Bremen finished with 7:1 before that FC Bayern a deserved point was wrested – where even a win could have been possible.
There are two starting positions that could hardly be more different. It is therefore all the more appropriate that the two teams meet on Sunday afternoon. However, Steffen Baumgart does not want to hear anything about a situation in which Effzeh travels to Gelsenkirchen as the supposed favorite.
Baumgart: Schalke performance against Leipzig not the benchmark
“This is a team that plays on an equal footing with us,” warned the royal blue coach (via picture). “I know that everyone in Cologne now expects us to win clearly against Schalke. But we know what we have to do and how difficult this task will be.”
The clear route of the Cologne coach: The ailing Schalke should not be underestimated.
The reason for his assessment: “At Schalke we shouldn’t take the first half against Leipzig as a benchmark, but the first 45 minutes against Frankfurt. Schalke had a lot of scoring chances and could have gotten a different result.”
So far so right. However, the question is which 45 minutes is more the norm. If it is up to the S04 fans, who were almost shocked on Tuesday evening, there will be a clear reaction at the weekend. Baumgart would like to avoid precisely this potential stumbling block. “It would be too early to declare the relegation battle over after two games,” he warned.
Everything about S04 and Cologne at 90min:
This article was originally published on 90min.com/de as Baumgart warns: Schalke are “on an equal footing” with Cologne despite being at the bottom released.