Going into the dressing room is not always pleasant for the referees in the Gelsenkirchen stadium. Beer showers and curses are not infrequently the price they must endure before they can get through the gate. The team that supervised the meeting between Schalke 04 and Bayern Munich on Saturday will therefore have particularly pleasant memories of the evening. The trio was given such a friendly farewell that main referee Felix Zwayer gave a spectator his most important accessory – he gave him his Pipe.
Zwayer had officiated a game in which he didn’t have to pull out a yellow card, didn’t have to make a decision that aroused popular anger and not once had to endure the know-it-all video colleague in the ear. He had supervised a regular Bundesliga match, which FC Bayern won 2-0 (1-0) in an act of solid performance of duty. But late in the game it sometimes looked as if both sides had quietly agreed to give the opponent what he needed: Bayern got the three points, Schalke were allowed to leave the field in an upright position and withdraw from their audience celebrate.
Schalke are also celebrated after the defeat against Bayern
The team, which is now five points behind in the bottom of the table, was on the pitch, but the fans showered them with applause for their tireless resistance against the overwhelming opponent. “You can see it’s something special to play here,” commented Munich’s new goalscorer.
Of course, Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting also made a significant contribution in this game. With his confidently completed goal to make it 2-0 (52nd minute), he was responsible for the moment that considerably eased the somewhat bitter dispute. Bayern had what they needed and then took it much easier.
However, the Munich team allayed the suspicion that they would not be fully concentrated in view of the imminent departure for the World Cup. They made no move to overrun the opponent, but they didn’t waste any time establishing dominance and looking to attack. The first chance to score came late (Serge Gnabry, 28th) but inevitably.
“It was important that we were there with our heads and didn’t exaggerate with any flourishes,” praised Manuel Neuer. The Munich captain certainly didn’t mean the flourishes that Jamal Musiala constantly added to his game. Musiala played so artfully and decoratively that even the opposing fans secretly applauded. He just can’t help it. “He has extremely lively feet,” Julian Nagelsmann complimented his super talent that no one had probably paid him before. The Bayern coach was also very satisfied with his team’s fulfillment of their duties: “It may go on the same way after Christmas,” he wished.
Schalke defended themselves passionately, had organized their cover well and also looked for a counterattack, and yet remained an outsider with only a negligible remaining chance. The fortress held for 38 minutes, in the meantime Marius Bülter almost took the lead – Neuer fended off – then came the moment that was always to be expected: Gnabry and Kimmich combined quickly on the wing, but Musiala delivered the decisive essence when he created a hole in the densely populated penalty area with a heel trick. Gnabry pushed in and shot the ball into the goal.
“The way the first half went, you thought something was going to work, but then we made life difficult for ourselves,” said Schalke coach Thomas Reis later, addressing the scene that was at least theoretically open Put the game in a final state. In the 51st minute, Schalke had a free-kick from a promising position, but Tobias Mohr’s cross landed at the first Munich post in the penalty area, and a lightning counterattack developed via Leroy Sané, Gnabry and Musiala, which went so straight to the goal that Choupo -Moting’s hit seemed inevitable. Schalke dropped their heads, only Simon Terodde threw a tantrum, and rightly so. The goal was a Munich masterpiece and at the same time a gift from the hosts.
“There’s a bit of frustration there, but of course you have to accept that it’s just Bayern Munich,” Reis said. Schalke’s new coach has achieved a lot in Gelsenkirchen in a short space of time, but the task of keeping the club in the top flight doesn’t get much easier than stopping Jamal Musiala from doing the magic.