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Schalke lift spirits with victory over Salzburg

September 29, 2016

Schalke secured a morale-boosting 3-1 victory at home to Red Bull Salzburg in Group I. Markus Weinzierl’s side outclassed the Austrian champions to give themselves a lift before Sunday’s Bundesliga game against Gladbach.

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Image: picture-alliance/dpa/G. Kirchner

Schalke 3-1 Salzburg
(Goretzka 15', Caleta-Car 47' og, Höwedes 58' - Soriano 72')

Schalke have made a terrible start to their domestic league campaign, where they have yet to score a point in five outings this season, but they continued their impressive run in the Europa League.

The Gelsenkirchen-based club began with a 1-0 success at Nice, who currently lead the French top flight.

Schalke have yet to lose in 14 matches in the group stage and their latest success put them joint top of the section on six points, level with Russian side Krasnodar, who beat Nice 5-2.

Scrambling Walke

Schalke were ahead in the 15th minute at the Veltins Arena when Leon Goretzka picked up the rebound from his own shot and nodded past Salzburg goalkeeper Alexander Walke.

The second came two minutes into the second half when captain Benedikt Höwedes sent in a cross and the ball ricocheted off Duje Caleta-Car past a scrambling Walke into the net.

Schalke keeper Ralf Fährmann stuck out his right leg to stop a low strike by Stefan Lainer in the 55th minute. Three minutes later, the home side made it 3-0 thanks to their captain. Naldo looked to have headed in off the crossbar and Breel Embolo also headed against the bar from the rebound before Höwedes acrobatically hooked in.

Salzburg pulled a goal back in the 72nd minute when Jonatan Soriano cracked an excellent shot on the half volley past Fährmann. 

Walke was by far the busier of the two keepers, however, and he flung himself to tip away a 78th-minute Max Meyer effort. That was the last meaningful action of an entertaining contest and set Schalke up for Sunday when they will hope to end a run of five straight Bundesliga defeats.

"All in all, it's a deserved win. I'm delighted for my team," Weinzierl told a news conference. "We were a bit shaky after their goal, but we still ended up seeing the win over the line with confidence. To perform like that under pressure isn't easy. Unfortunately these three points only count in the Europa League, we need to get off the mark in the Bundesliga on Sunday."