Matchday 25 would be opened with Schalke travelling to Bavarian based side FC Augsburg. The visitors Schalke are coming off a resounding 4-0 victory over Hoffenheim. Hosts FC Augsburg have been in fine form as of late and come off a 2-1 away win against off-form Mönchengladbach. An early Timo Werner goal was cancelled out by a brace from Klaas Jan Huntelaar, Despite their valiant efforts Augsburg were unable to find an equaliser late on
The action at the SGL arena was kicked off by the hosts shooting right. Augsburg early dominance in the first few minutes eventually lead to Timo Werner opening the scoring. Werner would latch on to the ball, missed by Schalke defender Tim Hoogland and cooly slot the ball past Fahrmann after just 4 minutes. A disasterous start for Champions league chasing Schalke but A glorious start for Europe chasing FC Augsburg.
Schalke were looking for an almost instant reply as Huntelaar half volleys the ball past Manninger's goals. It wasn't long until the first of many names were placed in the book as goalscorer Werner disallows Boateng of Schalke to quickly take the costless kick. Ageing Turk Halil Altintop was fouled in a dangerous area just outside the box and the trio of Baier,Werner and Bobadilla would surround the ball. Bobadilla took responsibility but waste the opportunity by firing it over. Hoogland already looking shaky after his early mistake made no mistake this time as he cleared away the ball after Bobadilla's effort to feed the ball through to Werner.
An impressive start from Augsburg with lots of fast movement on the attack which Schalke struggled to defend against. Augsburg had the chance to increase their lead to 2 after a miscued Augsburg volley found its way to the aforementioned Bobadilla. He would squander the chance with a poor delivery intended for Altintop. Again Bobadilla had the chance to add to the lead but a slow reaction from him saw his poor effort blocked by starlet Julian Draxler.
These missed chances would prove costly for a dominant Augsburg side as Klaas Jan Huntelaar would get his first for the night shortly after. A Boateng shot stings the hands of veteran shot stopper Manninger and Huntelaar found himself with an empty net in front of him after he reacted fastest to the spillage put it in from only yards out. After 33 minutes the score was even both clubs having one each to their name.
Half Time - FC Augsburg 1-1 Schalke
The second half would begin with Kaan Ayhan replacing an underperforming Chinedu Obasi. Ayhan couldn't have started any better after coming on as he would be the creator of Schalke's second. Ayhan played Draxler through who would then shift the ball onto young full back Kolasinac who very un-selfishly squared the ball to "The Hunter" who would tap in again in front of an empty net, vacated by the rush of Manninger towards Kolasinac. 2-1 Schalke, a dream start to the second half. There was a chance to make it three soon after but Draxler was ruled offside. A changed Schalke side since the break.
Hoogland made yet another mistake this time allowing Altintop through on goal. Altintop burst through but wasted the chance hitting it at Fahrmann. Another chance for an equaliser goes begging as Ostrazalek's cut back is dealt with accordingly by "Die Konigsblauen" defenders. Augsburg were not going down without a fight and the latter play wasn't to dissimilar to that at the beginning in which they dominated.
There were calls for a penalty as Altintop hit the deck but referee Bastian Dankert was having none of it. Ragnar Klavan's follow up shot was deflected wide and the resulting corner had no success. In a last ditch attempt for an equaliser , manager Marcus Weinzierl inserted pacey winger Alexander Esswein into the game in place of tired goal scorer Werner. Even with the late valiant efforts of the "Fuggerstädter" they were unable to find an equaliser.
Full time FC Augsburg 1-2 Schalke
A scrappy win for the men from Gelsenkirchen but a vital 3 points to say the least. The result see's Schalke up to 3rd place at least overnight. For Augsburg their fantastic run of form was to come to an end as they crashed to only their second loss in their past 13 games. They stay in 6th and still in fine contention of the European places.