Goals from Anthony Modeste, Yannick Gerhardt and Simon Zoller sealed a huge win for 1. FC Köln on Sunday. Schalke had been gunning for their seventh win in a row.

An even start to the game

The Billy Goats began brightly and looked very dangerous on the counter-attack. Roman Neustädter made a last-ditch clearance from Leonardo Bittencourt's cross towards Anthony Modeste, while Yannick Gerhardt's powerful drive zipped just past the post from the edge of the area.

Schalke were continuing to play patiently and look for an opening, which only played into the visitors' counter-attacking plans. Young Leroy Sané looked to be the best outlet for André Breitenreiter's men and his strong shot caused concern for Timo Horn when it skipped off the turf. He was able to grab at the second time of asking, just taking it from Klaas-Jan Huntelaar's toes.

The hosts were then rocked twice by Modeste chances. The Frenchman, who has admitted he wants to be part of their EURO 2016 squad, should have opened the scoring when one-on-one with Ralf Fährmann but had his effort saved.

Schalke have their chances, but Modeste makes them pay

The Royal Blues thought they'd taken the lead moments later, but Huntelaar's header crashed into the side-netting. Sané's cross was on the mark for the Dutch forward, only for the fans celebrations to be cut short. Gerhardt, once again, tried his luck from distance and went even closer than he did on the first occasion. This time, his 25-yard curler looped onto the roof of the net but had Fährmann scrambling.

Some late pressure nearly gave Schalke the lead at the break and Sané came closest to doing just that. He was found, unmarked, at the back post and volleyed towards goal. Sané showed great technique to get his effort on target, though Horn produced an equally good save.

That stop was crucial, as Köln took advantage in the final minute. A brilliant ball through from Bittencourt caught the Schalke defence cold and seen Modeste march through on goal. Neustädter tried, in vain, to make a tackle but the towering forward kept cool to slam the ball under the goalkeeper into the back of the net. Despite being largely on the back foot, the visitors had the lead at half-time.

Billy Goats seal the win late on

It was a rather quiet start to the second half and Schalke were finding it extremely hard to break down their opponents. Johannes Geis had two set-piece chances, but neither were of any great concern to Horn and his defence.

Peter Stöger's men were not going to chance their approach and the addition of Kevin Vogt for Bittencourt was evidence that he thought his side had done enough. Dominique Heintz and Frederik Sörensen's partnership at the heart of their defence continued to impress, preventing Schalke from securing an easy route to goal.

In the end, the Royal Blues were lucky not to find themselves two behind. Yuya Osako's relentless running finally paid off when his cross found Modeste in the area. The goalscorer had his first shot blocked before his follow-up was saved by Fährmann's feet.

That seemed to spark Schalke into life and Geis' free-kick almost crept in at the near post, though Horn scuttled across and made a fine stop. Moments later Sané had a hand-ball appeal turned down on Sörensen, with Knut Kircher not the slightest bit interested.

Just as it looked like Schalke were building up a head of steam, Köln sealed all three points with a lovely move. Some great play around the home area eventually saw Gerhardt trick his way past two defenders before working the ball onto his right foot and rifling a shot into the bottom corner.

It would get even better for the visitors, who could hardly believe their luck as it was. Simon Zoller, who had been on the pitch for a matter of seconds, collected a pass from Vogt after he had broken through several weak tackles. His first touch of the match set himself to slot home with the second, in what was a devastating finishing display.

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About the author
Jonathan Walsh
SoccerSight IFA commentator. VAVEL deputy editor-in-chief/VAVEL Bundesliga editor-in-chief and writer. Email: [email protected]