Schalke, who were in search of a top four finish after last season, moved into fourth with an away win over Stuttgart. Ralf Fährmann starred as he continuously kept Stuttgart out while Leroy Sané smashed a winner to seal all three points.
A first half full of chances, but no goals
In a game that started with both sides failing to maintain control of possession, the first chance fell to the home side as a low ball in from the left wing found Timo Werner but the midfielder put his effort wide from close range.
Werner had another chance in the 16th minute as his cross into the box continued to curl and forced Ralf Fährmann to tip it over the bar. Stuttgart were again on the front foot a few seconds later and probably should've taken the lead as Timo Baumgartl had a free header at the backpost but couldn't hit the target from a couple of yards out. Schalke did manage to get their first chance on 20 minutes as Joel Matip's shot from inside the six yard box was tipped over by Przemyslaw Tyton.
The home side created another glorious chance just before the half an hour mark when Daniel Ginczek beat the offside trap and lifted the ball past Fährmann but the shot flew wide of the right-hand post. The better of the two sides in the first half was clearly Stuttgart and again found themselves close to taking the lead when Alexandru Maxim's long-range free kick flew just past the post.
Six minutes before the break, Schalke created one of their few first half chances with Leroy Sané cutting in from the right and his low strike forced Tyton into a good save. In the 42nd minute, Fährmann's fantastic stop to deny Christian Gentner from a tight angle kept the score at 0-0 as Stuttgart wasted another great opportunity to take the lead.
The two sides went in at the break level at 0-0 with Stuttgart proving to be the better in the first half. Plenty of chances for the home side but nothing to show for it.
Fahrmann and Sané make Stuttgart pay
Schalke, despite being on the backfoot for the majority of the game, would make the breakthrough in the 54th minute. A fantastic break from the away side resulted in Sané twisting and turning in the box before firing past Tyton to make it 1-0.
Fährmann was again the man of the moment 20 minutes before time as he expertly saved Werner's effort. The Schalke goalkeeper constantly thwarting Stuttgart's chances throughout the match.
The visitors were close to doubling their lead in the 74th minute as the substitute Eric-Maxim Choupo-Moting wriggled free on the edge of the box to curl his shot just wide of Tyton's far post. Seconds later, Stuttgart were once again denied an equaliser by Fährmann as his face kept out a powerful shot from Ginczek.
With eight minutes left, Harnik somehow squandered yet another chance for Stuttgart, this time from six yards out. Completely against the run of play for most of the afternoon, Schalke pull off a huge away win thanks to Leroy Sané's winner and Ralf Fährmann's heroics.
Stuttgart remain winless on the season and on another day, probably would've won this comfortably. A typical smash and grab win from André Breitenreiter's side.