Three years of waiting, ninety minutes of reminding
Schalke 04 had circled this weekend for three seasons. Promotion came in the summer. First match back, first away trip, first hiding.
Augsburg 3, Schalke 0, at the WWK Arena on Sunday.
Michael Gregoritsch struck on 18 minutes from an Anton Kade pass, and for a long stretch after that the game refused to move. It stayed 1-0 deep into the second half. The Royal Blues could still believe.
Then Schallenberg walked on 62 minutes.
Try it for $0.99.
Twenty minutes with ten men, and then the dam broke
Schalke held the line for a while. Not long enough. Kade, provider of the opener, scored the second himself on 80 minutes after Fabian Rieder found him.
Rodrigo Ribeiro made it three in stoppage time from a Seol delivery. Three goals, three scorers, three different assists, and Augsburg never had to go through the gears once the numbers evened out in their favour.
Kade finished the night with a goal and an assist. He lit the fuse, then blew the thing apart.
A bitter homecoming in Gelsenkirchen
Some promoted sides get through an hour before the level tells. Schalke did not manage that. One red card, two goals shipped in the last fifteen minutes, and an opening scoreline that reads like a warning notice.
This club has just spent three years in the second tier. It understands exactly what a bad August costs.
Augsburg took the three points without ever reaching for their best football. Quiet seasons tend to start this way.
Discover the rest of the football news on our mathodds website and app!
in your pocket.
Real-time notifications & alerts
Leave a Reply