Schalke move into Bundesliga top half after victory at winless Union Berlin

[p]Home fans didn’t have to wait long for the first attempt on goal when [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/juranovic-josip/WznPyl4k/"]Josip Juranovic[/a] sent a set-piece delivery into the box, where [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/kemlein-aljoscha/rFji0QVT/"]Aljoscha Kemlein[/a]’s resulting shot was well blocked.[/p][p]The first 10 minutes were a stop-start affair in which [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/union-berlin/pzHW4oaE/"]Union[/a] dominated possession, yet [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/karaman-kenan/Cxnyxxgo/"]Kenan Karaman[/a] came a few inches away from giving Schalke the lead with a long-range effort that sailed just over the crossbar.[/p][p]Schalke started to grow into the game, and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/aouchiche-adil/vZxp6aZ0/"]Adil Aouchiche[/a]’s curling shot forced [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/ronnow-frederik/AqV0VUgU/"]Frederik Ronnow[/a] into a routine first save of the game after 20 minutes.[/p][p][b]Just four minutes later, the visitors made the breakthrough as [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/querfeld-leopold/WtK79lGh/"]Leopold Querfeld[/a]’s poor clearance fell perfectly to [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/gosens-robin/r1EFsksF/"]Robin Gosens[/a], who lashed his half-volley in off the inside of the post from a tight angle.[/b][/p][embed guid="399c3b20-b891-4ca5-977f-7719b188f2a9" url="https://x.com/s04_en/status/2098501310429446292" social-type="twitter" /][p][b] [/b]Gosens apologetically raised his hands after netting against his former side, but teammate Aouchiche almost had something to celebrate when he came close to doubling Schalke’s lead.[/p][p]Running through on goal thanks to a lovely through ball from Karaman, he opted to shoot under Rønnow, who got a hand to it, allowing [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/aebischer-michel/MiXFJwit/"]Michel Aebischer[/a] to clear.[/p][p]Union boss Mauro [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/lustrinelli-mauro/0f5WgfiD/"]Lustrinelli[/a] made two changes at half-time, bringing on [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/schafer-andras/8GBj8NFA/"]Andras Schafer[/a] and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/ljubicic-marin/Egw6JhqJ/"]Marin Ljubicic[/a], but it was Schlake who hit the ground running.[/p][p][b]Seconds after the restart, a one-two with [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/adamu-chikwubuike/4n7MpZtg/"]Junior Adamu[/a] allowed Aouchiche to fire past Ronnow, and although it was initially flagged offside, VAR intervened to award the goal. [/b][/p][image alt="Match momentum" id="a584e134-5fc9-4c51-b56e-b81cdb16c80a" credit-line="Flashscore" guid="15837a28-bb84-4858-b688-954f1c7b154d" original-width="2160" original-height="2700" /][p]An issue with one of the officials’ headsets then caused a lengthy delay just as Union were starting to regain some semblance of control. But with the action back underway, they managed to keep it up, with [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/rothe-tom/KIEP1A93/"]Tom Rothe[/a]’s shot on target forcing a good save from [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/karius-loris/MgWRUFHG/"]Loris Karius[/a].[/p][p]As the minutes ticked by, Miron Muslić’s boys were more than happy to let the home side have the ball. Union’s dominance so nearly paid off with a late goal when substitute Marin Ljubicic did brilliantly to shield the ball from Schalke defenders as it dropped to him from a cross, eventually getting a shot away that hit the outside of the right post.[/p][p] [b]Union pulled a goal back in stoppage time when [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/skarke-tim/ObQ0AIvH/"]Tim Skarke[/a] scored from close-range, but in the dying moments, an unlikely goalscorer, [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/wober-maximilian/tMiOs4wh/"]Maximilian Wöber[/a], put the result beyond any doubt, finishing a fantastic counterattack.[/b][/p][image alt="Match stats" id="cd0e139d-42c9-4f81-92ed-387ae6701c9f" credit-line="Flashscore" guid="bbd1ec26-c197-46f6-9674-d8b47c42ff13" original-width="2160" original-height="2700" /][p]Lustrinelli will undoubtedly be disappointed his side’s dominance didn’t result in a win, but can take heart from their performance after going 2-0 down. As a result, Schalke move up to seventh at this early stage of the campaign, while a first league win remains elusive for Union head coach Lustrinelli.[/p][p][b]Flashscore Man of the Match: [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/becker-timo/zi1rx9q2/"]Timo Becker[/a] ([a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/schalke/0Ija0Ej9/"]Schalke[/a])[/b][/p][p][b][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/soccer/schalke-0Ija0Ej9/union-berlin-pzHW4oaE/?mid=tfPvE0rS"]See all the stats from the match here[/a][/b][/p]