Eintracht moved back up to fourth place in the Bundesliga thanks to the victory on Matchday 11. After a tight, hard-fought first half of few chances, Jovic’s 61st-minute strike opened the floodgates. The Serb made it 2-0 just 12 minutes later, before Sébastien Haller added gloss to the scoreline in the 80th minute. The result means Adi Hütter’s side are now unbeaten in nine games in all competitions heading into the international break.
Personnel: Rotation in midfield
Hütter made three personnel changes from Thursday’s 3-2 win at Apollon Limassol in the UEFA Europa League. Jonathan de Guzman, Filip Kostic and Ante Rebic returned to the side, replacing Marc Stendera, Jetro Willems and Mijat Gacinovic, who were all on the bench.
First half: No inch given
The match got off to an energetic start, with the hosts showing no signs of fatigue after their midweek trip to Cyprus. Evan Ndicka headed wide from de Guzman’s corner in the 19th minute, while Mark Uth fired wide for the Royal Blues at the other end. However, the tempo slowed down after that as the action became concentrated in midfield. Eintracht had the majority of the possession but struggled to work any openings against the deep Schalke backline, and so the first half ended goalless.
Second half: Eagles storm to victory
That pattern continued after the break until Jovic broke the deadlock just after the hour mark. The Eagles broke forward quickly and Rebic fed his strike partner Jovic, who outwitted the Schalke defence before firing a low shot past goalkeeper Ralf Fährmann. The goal unfettered Eintracht and rattled the visitors, and it wasn’t long before it was 2-0. Kostic was the provider this time, getting down the left-hand side before pulling the ball back into the penalty area, where the red-hot Jovic was on hand with another unstoppable finish.
The Eagles weren’t done there, though. With 80 minutes on the clock, a corner from the right caused a goalmouth scramble and Haller was in the right place to turn the ball home and seal another impressive win for Hütter’s men.
Summary: Blistering second-half display
Schalke, who rarely troubled Kevin Trapp, managed to keep Eintracht at bay for 60 minutes until the deadly trio of Haller, Jovic and Rebic struck again. A blistering 20-minute spell secured the three points for the Eagles, who once again demonstrated the energy, passion and flair that have characterised their current good run.
SGE line-up:
Trapp - Abraham, Hasebe, Ndicka – da Costa, Fernandes (Stendera 87‘), de Guzman, Kostic (Tawatha 90‘) – Rebic – Jovic (Gacinovic 82‘), Haller
Goals:
1-0 Jovic (61’)
2-0 Jovic (73’)
3-0 Haller (80’)
