Luka Jovic (2’) and substitute Sébastien Haller (66’) gave Eintracht a two-goal lead before Breel Embolo (82’) and Naldo (90+5’) rescued a point for the visitors. 50,600 fans watched the action, helping the club reach an average attendance this season of 50,000 – an all-time high for the first half of a campaign.
More rotation
Having made several changes to his line-up at Hamburg on Tuesday, head coach Niko Kovac shuffled his pack once again against Schalke. Carlos Salcedo replaced David Abraham, who suffered an injury at HSV in midweek. Jetro Willems and Kevin-Prince Boateng returned to the starting eleven, with the latter captaining the side for the first time against one of his former clubs. Full-backs Timothy Chandler and Taleb Tawatha dropped out, while Mijat Gacinovic made his 50th Bundesliga appearance for the Eagles.
Opening goal after 63 seconds
It took the hosts just 63 seconds to take the lead. Ante Rebic won a 50-50 challenge with Benjamin Stambouli on the left-hand side and passed the ball to Gacinovic, who released Jovic to slot past Ralf Fährmann from close range. Schalke did not let the early blow affect them and tried to use their pace and passing football to find a way into the Eintracht penalty area. The SGE backline stood firm, though, catching the visitors offside on a number of occasions.
Naldo completes late comeback
The Royal Blues continued to exert their dominance after the interval but were constantly frustrated by the well-organised Frankfurt defence. Kovac brought Haller on shortly after half-time, and the Frenchman had been on the pitch for less than 20 minutes when he doubled Eintracht’s lead with a gem of a goal. Gacinovic was again the provider with some excellent work on the left flank, cutting the ball back for Haller to make it 2-0 with a cute back-heel. The Commerzbank Arena was rocking, but in the 82nd minute Schalke suddenly got themselves back in the game when Guido Burgstaller set up substitute Breel Embolo, who scored a similar goal to Jovic’s opener. Domenico Tedesco’s side then pushed for the equaliser and they got it in the fifth minute of stoppage time thanks to Naldo’s low shot.
Harsh defeat after a committed performance
Yet again Eintracht put in an impressive battling display against a technically gifted side. The visitors were on the front foot for most of the game but barely created any chances and were fortunate to snatch a point with an equaliser at the death.
Line-up:
Hradecky – Falette, Russ, Salcedo – Fernandes – Willems (Chandler, 42’), Gacinovic, Boateng, Wolf – Rebic (Haller, 49’), Jovic (Barkok, 82’).
Goals:
1-0 Jovic (2’)
2-0 Haller (66’)
2-1 Embolo (82’)
2-2 Naldo
