On 5 May, one of the matches of the 31st round of the German football championship took place. Mainz (Germany) and Schalke (Gelsenkirchen) met.
German Championship, round 31
Mainz (Germany ) v Schalke (Gelsenkirchen) - 2:3 (0-1)
Goals: Leandro Barreiro (53), Aaron Martin (70) - Bulter (26), Tom Kraus (60), Bulter (90 +10)
Warnings: Adjork (40), A. Kaci (90+11), Leandro Barreiro (90+14), Cor (90+14)
In an exciting Bundesliga match, FSV Mainz 05 hosted FC Schalke 04 at the MEWA ARENA. At half-time, the score was 0-1 in favour of Schalke and Mainz were unable to break through the opponent's defence. However, in the second half, the game became even more active, with both teams fighting for the win. Schalke's first goal was scored on 26 minutes by M. Boulter. It set the tone for the rest of the half and Mainz found it hard to do their job. Mainz's L. Hayork received a yellow card in the 40th minute and the tension on the pitch increased. With the start of the second half, Mainz showed new energy. In the 46th minute, N. Viper replaced D. da Costa in the 46th minute. This proved to be the decisive move as L. Barreiro netted the equaliser in the 53rd minute to level the score at 1-1. But Schalke were not about to concede and scored again on 60 minutes, with T. Krauss shot past the Mainz goalkeeper.
On 65 minutes, "Mainz" made two important substitutions: M. Ingvartsen came on instead of L. Azjork and Lee Jae-Sun replaced A. Barkok. In the 70th minute, A. Martin scored, bringing the score to 2-2. In the final twenty minutes of the game, both sides acted frantically, with the teams making numerous substitutions. FC Schalke 04 made four substitutions, injecting fresh forces into the game in the hope of winning. They came close when, in the 90th minute, M. Boulter converted a penalty, but the Mainz goalkeeper made a fantastic save. In the last few minutes, several players were yellow-carded, including D. Drexler of Schalke and A. Kaci and L. Barreiro of Mainz. In the end, FC Schalke 04 won the game 2-3. This entertaining encounter kept the fans in suspense till the end, demonstrating the competitive spirit and skill of both teams.
In the next round, the opponents will be Eintracht-Meinz and Bayern-Schalke.
| Mainz | Schalke | |
|---|---|---|
| 4 | Shots on goal | 10 |
| 10 | Shots | 16 |
| 2 | Blocked kicks | 2 |
| 9 | Kicks from the penalty area | 9 |
| 1 | Kicks from behind the penalty box | 7 |
| 12 | Offences | 10 |
| 7 | Corner | 6 |
| 3 | Offsides | 1 |
| 57% | Possession of the ball | 43% |
| 4 | Yellow cards | 1 |
| 0 | Red cards | 0 |
| 7 | Safeties by goalkeeper | 2 |
| 404 | Total assists | 313 |
| 275 | Accurate passes | 200 |
| 68% | Accuracy of transmissions | 64% |