Bundesliga Matchday 16 - Schalke Wins in Berlin 2-1 in Friday Opener

Schalke 04 defeated the hosts in Berlin with two goals in the first half.   Despite a gallant effort by Hertha BSC Berlin, Schalke maintained the upper hand.  The match was a nailbiter throughout, but Schalke's offensive players managed to capture three points for Schalke and temporarily the second spot in the Bundesliga.

Berlin put the pressure on Schalke early in the first half, but Klaas-Jan Huntelaar put Schalke ahead in the 20th minute.  Holtby passed to Fuchs on the left side, who delivered a pass into the 16 meter area.  Hubnik extends the pass in front of the net where Huntelaar put it away for the 1:0 Schalke lead.  It was Huntelaar's 14th goal of the season, making him the leading scorer ahead of Mario Gomez.

Just five minutes later Berlin struck back, after a corner kick was executed by Raffael found its way into the five meter area, where Ramos climbed higher than Berlin's Papadopoulos and headed the ball into the net.  Tied at 1 after 25.

In the 44th minute Schalke moved into the lead for a second time.  Raul passed a ball to Pukki just inside the penalty area.  No hesitation by Pukki, who sinks a powerfull ball into the net just under the crossbar.  2-1 for Schalke after 44.



After about 15 minutes into the second half Schalke sat back and waited for counters, giving Berlin more room in the midfield.   Despite Berlin's effort, Schalke was never endangered in the second half.  A good effort by Berlin, but in the end it wasn't enough to overcome Schalke.


The win moves Schalke into second place momentarily one point ahead of Dortmund and Gladbach and and even  with FC Bayern.  Dortmund plays Kaiserslautern tomorrow, while Gladbach is hosted by FC Augsburg.  Munich plays Stuttgart on Sunday.


Berlin temporarily remains in ninth place with 19 points.

 Matchday 16

Matchday 16

09.12.11,20.30 Hertha BSC Berlin - Schalke 04 1-2
10.12.11,15.30 Werder Bremen - VfL Wolfsburg  4-1
10.12.11,15.30 FSV Mainz 05 - Hamburger SV 0-0
10.12.11,15.30 1. FC Nürnberg - 1899 Hoffenheim 0-2
10.12.11,15.30 1. FC Köln - SC Freiburg 4-0
10.12.11,15.30 FC Augsburg - Mönchengladbach  1-0
10.12.11,18.30 Hannover 96 - Bayer Leverkusen  0-0
11.12.11,15.30 Borussia Dortmund - Kaiserslautern  (-:-)
11.12.11,17.30 VfB Stuttgart - Bayern München  (-:-)


Bundelsiga Table Updated 02 December  2011 

                                                         GP      W   D   L   GF/GA    Pts

1    Bayern München                        15      10  1    4        38:9       31
2    Schalke 04                                  16    10    1    5        33-22     31
3    Borussia Dortmund                    15      9    3    3         30:10     30
4   Borussia Mönchengladbach       16      9    3   4          24:11     30
5    Werder Bremen                          16       9    2    5       30-26    29
6    Bayer Leverkusen                      16       7    5    4       22:19    26
7    VfB Stuttgart                              15       6    4   5        22:17     22
8    Hannover 96                               16       5    7    4       22:23     22
9    1899 Hoffenheim                        16       6    3    7       18:18    21
10    1. FC Köln                                 15       6    2    7       26:31    21
11    Hertha BSC Berlin                     15       4    7    4        22:23    19
12   Hamburger SV                           16       4    6    6       20:26    18
13   FSV Mainz 05                            15      4    5    6       21:28    17
14   VfL Wolfsburg                          16      5    2    9        22:34   17
15    1. FC Nürnberg                          16       4    3    9      14:28    15
16    1. FC Kaiserslautern                  15       3    5    7      11:19    14
17    FC Augsburg                              15       3    5    8      14:27    14
18    SC Freiburg                                16       3    4    9      20:35    13