Fortuna Düsseldorf has lost ground in the race to return to the Bundesliga. After six wins in a row, the Rhinelanders couldn’t get more than a 1-1 (0-0) draw against their western rivals Schalke 04 and failed to significantly reduce the gap to the weakened second-placed Holstein Kiel. In addition, the lead over their pursuers Hamburger SV, who won 4-0 at Eintracht Braunschweig in the afternoon, shrank to four points.
The Royal Blues, who have now been unbeaten for five games, collected another point to stay in the league and improved to eleventh place. The relegation place is five points away. Former Düsseldorf player Kenan Karaman, of all people, put Schalke in the lead with his eleventh goal of the season (55th), and Ao Tanaka equalized (67th). Shortly before the end, referee Harm Osmers decided on a penalty for Schalke and a yellow-red against Düsseldorf’s Joshua Quarshie, but he revised this after viewing the video images.
Schalke coach Karel Geraerts had to do without the injured Derry Murkin, while his counterpart Daniel Thioune was able to rely on top striker Christos Tzolis, who returned after being suspended.
With the newly gained self-confidence from four games in a row without defeat, the Gelsenkirchen team tried to control the game, Fortuna waited for counterattack opportunities. Neither team initially threatened the opponent’s goal. The last pass or cross didn’t arrive, the closer you got to the penalty area, the greater the spread.
Düsseldorf had the first notable chance: Matthias Zimmermann failed with a shot past Schalke keeper Marius Müller (25′). On the other side, Simon Terodde missed the goal with a header (27th). However, the entertainment value of the game remained at a modest level.
After the break, Schalke played forward more determinedly. After a throw-in from Thomas Ouwejan, Terodde put the ball down and Karaman scored from the edge of the penalty area. The guests then increased their attacking efforts and equalized: Jordy de Wijs hit the post with a header, and Tanaka, who came on as a second-half substitute, made the save.