Super-sub heroics see Schalke and Paderborn share the spoils
Ahmed Kutucu and Klaus Gjasula both came off the bench to score as Paderborn came from behind to snatch a 1-1 draw against Schalke.
Schalke 1-1 Paderborn
Goals: 1-0 Kutucu (63'), 1-2 Gjasula (81')
With Schalke still feeling the effects of their extra-time win over Hertha Berlin in the DFB Cup, Paderborn fashioned a first-half foothold. Proficient in pouncing on chances to apply pressure, the lack of quality in front of goal cost the away side a breakthrough. Strelli Mamba and Gjasula, who had come on early for Abdelhamid Sabiri, squandered chances before the former had a goal correctly disallowed shortly before half-time.
While Schalke injected more pace after the restart, little changed until Kutucu came off the bench. The 19-year-old’s first involvement sparked a Schalke move that resulted in Benito Raman rattling the bar, his second broke the deadlock as he slotted home from Bastian Oczipka’s cut-back. The game opened up as a result, but it took a set-piece for Paderborn to level as Gjasula’s header proved too powerful for former Paderborn goalkeeper Alexander Nübel and enough to snatch a share of the spoils.
Match stats
- Schalke have only lost once on home soil this season, against Bayern Munich, on Matchday 2.
- The Munich club are the only side to have hit the woodwork more often than the Royal Blues (10).
- Kutucu has set a new personal single-season best with three goals in 2019/20 – two have come against Paderborn.
- All three of Kutucu’s goals have come off the bench - only Borussia Dortmund’s Erling Haaland (five) has scored more as a super-sub.
- The draw was the first time this season Paderborn have picked up points from a losing position on foreign soil.
- Kai Pröger had a hand in eight shots on goal - the most of any player on the pitch.
Line-ups
Schalke: Nübel - Becker (Boujellab 82'), Kabak (Todibo 36'), Nastasic, Oczipka - Schöpf, Mascarell (c), McKennie - Harit - Gregoritsch (Kutucu 56'), Raman
Unused subs: Langer, Miranda, Matondo, Burgstaller, Mercan
Out: Caligiuri (knee), Kenny (ankle), Sane (knee), Schubert (knee), Stambouli (fractured metatarsal)
Coach: David Wagner
Paderborn: Zingerle - Jans, Strohdiek, Schonlau (c), Collins - Pröger (Jastrzembski 90'), Vasiliadis, Sabiri (Gjasula 11'), Antwi-Adjei - Mamba, Zolinski (Srbeny 70')
Unused subs: Huth, Hünemeier, Fridjonsson, Michel, Dräger, Evans
Out: Holtmann (suspended), Killian (hamstring)
Coach: Steffen Baumgart
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