A game of two halves in Wolfsburg could not see the Wolves and Schalke separated at the Volkswagen Arena after goals from Ozan Kabak and Kevin Mbabu.

Wolfsburg 1-1 Schalke
Goals: 0-1 Kabak (51'), 1-1 Mbabu (82')

The Wolves were on the hunt for a place in the top six by the end of the night and had the bit between their teeth from the get-go with four shots on goal in the opening four minutes. Bastian Oczipka was in the centre of the Schalke defence - in place of the injured Weston McKennie - and had plenty of work to do. Captain Josuha Guilavogui stung the hands of Markus Schubert in the Schalke goal - deputising for the suspended Alexander Nübel - before defender Felix Uduohkai came close with a header after 20 minutes, but could only watch as it agonisingly glanced the outside of the Schalke far post. The Royal Blues couldn't get out of their own half as Wolfsburg continued to press, Maximilian Arnold the next to go close with a shot from range which forced another good save from Schubert. Joao Victor hit the Schalke post before the break before firing wide from inside the box with another chance to open the scoring. In total, 20 shots were taken during the first half - only one other Bundesliga game has seen more than 10 in the first half this season: Freiburg vs. Bayern Munich on this same Wednesday evening.

Naturally, after all of Wolfsburg's pressure, it was Schalke who took the lead. Kabak rose highest to meet Daniel Caligiuri's corner, which Koen Casteels tipped onto the post. The rebound fell to Kabak and he smashed home from in front of goal. Schalke continued to press on and Guido Burgstaller was left with his head in his hands after shooting over the Wolfsburg crossbar from inside the six-yard box after Caligiuri's cross. The home side's first real opening of the second half came on the hour mark when Arnold's cut-back was smashed goalward by Josip Brekalo, but Schubert parried away once more. Wolfsburg clawed their way back into the game and finally levelled with eight minutes to play thanks to Kevin Mbabu's first Bundesliga goal.

Match stats

• Ozan Kabak scored his sixth Bundesliga goal. He's the only defender under the age of 20 to have six Bundesliga goals to his name since data collection began.
• Kevin Mbabu scored his first Bundesliga goal for Wolfbsurg since joining the club in the summer.
• Weghorst made his Bundesliga debut against Schalke in August 2018. The Dutchman has scored 24 goals in 49 German top-flight appearances, including a team-leading seven this season.
• Schalke have lost just one of their last eight Bundesliga meetings with Wolfsburg (W5, D2).
• Schalke's six-goal top scorer Harit has not scored or produced an assist in five career meetings with Wolfsburg.
• Daniel Caligiuri registered 12 goals and 15 assists in 97 Bundesliga appearances for Wolfsburg, before joining Schalke in January 2017.

Watch: Mbabu: "Happy with my first goal"

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Line-ups

Wolfsburg: Casteels - Mbabu, Tisserand, Brooks, Roussillon - Schlager, Guilavogui (c), Arnold - Brekalo (Steffen 65'), Weghorst, Victor (Ginczek 88')
Unused subs: Pervan, William, Paulo Otavio, Klaus, Gerhardt, Knoche, Rexhbecaj
Out: Camacho (ankle), Mehmedi (thigh)
Coach: Oliver Glasner

Schalke: Schubert - Kenny (Becker 90+3'), Kabak, Oczipka, Miranda - Mascarell (c), Serdar - Caligiuri, Harit (Boujellab 81'), Reese (Raman 70') - Burgstaller
Unused subs: Langer, Matondo, Skrzybski, Caris, Mercan
Out: McKennie (dislocated shoulder), Nübel (suspended), Sane (knee), Schöpf (thigh), Uth (groin), Kutucu (bruised foot), Stambouli (metatarsal)
Coach: David Wagner

About the clubs

VfL Wolfsburg

Volkswagen Arena

FC Schalke 04

VELTINS-Arena