Bundesliga: Schalke win, Bayer Leverkusen suffer setback
Berlin, Dec 16 (IANS) Jefferson Farfan had large shares on Schalke’s 2-0 win over Freiburg, meanwhile, Frankfurt’s Marco Russ inflicted Leverkusen the first loss on home soil to close the 16th round.
Freiburg remain in a free fall as they suffered their fifth straight loss to slump on a relegation play off spot. Schalke occupy sixth position to remain in the hunt for a UEFA Europa League berth, Xinhua reported on Sunday.
Freiburg’s well positioned defence gave the visitors a hard time while the Royal Blues struggled to break the deadlock. It had to come to the 44th minute before Schalke were capable to open the scoring.
Farfan’s corner crossed the goal line with involuntary help of Freiburg’s Nicolas Hoefler, who deflected the ball into his own net at the back post.
Luckless Freiburg tried to restore parity after the restart but their efforts could not find the back of the net. Therefore Schalke were able to kill the game at the 67th minute. Tim Albutat brought down youngster Max Meyer allowing Farfan to convert the penalty from the spot.
Frankfurt flabbergasted runners up Leverkusen with a neat 1-0 victory by courtesy of Marco Russ’s winner. Leverkusen staged a lethargic performance against robust “Eagels” that missed the chance to grab the lead when Jan Rosenthal’s header was denied by the post at the 12th minute.
Leverkusen piled on the pressure at the second half and they were almost rewarded but Heung Min Son’s low shot rattled Frankfurt’s woodwork.
Despite Leverkusen’s dominance at the second half it was goalkeeper Bernd Leno who had to swallow the opener by Russ at the 61st minute. The defender headed home Sebastian Jung‘s pinpoint cross to shock the hosts.
Frankfurt had the chance to make it 2-0 on the scoreboards but Joselu’s penalty were saved by Leverkusen Custodian Leno during the stoppage time.
The “Werkself” stay on second position with a seven-point gap to Bayern while Frankfurt sealed their first win on the road to stick on 15th position.