Crisis Persists: Muslic "Can't Fault the Team"

FC Schalke 04 remained without a goal on home turf in their fourth Bundesliga match of the season.

In the 0-2 defeat against RB Leipzig (Match Report >>>), their sixth competitive match without a win, the "Knappen" appeared largely harmless in front of the opponent's goal. Only in the early stages of the match did Junior Adamu and Adli Aouchiche pose a threat.

In terms of personnel, Miron Muslic had made three changes compared to the DFB-Pokal exit against Dynamo Dresden, also switching to a back four in defence. However, this did not bear fruit.

"We tried everything within our capabilities, I can't fault the team," Miron Muslic said after the match. His team had thrown themselves into every tackle and had played well in the first half.

"Penalty out of nowhere" frustrates Muslic

But before halftime, the game turned.

In the 34th minute, Satoshi Tanaka only wanted to clear the ball in the penalty area, but instead lightly touched the foot of Leipzig's Romulo. Antonio Nusa converted the ensuing penalty to give the Red Bulls the lead.

Muslic was frustrated by the "penalty out of nowhere"; Leipzig had already gained control of the game before that, with Schalke constantly chasing the ball.

Still a small step forward

The Tyrolean says: "Then Leipzig has the quality to exploit the counter-attacks they find extremely well. We also had space and utilized it well, but the penetration was lacking in the final third."

Nevertheless, Muslic was largely satisfied with the performance. "We took a step forward today, even if it was a small one."