Sunday, March 14, 2010

FC Schalke 2-1 VfB Stuttgart


Schalke moved to the top of the Bundesliga table for at least 24 hours with a home victory over Stuttgart.

Former Germany striker Kevin Kuranyi struck the winning goal after 56 minutes following a frantic 10-minute period when all three goals in the game were scored.

Edu Goncalves opened the scoring for the hosts less than a minute after his introduction as a half-time substitute before Serdar Tasci equalised after 50 minutes.

Kuranyi had the final say, however, to move Schalke a point ahead of Bayern Munich, who can regain top place when they host relegation-haunted Freiburg on Saturday.

Schalke had the first chance on goal after 14 minutes when Jefferson Farfan collided with defender Georg Niedermeier and the ball broke to Kuranyi who curled a shot that skidded past the right-hand post.

Despite the early chance, Stuttgart controlled the majority of the first-half possession and almost went ahead on 35 minutes when Pavel Pogrebnyak was sent through one-on-one with goalkeeper Manuel Neuer.

The Russian picked his spot but Neuer was up to the task, making a superb reaction save to keep the scores level.

The second half began with a flurry of goals and Edu claimed the opener with his first touch after coming on for Farfan at half-time.

A quick passing move between Peer Kluge and Kuranyi set up Edu to roll his shot past an exposed Jens Lehmann.

The lead lasted just four minutes as Timo Gebhart's pin-point cross found defender Tasci at the far post to head home from inside the six-yard box.

Schalke then reclaimed their lead in the 56th minute thanks to the Bundesliga's leading goalscorer Kuranyi.

A well-worked free-kick and an ill-advised attempt from the away defence to play Kuranyi offside allowed the 28-year-old striker the easiest of finishes for his 14th league goal of the season.

Schalke should have made the points safe 10 minutes later when Kuranyi burst clear and rolled a pass across the six-yard box only for Edu to blast his shot over the crossbar.

Stuttgart poured forward to find an equaliser and almost got it when Molinaro's 89th-minute shot was blocked on the line.

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