Weinzierl's Schalke born against Bayern

It might have taken longer than they hoped and they might not have won, but Markus Weinzierl (and sporting director Christian Heidel) saw their vision for Schalke born on Friday night against Bayern Munich.

Much like his Augsburg team did, Weinzierl's Schalke pressed hard, stayed compact and left the opposition feeling very uncomfortable for an hour. The fact such a performance came against Bayern was all the more important, particularly after their opening day defeat to Frankfurt was such a tepid start to yet another new era at the club.

"Ten minutes were missing for us to take a point from this game," Weinzierl said to Sky Sports after the game, which Schalke eventually lost 2-0. Many sides would love to keep pace with Bayern for 80 minutes and Schalke truly did. But for the home side this was about something bigger. This was about whether or not Schalke were going to keep repeating a long line of false starts or whether this really was a rebirth.

Defensively, Matija Nastasic looked a huge boost, while Benedikt Höwedes was as committed as ever. It was in midfield where Schalke really shone though, as their new men came to the fore.

The presence of Nabil Bentaleb and Benjamin Stambouli made all the difference. The pair got stuck into everything in red, with the latter in particular already looking like an excellent acquisition. In attack, Yevhen Konoplyanka was a vast improvement on Franco di Santo (who should never play wide anyway) and with a bit more luck and composure, Schalke might have even squeaked a goal.

In their familiar fashion, Bayern claimed the win. Schalke delivered a performance that won them no points but may have gained them something more valuable.

"The Frankfurt defeat hurt, but the performance today was something we can build on," said Weinzierl afterwards.

And that is exactly the point. On one hand, we can lament another team playing well against Bayern and not winning but for once this wasn't about Bayern. This was about Schalke, who having finally acquired enough quality, now also have two men at the top with a plan. What was on show tonight was the first evidence of that plan coming together and not folding under pressure like so many others before.