Schalke draws with Maribor
September 30, 2014
For what many are calling the weakest team in Group G of the Champions League, Slovenian side Maribor are proving to be a tough team to get the best of. Coach's Ante Simundza side can be very happy with the point they secured thanks to a 1-1 draw against a heavily-favored Schalke side on Tuesday.
Maribor looked strong in the early stages of the game and caught Schalke off guard in the 37th minute, when Mitja Viler - completely unmarked on the left wing - received a long ball and crossed directly into the middle for Damjan Bohar, who ripped off a strike past Schalke keeper Ralf Fährmann.
The guest's lead held until the 56th minute, when Klaas-Jan Huntelaar bested Maribor defender Aleksander Rajcevic and snuck a goal past keeper Jasmin Handanovic. The keeper got a solid hand on the ball but was unable to stop it from going into the goal.
From that point on, Schalke finished out the game much stronger than they started it, but Maribor's confidence had grown enough by that point to keep them in a position to maintain the draw. Schalke had ten more total attempts on goal than Maribor by the end of the game and completed nearly twice as many passes, but Maribor relentlessly disrupted the Royal Blues' attacks to keep them from going ahead.
The draw represents a missed opportunity to pick up points in the group for Schalke, which could prove critical in the latter stages of the group stage.
"The points would have been important," Schalke's Julian Draxler told Germany's Sky broadcaster after the game, "but we have enough games left in the Champions League where we can get some points."
Maribor and Schalke have two points in the group from two draws of 1-1. Chelsea, who drew against Schalke in the first match, beat Sporting Lisbon on Tuesday 1-0 and lead the group with four points. Sporting Lisbon are in last with a single point.
Schalke face Sporting Lisbon in another home match on October 21, while Chelsea host Maribor on the same day.