Schalke out of relegation zone after penalty kick in 12th minute injury time

Schalke 04 seemed headed for relegation from the Bundesliga for months, but hope is shining again in Gelsenkirchen. Against Mainz 05, the team took three points thanks to a penalty kick that was used in the twelfth minute of injury time: 2-3.

‘Die Königsblauen’ bivouacked at the bottom of the Bundesliga for almost the entire season, but from the end of January the team started to gather points. First, the last spot was already surrendered to Hertha and with the away win at Mainz, Schalke suddenly climbed out of the danger zone.

With three rounds of play to go, Schalke is fourteenth. The team has two points more than Stuttgart in 16th place, which means a playoff for relegation. Schalke’s rivals are still in action this weekend.

Schalke twice gave away a lead against Mainz until Marius Bülter netted a penalty kick deep in injury time.

Bülter was pulled by his shirt in the penalty area and lay down. On the advice of VAR, the referee looked back at the TV footage, then decided to put the ball on the spot. Bülter himself fired in the winning goal for Schalke.

Defender Sepp van den Berg played the whole match for Schalke, Thomas Ouwejan remained on the bench.