Schalke see off Stuttgart to take top spot
Reuters - Friday 12 March 2010, 22:38
BERLIN - Schalke 04 took provisional
control of the Bundesliga after beating VfB Stuttgart 2-1
courtesy of a Kevin Kuranyi winner to go top on Friday.
They moved onto 54 points from 26 matches, one point ahead
of Bayern Munich who host Freiburg on Saturday.
Schalke coach Felix Magath has played down his team's title
chances but their climb to the top comes at the same stage as
when his former side VfL Wolfsburg's took over the lead last
term after 26 games and stormed to their first title.
"My team played like always. More controlled in the first
half and more energetic in the second," Magath told reporters.
"But we can thank (goalkeeper) Manuel Neuer for not
conceding a first half goal. After we took the lead we failed to
put more pressure on. We were lucky to get away with a win."
After a muted first half, with Kuranyi squandering the only
clear scoring chance, Brazilian Edu put the hosts ahead
immediately after half time when he pounced on a Serdar Tasci
defensive blunder to fire in from close range.
TOP SCORER
Germany international Tasci made amends by heading home a
Zdravko Kuzmanovic cross four minutes later although that was
the last offensive effort Stuttgart carved out.
Schalke, who have now won their last eight home matches,
kept up the pressure and Kuranyi tapped home the winner in the
55th for his 14th league goal of the season after being set up
by captain Heiko Westermann who beat the offside trap.
The former Germany striker, battling for a recall ahead of
this year's World Cup, joins Bayer Leverkusen's Stefan Kiessling
as top scorer in the Bundesliga.
Edu could have added a second goal with eight minutes left
and Stuttgart's defence in disarray when Ivan Rakitic put him
through but his powerful low drive flew just wide.
The win is a perfect start to what Magath has described as
"the weeks of truth", with matches against Hamburg SV, Bayer
Leverkusen and Bayern Munich to follow.
Stuttgart lost ground in their bid for a European spot,
remaining in seventh place on 35 points.