Report: Schalke 04 vs Leeds United

Schalke 04 0

Leeds United 2 (Joseph 57′, Piroe 66′)

Leeds: Meslier (GK) (Darlow 45′), Bogle (Debayo 71′), Firpo (Byram 45′), Ampadu (Gruev 45′) Rothwell (Chambers 84′), Aaronson (Piroe 58′), Rodon, Joseph (Equipaj 71′), Georginio (Gelhardt 71′), Gnonto (Thomas 84′), Wober (Struijk 45′). Subs are not used: Cairns (GK).

Referee: Felix Weller

Reserved: Donkor (Schalke) Wober (Leeds)

Leeds United faced Schalke 04 in the second game of their pre-season trip to Germany, facing a 2. Bundesliga side for the second time in a week.

The Whites had faced Hannover 96 earlier in the week, beating them 4-1 in a convincing performance with goals from Ilia Gruev, Joel Piroe and a Mateo Joseph brace.

In a tougher encounter this time around, Daniel Farke’s side will still find a way to win, with two second-half goals proving the difference against a strong Schalke side.

The first 10 minutes saw an effort from each side in goal as Paul Seguin and Willy Gnonto both tried to break the early deadlock.

A big chance then came for the German outfit, with Illan Meslier forced into a good save when Kenan Karaman came through one-on-one but the keeper denied him.

Two more shots on goal then came for Leeds, with Georginio Rutter going close. He forced Ron Thorben Hoffmann into two quick stops after receiving smart passes from Ethan Ampadu and then Joseph.

A last big chance before the break also came for Leeds. A corner landed kindly for Gnonto on the edge of the box, who hit a first-time volley, only to see it cleared off the line by the outstretched leg of Janik Bachmann.

A tussled first 45 minutes ended goalless as both teams returned to the dressing rooms for instructions for the second half.

AT HALF TIME: Leeds United 0-0 Schalke 04

Changes were made in the interval. Farke brought in Karl Darlow, Sam Byram, Pascal Struijk and Ilia Gruev.

A quick break from Georginio saw Leeds start the quicker of the two teams after the restart but Gnonto had another shot saved but the team did not have to wait long to open the scoring.

From a free kick Joe Rothwell sent a clever ball to Jayden Bogle on the wing who found space, he volleyed first time into the box and Joseph was well positioned to put his side ahead!

The opening goal was a combination that had worked well in the previous game against Hannover and then, just 10 minutes later, the advantage was doubled,

With Leeds now well on top of the game, another clever set-play routine saw Rothwell cross from a short corner to Georginio, who turned and crossed at the back post for Piroe – who was fresh from bench – to propel a header home.

With a two-goal lead and after a busy week of training, Farke then made several changes in the final 20 minutes, with Joe Gelhardt, Luca Thomas, James Debayo, Charlie Crew and Sam Chambers all getting vital minutes.

The clash ended and another good training session for the team, and another impressive win, ended their pre-season trip to Germany.

FULL TIME: Schalke 04 0-2 Leeds United