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Great joy about Filip Stojilkovic's goal

Photo: Uwe Anspach / dpa

At the start of the 19th matchday in the 2nd Bundesliga, 1. FC Kaiserslautern prevailed 4-1 (1-0) against Schalke 04 in the duel between traditional clubs threatened with relegation. Ragnar Ache (10th minute, 59th), Filip Stojilković (67th) and Aaron Opoku (70th) scored for the Palatinate, Darko Čurlinov equalized in the 51st minute. Hannover 96 also won clearly 3-0 (2-0), Håvard Nielsen scored twice (6th, 38th), Cedric Teuchert scored the final point (90th + 2nd).

Schalke has conceded the most goals in the league and is 15th in the table. Lautern is in 14th place.

The Lauterers were in crisis and lost the last seven second division games. Rumors of the dismissal of coach Dimitrios Grammozis - in office for less than two months - were already doing the rounds, but Grammozis dismissed them as "character assassination". Despite everything, his team got off to a better start in the game: set-piece specialist Marlon Ritter shot a free kick from the edge of the penalty area sharply towards the goal, Schalke goalkeeper Ralf Fährmann let the ball bounce forward, where Ache was in the right position and pushed in (10th).

Simon Terodde provided the supposed equalizer, but had previously been just offside (20th). After the break, Schalke were able to celebrate again. The guests countered, Kenan Karaman sent Čurlinov into the back of the defense with a perfect through ball. The North Macedonian kept his nerve in front of FCK keeper Julian Krahl and scored to make it 1-1 (51st).

A few minutes later, Ache put Lautern back in the lead with his second goal. Richmond Tachie ran a long pass on the right and spooned the ball into the middle, where Ache rose up and scored with a header (59'). Substitute Stojilković made the preliminary decision, also with a header (67th). Shortly afterwards, Opoku moved inwards on the edge of the penalty area and made the final score 4-1 (70th). Opoku had also previously come onto the field.

For both teams it was about staying in touch with the top third of the table. The Hanoverians in particular made it clear in the first round that they still wanted to intervene in the promotion race. In the sixth minute, Enzo Leopold took a free kick from 16 meters into the six-yard box. There Nielsen extended the ball into the goal with the tip of his foot.

There was little attack from the guests from Nuremberg, but 96 were even more keen on combinations. The Hanoverians won the ball on the halfway line and played forward with determination. Derrick Köhn finally crossed into the middle to Nielsen, who headed it in to make it 2-0 at halftime (38'). In the second half, substitute Teuchert pushed a counterattack into the empty goal (90th + 2).

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