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On the eve of Friday, the first matches of the 31st round of the German Bundesliga took place, where the mid-table team "Bochum" faced the league leaders "Schalke" from Gelsenkirchen. After a fierce battle, the visitors had to admit the superiority of the "Bochum" team with a score of 2-1.
"Bochum" 2 - 1 "Schalke" 9‘ [0 - 1] Kevin Kuranyi 33‘ [1 - 1] Zvjezdan Misimovic 41‘ [2 - 1] Theofanis Gekas
The match started very intensively, and after just a few minutes, a shot by the home team's Joel Epalle narrowly missed the top corner of the goal. However, in the 9th minute, the first goal fell into the "Bochum" net. After a well-taken penalty by Christian Pander, Kevin Kuranyi, freed from the defenders' attention, sent the ball into the net with his head.
"Schalke" continued to press their opponents - in the 14th minute, Gerald Asamoah had a great opportunity to double the score, but his shot towards the near post was saved by Jaroslav Drobny. The visitors spent more and more time in the opponents' half, but in the 33rd minute, they conceded a goal. After a pass from Dennis Grote from the left side, Zvjezdan Misimovic directed the ball into the goal with his head.
Five minutes later, "Schalke" could have taken the lead again, but C. Pander's shot hit the crossbar after a penalty kick. Three minutes later, all the home team's fans rose to their feet when Theofanis Gekas, the most successful player of the championship, sent the ball into the goal after receiving a pass from Marcelo Maltritz from the right side.
In the second half, the visitors from Gelsenkirchen pressed "Bochum" even harder. In the 49th minute, after a pass from Lincoln, Marcelo Bordon's headed shot whizzed over the crossbar. Shortly after, Mesut Ozil failed to take advantage of another good opportunity. In the 64th minute, C. Pander attacked the goal again but missed. Two minutes later, K. Kuranyi's header hit the crossbar for the second time.
At the end of the match, the home team's defenders twice played with their hand in their own penalty area, but the referee did not award a penalty kick either time. In the 87th minute, "Bochum" attacker J. Epalle found himself one-on-one with goalkeeper Manuel Neuer, but couldn't outsmart him. Moments later, Z. Misimovic also hit the woodwork.
Finally, "Schalke" tried to salvage at least a draw, but they were unable to do so. After this victory, "Bochum" climbed to 7th place, securing their survival in the Bundesliga, while "Schalke" still holds onto the leader position, but they could lose it on Sunday if Bremen's "Werder" defeats Bielefeld's "Arminia" players.
