FC Schalke 04: 5 things we learned from 2-1 win over Union Berlin

2. Nubel is incredible except for one thing

Alexander Nubel is another young superstar in FC Schalke’s defense, and he made a few incredible stops against Union that ended up preserving the victory for Die Knappen. It is remarkable how quick Nubel’s reflexes are, and he had one particularly mind-blowing save early in the game in which he got enough strength to pop the ball over a striker seeking a rebound.

That incredible save came on the heels of a woeful mistake from Nubel, in which he swiped at the ball and missed. Matija Nastasic had to make a last-ditch block to prevent what would have been a sure-fire goal.

Nubel is already one of the Bundesliga’s best goalies at the age of 23 and a true leader at the back for Schalke, but he did have a couple of mistakes with the ball at his feet. His distribution needs to get better, and once it does, there’ll be no questioning his status as a world-class keeper.

3. More Kutucu, please

Schalke fans have been consistently begging for more minutes from Ahmed Kutucu, who always provides a spark off the bench when David Wagner calls his number. He did so again in this game, entering the match for a gassed Benito Raman in the 83rd minute.

Only three minutes later, Kutucu pounced on a Neven Subotic mistake to lead a counterattack. He played a simple but smart pass to Amine Harit, who was charging down the heart of Union’s defense again. Harit sent the ball to Suat Serdar on his left, and Serdar did the rest, winning the game with a lovely finish.

Kutucu is another young player who is wise beyond his years, and he also has the pace to burn defenses. Schalke have received strong displays from Benito Raman, but Wagner needs to find another player who can be part of the solution in the starting lineup.