Release The Knappen
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FC Schalke 04: 5 things we learned from 1-0 win over Eintracht Frankfurt

By Kevin Parvizi

Schalke's Belgian forward Benito Raman celebrates scoring the opening goal during the German first division Bundesliga football match Schalke 04 v Eintracht Frankfurt in Gelsenkirchen, on December 15, 2019. (Photo by INA FASSBENDER / AFP) / DFL REGULATIONS PROHIBIT ANY USE OF PHOTOGRAPHS AS IMAGE SEQUENCES AND/OR QUASI-VIDEO (Photo by INA FASSBENDER/AFP via Getty Images)
Schalke's Belgian forward Benito Raman celebrates scoring the opening goal during the German first division Bundesliga football match Schalke 04 v Eintracht Frankfurt in Gelsenkirchen, on December 15, 2019. (Photo by INA FASSBENDER / AFP) / DFL REGULATIONS PROHIBIT ANY USE OF PHOTOGRAPHS AS IMAGE SEQUENCES AND/OR QUASI-VIDEO (Photo by INA FASSBENDER/AFP via Getty Images) /
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Schalke GK Alexander Nubel
GELSENKIRCHEN, GERMANY – DECEMBER 15: (BILD ZEITUNG OUT) goalkeeper Alexander Nuebel of FC Schalke 04 looks on during the Bundesliga match between FC Schalke 04 and Eintracht Frankfurt at Veltins-Arena on December 15, 2019 in Gelsenkirchen, Germany. (Photo by TF-Images/Getty Images) /

2. Nubel will be out for a long time

As much as we love Alexander Nubel as Schalke’s captain and a future world-class goalkeeper, he’s made some youthful errors in goal this season. But his latest mistake caused a great deal of harm to an opposing player, as Nubel came charging out of his goal and knee’d Matija Gacinovic in the face with a horror challenge.

Nubel was immediately sent off, and he’ll likely be hit with a maximum suspension for one of the worst tackles in Bundesliga history. There was no sense for Nubel’s actions, and there can be no excuse for what Nubel did. He didn’t mean to hurt Gacinovic on purpose, but he will have to serve his punishment. And again, it really should be the most severe punishment possible. What he did could have injured Gacinovic severely.

That said, Schalke have another wonderful young keeper behind Nubel in Markus Schubert, who commanded his goal well in the second half. Schubert will have a chance to make a name for himself during Nubel’s suspension, and if Nubel surprisingly chooses Bayern (or another team like Tottenham), Schubert can show fans they’d still be in good hands with him in goal.

3. Owning the midfield

Onto more positives, since this win was filled with positives for Die Knappen. Suat Serdar has been excellent all season long, and this game was no exception. The likes of Sebastian Rode had a rough day against Schalke’s midfield, as Serdar controlled the tempo.

Serdar’s passing was tremendous. He played a huge role in the clean sheet for Schalke, especially since they lost Weston McKennie to injury and were playing with 10 men in the second half.

On top of that Serdar, per WhoScored.com, won five dribbles and drew four fouls. He deserves high praise for his work on Sunday.

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