Schalke has almost secured promotion to the Bundesliga after three years of waiting, following a victory against a direct rival and second-placed team away from home, despite trailing 2-0 early in the match.
According to an analysis by the specialized website Football Meets Data, Schalke now statistically has a 99.6 percent chance of earning promotion to the higher division. To mathematically secure it, they need just one more win by the end of the season.
🇩🇪 Schalke went from 2-0 to 2-3 in a crucial game away at 🇩🇪 Paderborn! 📈 Schalke now at 99.6% to promote directly to 🇩🇪 Bundesliga! pic.twitter.com/0GLqcwoXC9
The architect of all this is our coach Miron Muslić, who took over the team in a dire situation and has now led them to the brink of Bundesliga promotion. After the match, he said this victory encapsulates Schalke's entire season.
"It was an incredible day for us; this game sums up our season. We were down 2-0, just as we've had to fight against resistance and overcome obstacles all year. Paderborn is a quality team and punished us early. As a result, it was even more important not to lose our heads and stay in the game, because we also have the talent needed in such situations," Muslić said.
The coach, originally from Bihać, emphasized that the main goal by halftime was to reduce the deficit to 2-1, and the team managed to equalize at 2-2.
"Scoring one goal before halftime was incredibly important, and we couldn't have asked for a better moment to get the second goal. After the break, both teams wanted to fight for the win, although we barely gave them a chance and ultimately got our reward with the winning goal. Now we want to take the next crucial step in the home match against Düsseldorf," added the Schalke coach.
For context, Schalke is still playing without the injured duo from the Bosnia and Herzegovina national team, Edin Džeko and Nikola Katić. While Džeko is expected to recover in time for the next match, Katić will remain sidelined for a while longer.