Reis ahead of Bayern: "Perhaps they've caught us at the right moment."
One must indeed travel back exceedingly far to reach the last time FC Schalke 04 defeated FC Bayern München in the Bundesliga. The league's current last-placed team last beat the current league-leaders in 2010, when Manuel Neuer stood in the Schalke net.
Despite this, S04 trainer Thomas Reis expressed confidence that his team could remain competitive and build on their recent win. In squad news, the Königsblauen gaffer strongly hinted at a start for the surging Dominick Drexler.
Thomas Reis' FC Schalke 04 surprised many Bundesliga watchers on Wednesday when they managed to upset FSV Mainz 05 in the 2022/23 campaign's 14th round of play. Chances of parlaying the team's second win of the season into some sort of streak nevertheless seem impossible against the mighty German record champions.
Despite this, S04 trainer Thomas Reis expressed confidence that his team could remain competitive and build on their recent win. In squad news, the Königsblauen gaffer strongly hinted at a start for the surging Dominick Drexler.
Schalke have the dubious honor of welcoming FC Bayern München to the Veltins Arena in this Saturday evening's "Top Spiel". Having finally found some success with his current team after deploying the exact same XI in two consecutive matches, however, trainer Reis wished to emphasize that something might be possible at his Friday presser.
"Perhaps they've caught us at the right moment," Reis noted, "We'd like to show them that they've come at the right time. If the team invests everything, it can be competitive."
Reis had special praise for his defensive unit after they kept a clean sheet against a high-scoring threat like Mainz midweek. The red hot FSV attack of Karim Onisiwo, Marcus Ingvartsen, and (later) Jonathan Burkardt very quiet.
Though there were some finishing issues at the Mainzer end, Reis called attention to the manner in which his injury-ravaged back-line stood up for one another and defended passionately as a unit.
Henning Matriciani's game-saving tackle on Onisiwo at 90+6 was, per Reis, "indicative of the whole game."
It doesn't not appear as if Reis will have any reason to tinker with his XI at all, though the S04 gaffer did drop a strong hint that he may be prepared to start Dominick Drexler in place of Florent Mollet in the ten-slot. The veteran attacking midfielder made a solid impression off the bench in the last two games, scoring a late pull-back goal against Bremen last weekend.
"He [Drexler] came on and helped us bring home the win," Reis said of the 32-year-old's performance against Mainz, "There's a possibility of him playing from the start."