During the Saturday evening fixture of the 2. Bundesliga, FC Schalke 04 defeated 1. FC Magdeburg 5-3, propelling the Schwarze Reiter back to the top of the table while the Magdeburg side stayed trapped in the 16th relegation spot. The game opened with a bold Magdeburg attack, but Schalke gradually took charge of ball possession and tempo. In the 15th minute, the hosts earned a 1-0 lead after an own goal from Jean Hugonet when the ball reached Adil Aouchiche following a quick build‑up through Kenan Karaman and Edin Džeko. Two minutes later, Alexander Nollenberger put Magdeburg level with a hard‑pressed corner into the top corner (1-1). Schalke’s advantage grew when, just before halftime, Aouchiche delivered a precise pass to the post that Džeko met with a powerful header, giving the Germans a 2-1 edge at 39 min.
The match intensified after a defensive error following a free‑kick: the referee awarded a penalty to Schalke, and captain Kenan Karaman stepped up, beating the goalkeeper to make it 3-1 in the 49th minute. Magdeburg fought back; in the 53rd minute, Mateusz Zukowski’s long‑range strike from the right side restored a 3-2 scoreline. Schalke answered decisively at the 65th minute when Džeko executed a strong solo run down the right flank, cut the ball back to Dejan Ljubičic, who finished from close range to give Schalke a 4-2 lead. Three minutes later, Karaman capitalised on a short back‑pass from the Magdeburg defence, cutting his way through and sending the ball past the keeper for a 5-2 advantage at 68 min.
Magdeburg’s resilience was seen again in the 83rd minute when the referee signalled a foul on Zukowski during a counter‑attack; the goalkeeper fell to the ground and Zukowski himself finished a low shot, making it 5-3. In stoppage time, Karaman received a late yellow card in the 90 + 6th minute, and the referee blew the final whistle after an additional six minutes of injury time. Schalke’s number‑two goalkeeper, Reimann, executed several crucial saves to prevent a deeper defeat, while Magdeburg’s fatigue became evident as the match drawn to a close. The Gelsenkirchener’s victory – thanks largely to Džeko’s flair and Karaman’s double – was a decisive statement of offensive prowess, but the second‑division side exposed defensive frailties that Magdeburg relentlessly sought to exploit.