Hannover 96 2 : 1 Schalke 04 - Hannover fight back to beat Schalke

Posted Sunday, August 24, 2014 by PA

Hannover came from behind to beat Schalke 2-1 in the Bundesliga to increase the pressure on the Royal Blues' coach Jens Keller.

Klaas-Jan Huntelaar gave the visitors the lead in the two minutes after the half-time interval after a dreary first 45 minutes at the Niedersachsenstadion.

But two goals in three minutes from Edgar Prib and Joselu turned the game on its head, earning Hannover all three points and condemning Schalke to a second defeat in a week, after they lost to Dynamo Dresden in the first round of the DFB-Pokal.

The Bundesliga season may only be a day old, but already Keller will have to listen to rumours surrounding his future.

It took the game a long time to come to life with only a Joselu effort, which missed the left-hand upright by inches, illuminating an otherwise dim first half.

It seemed like both teams were too scared to attack, but that changed immediately in the second half.

Eric-Maxim Choupo-Moting was put clean through on goal and he unselfishly squared the ball for Huntelaar, who scored one of his easiest goals in a Schalke shirt.

The crowd were starting to get unsettled but Hannover responded well.

A determined run down the right wing from Leonardo Bittencourt culminated in a cross which was an invitation for Prib, who slid in to convert from five yards out in the 67th minute.

Just three minutes had passed when Hannover mounted another lightning counter-attack with Prib this time sending the ball across for Joselu, whose 20-yard shot took a slight deflection on its way into the bottom right-hand corner.

Schalke responded, but it was Hannover who went closer to netting a third in the break when Joselu's effort hit the underside of the crossbar. A further goal was not required, though, as the Reds prevailed.