Schalke and Mainz were unable to break the deadlock as both sides share points following a goalless draw at the opener of the 22nd Bundesliga round on Friday.

The Royal Blues drop points for the first time in 2014 although Jens Keller's team remain unbeaten at the seventh straight match, while Mainz play their second best season since 2010-2011 so far. However, both sides failed to grab decisive points in the hunt for a berth in a European competition.

From the kick-off, both teams staged well-positioned defences lines so that goal-scoring opportunities were rare occurrences.

Stefan Beil and Shinji Okazaki worked out the best chances for Mainz in the opening period whereas Jefferson Farfan rattled the woodwork following his corner kick at the 13th minute.

Elkin Soto had the opener on his boot but failed to overcome Schalke's custodian Ralf Faehrmann on one on one at the half hour mark. At the other end of the pitch Farfan nearly broke the deadlock from six meters but defender Nikolce Noveski denied just before the break.

After the restart things started where they left off, both defences neutralized almost every offensive action. Despite Mainz goalkeeper Loris Karius invited Schalke with a moment of madness when he passed into the path of Max Mayer, who squandered the best chance of the second half.

As the match progressed both sides minimized their risks, as they seemed content with one point. Thus, Schalke stay on fourth position with 41 points whilst Mainz occupy seventh position with 34 points.

"Mainz staged a good performance therefore we can live with one point. We struggled in the first half," Schalke's coach Jens Keller said.

"We staged a brave performance against a Champions League competitor. I am delighted by my team's performance," Mainz coach Thomas Tuchel said.

The following matches are scheduled for Saturday: Wolfsburg encounter second placed Leverkusen, relegation threatened Hamburg face third placed Dortmund, Monchengladbach host Hoffenheim, struggling Stuttgart clash Berlin and Nuremberg see bottom side Braunschweig.

Go to Forum >>0 Comment(s)