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Frankfurt beat Schalke 1-0 in German Bundesliga

Xinhua, January 28, 2017

• Alexander Meier's goal helped Eintracht Frankfurt to edge struggling Schalke 1-0 at the opener of the 18th round in Bundesliga on Friday.

  Eintracht Frankfurt reaped their ninth win of the season as veteran striker Alexander Meier provided the only goal of the clash to keep Schalke in the bottom half of the standings.

  Schalke grabbed a better start into the game as new arrival Guido Burgstaller came close to break the deadlock but Frankfurt's goalkeeper Heinz Lindner was on guard to defuse the header on target with 24 minutes played.

  The hosts lacked in ideas to create goal-scoring opportunities whereas Frankfurt staged a well-positioned defense that neutralized most efforts by Schalke within the midfield.

  Frankfurt shocked the "Royal Blues" with the opener out of the blue when unmarked Alexander Meier tapped home Makoto Hasebe's surprising square-pass free kick from eleven meters into the near post corner in the 33rd minute.

  After the restart, Schalke pressed for the equalizer but Burgstaller failed to make the most out of two scoring chances in the 52nd and 55th minutes.

  Due to Schalke's increasing pressure Frankfurt took over but neither Haris Seferovic nor Meier were able to put the "Eagles" two goals ahead.

  Schalke kept it bowling but Frankfurt's bulwark were standing firm to wrap up the victory on the road.

  With the result, Eintracht Frankfurt moved from the 6th to the 3rd place for the moment meanwhile Schalke remains on the 10th position of the standings.

  "We kept Schalke away from our goal and neutralized most of their chances," Frankfurt head coach Niko Kovac said.

  The following fixtures are scheduled for Saturday: Wolfsburg host Augsburg, Ingolstadt face Hamburg, Werder Bremen encounter front runners Bayern Munich, bottom side Damrstadt see Cologne, runnerup Leipzig clash with third placed Hoffenheim and Monchengladbach visit Bayer Leverkusen.

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