Fortuna Duesseldorf’s Dani Schahin struck twice in the second half to earn a 2-2 draw at home to Schalke 04 in the Bundesliga on Friday, with the visitors only having themselves to blame for not taking all three points.
Klaas-Jan Huntelaar and Joel Matip gave the UEFA Champions League side a 2-0 lead by halftime, but Schahin’s double, including a powerful 77th-minute header, took Fortuna’s unbeaten run since the start of the season to six matches.
Schalke moved up to third place on 11 points. Promoted Fortuna, still unbeaten along with Bayern and second-placed Eintracht Frankfurt, are fifth on 10 points.
Photo: Reuters
Huntelaar, last season’s top scorer, drilled in a stunning left-foot shot after slipping the ball past two defenders in the 13th minute.
Joel Matip added a second goal seven minutes later as Schalke looked to be cruising to an easy victory.
However, Schahin cut the deficit three minutes after the break, connecting with an Andriy Voronin corner.
With Fortuna seeking an equalizer, Schalke had space on the break and will be kicking themselves for not finishing off their opponents, with Huntelaar and Ibrahim Afellay failing to beat goalkeeper Fabian Giefer from point-blank range on three occasions.
The hosts’ hard work finally paid off in the 77th minute when 23-year-old Schahin beat Kyriakos Papadopoulos to drill in a header from a Tobias Levels cross.
VUKCEVIC IN A COMA
AFP, HEIDELBERG, Germany
TSG 1899 Hoffenheim’s Croatian-born midfielder Boris Vukcevic is fighting for his life after undergoing surgery for serious head injuries he received during a car accident, his Bundesliga club said on Friday.
“Vukcevic underwent surgery immediately and was placed in an artificial coma,” sporting director Andreas Mueller said in a statement, adding that the 22-year-old’s condition was “critical” and his “recovery unpredictable.”
“We’re all very shocked by the news. Our thoughts are with Boris and his family,” he added.
Local police said that the accident occurred early in the afternoon near Bammental when, for an unknown reason, a car crossed into the lane of oncoming traffic and was hit by a truck coming in the opposite direction.
The driver was airlifted to hospital in Heidelberg, while the truck driver only suffered minor injuries.
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