FC Schalke 04 2-2 Borussia Dortmund: Key Takeaways

Borussia Dortmund faced FC Schalke 04 in the Revierderby this past weekend, with the game ending in a 2-2 draw at the Veltins Arena.

The Revierderby is notorious for being an emotionally charged and hotly contested affair in the Ruhr region of Germany, with the rivalry between Borussia Dortmund and Schalke 04 known for being the fiercest the country has to offer. This has been the case no matter each club’s form or standing in the league, and the latest iteration continued the tradition by producing a tense and heavily competitive atmosphere.

Borussia Dortmund, on their part, came into the game with an eight game win streak in the league and a further win over fellow Ruhr rivals VFL Bochum in the DFB-Pokal. Aside from the mid-week loss to Chelsea in the Champions League, BVB were high-flying and one of the most in-form teams in the league. Schalke, despite hovering within the reaches of Bundesliga’s relegation, were also one of the most in-form teams in the league, having just beaten Bochum in another derby the weekend before.

Both clubs came into the game very much primed to give their opponent a fight, but it was BVB who clearly sat in the driver’s seat for much of the 90 minutes. They created more chances, had more passes and dictated possession.

Despite the numerical supremacy however, they were unable to come away with a win in the end, which has now opened a two point gap between them and league leaders Bayern Munich.

Lets take a look at some of the key takeaways from this struggle between two age-old rivals, and what it means for the title race going forward.