Naldo screamer seals Schalke win over rivals Dortmund

A 30-metre rocket from Naldo fired Schalke 04 to a 2-0 victory over arch rivals Borussia Dortmund on Sunday and strengthened their grip on second place in the Bundesliga. Naldo’s superb strike sent the blue half of the Ruhr region into raptures as Schalke recorded their first win over Dortmund since September 2014. The Brazilian, who scored a last-minute equaliser in Schalke’s dramatic 4-4 draw with Dortmund earlier in the season, was the hero again on Sunday, as he secured three points for his side late in the second half. Always a fiercely contested derby, there was even more at stake than usual in Sunday’s game, with just one point separating second-placed Schalke from third-placed Dortmund before kick-off. Victory saw Schalke pull four points clear of third place, while Dortmund drop to fourth. Schalke came close after just five minutes, Dortmund goalkeeper Roman Burki diving at full stretch to turn Alessandro Schoepf’s shot around the post.

Domenico Tedesco, 32 years old, first season coaching in the top flight, has degrees in business engineering and innovation management. Just beat Dortmund and has Schalke in 2nd in the #Bundesliga. What a story! pic.twitter.com/bNHWbs5TNm

— Cristian Nyari (@Cnyari) April 15, 2018

At the other end, Marco Reus forced a flying save from Ralf Faehrmann as his long range free-kick fizzed towards the top corner. The home side had the better of the first half, however, and could have taken the lead on the stroke of half-time when Yevhen Konoplyanka curled a low shot around the far post. Konoplyanka had better luck five minutes after the break as he fired Schalke in front. Set free by Daniel Caligiuri on the counter-attack, the Ukrainian smashed a powerful shot past Burki to give his side a well deserved lead. Dortmund rallied in the last 20 minutes, with chances falling to Christian Pulisic and Reus. Yet with eight minutes to play, Schalke were awarded a free-kick around 30 metres from goal. Caligiuri rolled the ball to Naldo, who blasted it into the bottom corner to secure victory.

What a shot by Naldo!! 76 mph... sheesh pic.twitter.com/sVviPvoHAX

— Jack Carda (@CardaJack) April 15, 2018

Dortmund’s misery was compounded in stoppage time, when striker Michy Batshuayi was carried off on a stretcher after clashing with Benjamin Stambouli.

Michy Batshuayi was carried off on a stretcher in Borussia Dortmund's defeat by Schalke. ? https://t.co/cfjRrRAoIE pic.twitter.com/bWzF4ywF5y

— BBC Sport (@BBCSport) April 15, 2018

Michu Batshuayi will return to Chelsea from Dortmund after the striker broke his leg today against Schalke.

— Mootaz Chehade (@MHChehade) April 15, 2018

In Sunday's other game, Ademola Lookman's second-half equaliser rescued a point for RB Leipzig, as they drew 1-1 with Werder Bremen to keep their Champions League hopes alive. Bremen looked the more dangerous side in the first half and they took the lead on 28 minutes. Max Kruse's curling shot struck the bar, and Niklas Moisander scuffed the ball in on the rebound. The hosts could have doubled their lead 10 minutes later, as Milot Rashica and Zlatko Junuzovic forced two saves in quick succession from Leipzig goalkeeper Peter Gulacsi. With Leipzig looking beaten at half-time, Ralph Hasenhuettl brought on Lookman, who promptly equalised. Winding his way through the Bremen back line, the young Englishman whipped a fierce shot past Jiri Pavlenka to level the scores. The goal brought the game to life in the second half, and both Bremen’s Moisander and Leipzig’s Timo Werner missed golden opportunities to net a winner in the dying minutes. The draw leaves Leipzig in fifth, four points adrift of the top four.RESULTS:Schalke 2 (Konoplyanka 50, Naldo 82) Borussia Dortmund 0Werder Bremen 1 (Moisander 28) RB Leipzig 1 (Lookman 50)   Played SaturdayHoffenheim 2 (Gnabry 18, Szalai 27) Hamburg 0Hertha Berlin 2 (Selke 49, 52) Cologne 1 (Bittencourt 29)Bayer Leverkusen 4 (Brandt 20, Volland 71, 77, 88) Eintracht Frankfurt 1 (Fabian 23)Stuttgart 1 (Thommy 53) Hanover 1 (Fuellkrug 90+1)Bayern Munich 5 (Wagner 37, 41, Thiago 51, Alaba 67, Lewandowski 82) Borussia Moenchengladbach 1 (Drmic 9)POINTS TABLE:(played, won, drawn, lost, goals for, goals against, points):Bayern Munich 30 24 3 3 81 22 75 -- championsSchalke 04 30 16 7 7 47 33 55Bayer Leverkusen 30 14 9 7 55 37 51Borussia Dortmund 30 14 9 7 57 41 51RB Leipzig 30 13 8 9 45 42 47Hoffenheim 30 12 10 8 55 42 46Eintracht Frankfurt 30 13 7 10 41 37 46Bor. Moenchengladbach 30 11 7 12 39 48 40Hertha Berlin 30 9 12 9 35 35 39VfB Stuttgart 30 11 6 13 27 35 39Augsburg 30 9 10 11 38 40 37Werder Bremen 30 9 10 11 34 36 37Hanover 96 30 9 9 12 38 44 36VfL Wolfsburg 30 5 15 10 30 37 30Freiburg 29 6 12 11 26 48 30Mainz 05 29 6 9 14 30 47 27Hamburg 30 5 7 18 23 48 22Cologne 30 5 6 19 29 58 21