RB Leipzig ended a run of five successive Bundesliga away defeats with a 2-0 win against struggling Schalke 04, who remain without a goal at the Veltins-Arena since returning to the top flight this summer.
Leipzig made the brighter start and briefly appeared to have taken the lead when Timo Becker turned the ball into his own net, although the effort was ruled out for offside. Schalke then grew into the contest and halted the visitors’ early momentum.
Junior Adamu was unable to apply the finishing touch to Kenan Karaman’s delivery, allowing Maarten Vandevoordt to collect. Leipzig responded when Antonio Nusa forced a good save from an in-form Loris Karius, with Romulo Cardoso heading over from the resulting phase of play.
The match settled into a quieter spell as Schalke adopted their familiar defensive shape, but Leipzig finally broke through after 37 minutes.
Satoshi Tanaka took too much time over a touch inside his own penalty area and caught Romulo as the Leipzig forward attempted to win possession. Referee Max Burda awarded a penalty, and Nusa made no mistake, sending the ball firmly into the bottom-left corner to give Martin Demichelis’ side a half-time lead.
Leipzig continued to control the game after the interval. Ezechiel Banzuzi went close on two occasions, with Karius producing an important one-on-one save to keep Schalke within reach.
The visitors missed further opportunities as the second half progressed, leaving the result uncertain for a time. Schalke introduced veteran striker Edin Dzeko in an attempt to change the game, but he had little time to influence proceedings.
Before the substitute could make an impact, Leipzig doubled their advantage on the counter-attack. Tidiam Gomis carried the move down the right and his pass was helped on by Nusa, allowing Romulo to guide the ball into the far corner.
The goal was Romulo’s first away from home since April and effectively settled the contest. Schalke have scored only four times this season, with three of those goals arriving in the same match, and they were unable to mount a response.
The victory brought Leipzig their first away points since April and moved them close behind the top two ahead of Der Klassiker later on Saturday.
Schalke’s return to such a competitive division was always expected to present a challenge, but Miron Muslic is likely to be given further time to improve the team provided they can begin scoring soon.
Nusa was named Flashscore Man of the Match.