Second-half substitutes earn Schalke comeback win over Werder

In what could be a crucial win in the relegation race, Sepp van den Berg and Dominick Drexler came off the bench to lead Schalke 04 to a 2-1 comeback victory over Werder Bremen tonight.

Schalke 04 came from behind to beat Werder Bremen 2-1 at the Veltins-Arena thanks to late goals from substitutes Sepp van den Berg and Dominick Drexler.

Marvin Ducksch, who scored a hat-trick against Hertha BSC last week, struck again for Werder in the absence of top scorer Niclas Füllkrug to make it 1-0 in the 18th minute.

But as the game wore on, Schalke 04 pushed harder and harder for an equalizer and were finally rewarded for their efforts when Sepp van den Berg fired home in the 81st minute shortly after coming off the bench. It was the Dutch defender’s first appearance since suffering a long-term injury in October.

In stoppage time, Drexler sent the home crowd into a frenzy when he coolly slotted the ball past Jiri Pavlenka after expertly controlling Rodrigo Zalazar’s pass to make it a 2-1 Schalke victory.

The win moved 17th-placed Schalke five points clear of Hertha BSC, who play Bayern away tomorrow, and one point behind Bochum and Stuttgart. Werder are 12th.

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