Borussia Dortmund v Schalke: Bundesliga returns – live!
16-May-2020 13:08:24 | The Guardian
♫♯♪ “It was
20
19 years ago today ... ♫♪♫ It’s the anniversary of another notable match at the Westfalenstadion. Here’s how Sid Lowe saw the wild and wonderful 2001 Uefa Cup final at the time. Another nine-goal thriller today? Yes please, everyone.
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Giovanni Reyna, son of former Rangers, Sunderland and Manchester City midfielder Claudio, makes his first start for Dortmund. Thomas Delaney returns, while Jadon Sancho is left on the bench. Axel Witsel, Marco Reus, Emre Can, Nico Schulz and Dan-Axel Zagadou all miss out due to injury.
Schalke welcome back Salif Sane, who makes his first appearance since injuring his knee last November. Jonjoe Kenny, on loan from Everton, starts, as do the two loanees from Barcelona, Jean-Clair Todibo and Juan Miranda. Ozan Kabak and Benjamin Stambouli miss out.
BVB: Burki, Akanji, Hummels, Piszczek, Hakimi, Guerreiro, Delaney, Dahoud, Reyna, Brandt, Haaland.
Subs: Hitz, Sancho, Hazard, Schmelzer, Morey, Balerdi, Furich, Gotze, Raschl.
S04: Schubert, McKennie, Nastasic, Serdar, Raman, Caligiuri, Kenny, Todibo, Oczipka, Harit, Sane.
Subs: Nubel, Miranda, Gregoritsch, Matondo, Kutucu, Burgstaller, Schopf, Becker, Mercan.
Football’s back, baby! It’s back! Well, not in the UK, not yet. But over in Germany, the Bundesliga today becomes the first major division to get back up and running in the wake of the coronavirus crisis. And what a place to pick things up again: Borussia Dortmund versus Schalke! The Revierderby! The rumble in the Ruhr! The noise in North Rhine-Westphalia! The ... hey, let us shake off some MBM rust, will you, it’s been a while. You get the gist.
So about that rumble and noise ... BVB’s Westfalenstadion is arguably the most atmospheric ground in Europe, the Yellow Wall, all that. But not today. This game will be played behind closed doors, with only 213 people allowed in. That number takes in players, managers and staff, officials and ballboys, medical folk, camera operators and other assorted media types. There’ll be no handshakes, no team photos, no mascots. No cheering, no chanting. The rest of the 2019-20 Bundesliga season will be played out like this. Nine eerie games to go.
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