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Schalke go top as efficiency punishes Stuttgart's defensive slips
 SCHALKE 2
Edu 46, Kuranyi 55
 STUTTGART 1
Tasci 50
Schalke 04 propelled themselves to the top of the Bundesliga for at least 24 hours after efficiently and ruthlessly punishing defensive errors from Stuttgart at the beginning of a blistering second half.
Schalke had to win to spring above Bayern Munich by the solitary point, and in doing so put some added pressure on Louis van Gaal's side who meet Freiburg at the Allianz Arena on Saturday teatime. Felix Magath's Königsblauen had been gradually sneaking up behind Bayern and Bayer Leverkusen in recent weeks, with the top two teams stumbling, seemingly not wanting to take advantage of their rival's recent failings. But now Schalke have taken the opportunity to leapfrog their opponents as the season enters a crucial stage in the race for the Bundesliga crown. Schalke's next three games will be vital in deciding if Magath can win the title two years running - with two different teams - as they play Hamburg and Leverkusen away, followed by Bayern at home. If they play with their typical defensive efficiency and maintain their coolness in front of goal like they did in this game, then they have a magnificent chance to wrestle a little more of the initiative away from their fellow title candidates.
The first half at the Veltins-Arena on Friday night was a far from impressive one from a Schalke point of view, with Stuttgart, in electrifying form of late, doing the bulk of the attacking work. Left-back Cristian Molinaro was more than willing to link up with Alexander Hleb and Cacau on the left-hand side to force die Knappen to deal with some tricky situations. Schalke were clearly wary of the dangers Stuttgart possessed and wanted Joel Matip to guard the back four, but he struggled to cope with Sami Khedira and Zdravko Kuzmanovic in the middle of the park, who often influenced the play. Hence Magath's made the decision at the break to replace Matip with Alexander Baumjohann, as well as throw on Edu for Jefferson Farfan. The rewards were reaped eerily early on, with Edu capitalising on a shoddy attempted clearance by Serdar Tasci after just 48 seconds of the second period getting under way. Tasci made amends when he rose highest at the back post to nod in the equaliser just four minutes later, but Stuttgart's risky offside ploy from a free-kick backfired viciously shortly afterwards, leaving Heiko Westermann all the time in the world to square for Kevin Kuranyi to net his 14th goal of the campaign.
Schalke were, and are not the best of attacking forces, but their success is based on an outstanding defence that is the most efficient, quick and hardworking in the league, which is then complimented by attacking players who are equally efficient when presented with goalscoring opportunities. If they can keep their main men fit, they have a very real chance of grabbing glory, when, just a few weeks ago, not many were foreseeing a serious title challenge from the men from Gelsenkirchen.
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