9 games. 2 wins. Enough said.

In-form Schalke nipped all 3 points in Stuttgart with a 2-1 victory over Die not-so-mighty Schwaben. Despite Stuttgart’s best efforts they find themselves coming away with nothing and tied with 3 other teams for relegation zone status…yikes.

It seems Babbel’s grand shuffle of the starting XI wasn’t the right concoction this time around either. Six changes were made from the side that bowed out humbly to Werder 2-0 before international break. While it was nice to see Hleb and Ludo back and healthy it was hardly a consolation prize. Seeing as hardly anyone has been playing well as of late it’s hard to criticize Babbel’s changes and shuffle too much, but I will say I would’ve like to see Schieber starting rather than coming on late, especially after seeing him create the only goal of the match for Stuttgart. He’s been the only guy who’s looked consistently decent for any stretch of time and I don’t know why he wasn’t out there. I suppose one could argue the strains of international duty, but it is early in the year and he’s got young, spry legs. Use them!

Schalke’s first goal was deplorable. Blame the rain or whatever you want, but irregardless Celozzi has to put in a better effort in clearing that ball. Weak effort = easy goal for Rakitic. There’s really no point in venting anymore about the defensive lapses that have become a bit too frequent. Give credit to Stuttgart for fighting back and leveling. Could’ve been earlier on in the second half if Kuzmanovic had any sort of touch, but I digress. The 2nd goal by Kuranyi was just a decent through ball by Rafinha to beat the offside trap.

So here we are friends. Certainly a low point for Stuttgart; hopefully the nadir of the season. It would go a LONG way in starting the road to recovery if Stuttgart were able to gain a positive result from this upcoming midweek clash home to Sevilla. One of the hottest teams in the land right now, it would be a HUGE confidence booster and statement to come out victorious. But, we shall save match previews and CL thoughts for another day. Until then, check out the goal highlights from the match below. I have to apologize, it’s the only link I could find. I’d probably mute it.

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