Schalke silence Dortmund demons

A change of formation brought devastating results as FC Schalke 04 won 4-1 against local rivals BV Borussia Dortmund to avenge a key defeat last season.

Emphatic win
Having started the season in a 4-5-1 formation, earning a 2-2 away draw against champions VfB Stuttgart, Schalke coach Mirko Slomka switched to a 4-4-2 for the Ruhr derby on Saturday and earned a dramatic victory with Marcelo Bordon, Christian Pander, Gerald Asamoah and Kevin Kuranyi finding the target in Gelsenkirchen. Nelson Valdez provided Dortmund's only response.

Set-piece specialists
"We practiced this system for a short but intense spell this week and have played it very well," said Slomka. "We won a lot of challenges and of course dead balls are a special quality of ours," he added, referring to Bordon's headed opener from a Pander set-piece and the direct free-kick converted by the latter that doubled Schalke's advantage in the first half.

Pander thrilled
Pander's superb performance followed his call-up to the Germany squad for Wednesday's friendly game against England at Wembley. "Given my injury problems in the past I am especially happy about being called up," said the defender. "It is not so important whether I get to play - it will be a whole new experience." Slomka added: "His free-kick was very, very good. I am especially happy for him since he has been at Schalke so long so a win against Dortmund means even more to him than to the rest of us."

Defeat avenged
A defeat against Dortmund in the penultimate league game of last season cost Schalke the title, giving Saturday's victory an added edge. "After the last meeting we didn't really like some of the Dortmund players' reactions," said Kuranyi. "I think we have given the right answer on the pitch." General manager Andreas Müller added: "This win doesn't bring back the lost title but it's a little balm to the soul."

Dortmund glum
There was little comfort for Dortmund, however, who also lost their opening game of the season 3-1 at home against MSV Duisburg. "We started out OK but that's the only good thing about today," said coach Thomas Doll. "Everything after that was not good enough to win a derby. We have now conceded seven goals in two matches - that's simply too many. We have to get to the bottom of it now."