Schalke 04 return to Bundesliga after claiming title with win over Fortuna Dusseldorf to seal promotion

Schalke sealed promotion with a 1-0 victory over Fortuna Dusseldorf on Saturday, with captain Kenan Karaman scoring the only goal of the game in the 15th minute.

Schalke spent the previous two campaigns in the second tier, but head coach Miron Muslic has led them back to the Bundesliga as title winners.

They have suffered from financial difficulties throughout the last few years, which contributed to relegation from the Bundesliga in 2021 and 2023.

Schalke were demoted to the second tier in 2021, their first relegation since 1988, with frustrated supporters attacking players and staff with eggs.

Thomas Reis brought them straight back to the Bundesliga the following season, but another relegation followed in the 2023/24 campaign.

The Royal Blues finished 14th last season, narrowly avoiding relegation to the third tier, but they have bounced back in style under Muslic.

Muslic has done an extraordinary job since moving to Gelsenkirchen, having worked as manager at Plymouth Argyle last season, joining in January and unable to save them from relegation to League One.

The January signing of veteran striker Edin Dzeko propelled Schalke closer to the title, with the former Manchester City striker hitting a rich vein of form in Germany.

Another big part of Schalke's success has been their resolute defence, with goalkeeper Loris Karius leading the division for clean sheets with 13 and the team as a whole conceding just 28 goals all season.

Ahead of Saturday's game, thousands of Schalke fans took to the streets and marched to the Veltins-Arena in an extraordinary show of support.

Before Saturday's game, Karaman described it as "my dream and my goal" to help Schalke return to the top-flight.

"When I signed my contract, I committed long-term because I had this exact vision - to play in the top division again with this club. It would mean a great deal to me.”

And the 32-year-old played a starring role in sealing promotion, scoring the decisive goal to send Schalke back up.

The victory over Dusseldorf extends Schalke's unbeaten run in the league to 12 games and means they are 10 points ahead of third-placed Hannover 96.

A return to the Bundesliga will mean Schalke will once again renew rivalries with long-time adversaries, Borussia Dortmund.

Schalke are one of the biggest clubs in Germany, boasting over 200,000 members, which is more than any other club apart from Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund.

They were one of the more dominant teams in the 1930s and 1940s, and were a founding member of the Bundesliga in 1963.

Some of their achievements include four German Cup titles and winning the 1997 UEFA Cup.

Schalke could be joined in the top flight by SC Paderborn, who currently sit second and in the final automatic promotion spot with 58 points.

However, Hannover are just a point behind Paderborn in third and SV Elversberg are in fourth on 56 points.

The team that finishes third in the 2. Bundesliga will face the team that finishes 16th in the Bundesliga in a relegation play-off.

Currently, the bottom three teams in the top flight are separated by three points, with St. Pauli in 16th place on 26 points, Wolfsburg in 17th on 25 and Heidenheim in 18th on 23.

The first leg of the relegation play-offs will take place on May 20 or 22 and the second leg on May 26 or 27.  

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