Berlin: Julian Draxler struck late in the game to give Schalke 04 a 1-0 win at fading Borussia Moenchengladbach on Friday, boosting their hopes of qualifying for the Champions League next season.
The winning goal came after Schalke goalkeeper Timo Hildebrand rolled the ball to a defender and they broke quickly down the left hand side.
An exchange of passes ended with Raffael slipping the ball between three defenders for Draxler, 19, to fire past Marc-Andre Ter Stegen for his ninth goal of the league season.
The result left Schalke fourth in the Champions League play-off spot with 52 points from 32 games, four behind third-placed Bayer Leverkusen and six ahead of Eintracht Frankfurt in fifth.
“It’s not over yet, we still have two very difficult games to go,” Schalke 04 coach Jens Keller said.
“A draw might have been a fairer result but we were lucky enough to get a late goal, the two teams cancelled each other out.”
Seventh-placed Gladbach, who have managed only seven goals in their last 11 league games, twice hit the woodwork early in the second half.
Granit Xhaka curled one effort against the crossbar and midfielder Juan Arango hit the foot of the post.
