Dzeko repays jubilant welcome with goal on Schalke debut

GELSENKIRCHEN, Germany (AP) — Edin Dzeko scored minutes after going on for his Schalke debut to help the team snatch a 2-2 draw with Kaiserslautern in Germany's second division on Sunday.

The 39-year-old Dzeko, who joined Schalke in a surprise transfer from Italian team Fiorentina on Thursday, looked like being upstaged by another substitute, Ivan Prtajin, who scored twice after going on in the 61st for Kaiserslautern. Prtajin scored with his first touch – a header from a free kick – then made it 2-0 in the 84th on a counterattack.

But Dzeko, who made his hugely anticipated entrance in the 67th, pulled one back with three minutes of normal time remaining and Kenan Karaman got the equalizer in the last minute.

Kaiserslautern coach Thorsten Lieberknecht berated his players on the field for letting their lead slip. The Red Devils dropped to sixth in the 18-team division.

It was Schalke's second consecutive draw, but the team remained top, two points ahead of Darmstadt after 19 rounds.

More than 1,000 Schalke fans turned up to see Dzeko train on Friday, when he also signed autographs and posed for selfies.

Dzeko, who will be 40 in March, became a star at Wolfsburg where he helped the team to the Bundesliga title in 2010. He also won titles with Manchester City (2012, 2014) and Inter Milan (2022, 2023).

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