It is three years since these sides last met on a bitter February Sunday afternoon, with the prospect for Union of a winnable, Europa League second leg against Ajax a few days away, and, with three points, the potential of leapfrogging Bayern to go top in the Bundesliga hanging in the air. Maybe inevitably, that game was goalless. Union were having the time of their lives, while their honoured, royal guests were on their way, slinking out of the back door of the league.

The clubs have a deeper past than that, of course; it was Schalke who beat Union in the DFB Pokal final 25 years ago, and as such there was an edge to the atmosphere at kick off. The floodlights were up, the tangerine sun having set gorgeously over the Wuhlheide. The Waldseite was draped in a huge red and white banner proclaiming its own name, lit up first by groups of flares at the flanks, then twinkling single ones in red across the stand; this felt important.  

After the final whistle, Schalke coach, Miron Muslic, called it an “an unimaginably cool” setting.

Union started out fast. Leopold Querfeld winning a header, then lashing the rebound at a prone defender; Emmanuel Latte Lath darted across goal, diagonally from the left; Michel Aebischer won possession up the right. At the back, Felix Uduokhai tackled Satoshi Tanaka from behind with both a certain grace and a calculated toughness, all perfectly legal, of course. Latte Lath caught the same player shortly afterwards; this time the free kick was called.

Kenan Karaman had the first shot on goal of the game, driving over the Union bar when allowed a little too much time to advance. Dejan Ljubičić would be denied by Rothe, just as he shaped to shoot having cut inside.

But Union were threatening with their pace on the break, first as Rothe and Latte Lath combined on the left, then as Aebischer was found by Jeong on the right. Timo Becker did well to shepherd Latte Lath away, conceding only a throw-in after 13 minutes. Querfeld’s one-bounce, hip height volley from it crashed away for a corner.

Schalke had the better chances though, and Frederik Rönnow saved from Aouchiche on 20 minutes, full stretch, shaped like a shark breaching the water, tipping his rising shot over the bar. And few would have been surprised that when they took the lead, it was through the former Unioner, Robin Gosens. All alone, and with the ball careering towards the back post, he kept his head up, and planted a volley down and across goal, with his right foot. It was a fine finish; his head finally dropped, as he shunned the chance of a celebration in front of the Waldseite.

Union’s first shot on target came just afterwards, as Latte Lath poked one, somehow, past his marker with minimum backlift. That other former Unioner, Loris Karius, however, was too well placed to have any trouble with it. Gosens would be involved again, though at the other end, when he looked to have pushed Jeong in the back inside the box. Referee, Timo Gerach, didn’t so much as give it a second thought.

Rothe cleared off the line after Aouchiche burst through, leaving the Union back-line in tatters. But having beaten Rönnow, he didn’t put enough on his shot and Union’s full back thrashed it away in time. Adamu was crowded out when he tried to bring the ball under his spell, just six yards out from Union’s right-hand post.

Union countered; first Latte Lath’s cross fell just behind Aebischer, whose improvised back-heel fell into space, then Karius held Juranović’s 25 yarder.

There was intent there, and it would lead to endeavour, even if Union would too often miss the final product. When Jeong went down hurt and play carried on the whistles from the crowd were clear. But as soon as play stopped, Rönnow ran up to the now-rising player, to check him, give him a pat, then tell him to hurry up. They were probing, too, though Rothe and Khedira, Burcu and Latte Lath. Aebischer crossed from the left but bent it into Karius’s hands.

Khedira clipped a cross into the box, but Latte Lath missed it by about an inch. The break came promptly. The hosts still had work to do.

For the first time since his arrival, Lustrinelli changed things at half time, bringing on Andras Schäfer and Marin Ljubičić for Kemlein and Burcu, who had been holding his foot gingerly towards the end of the first half.

Schalke would have the ball in the net almost immediately, as Aouchiche lashed his shot high and in off the underside of the bar, but the flag went up immediately. Offside was called; the world continued on its axis. But then came the call in the ref’s ear, it was being checked. As soon as Gerach made the box symbol representing a TV everyone knew immediately what it went. The Unioner fell momentarily still, the Schalker, revelling in their return to the top-flight, exploded. Lustrinelli said he couldn’t really believe it. In the break he said he could see how focussed his players were.

But it was 2-0 for the guests, and they piled on the pressure, only Rönnow knee standing between Junior Ebimbe and Schalke’s third.

But Union - bristling with indignation, with the volume of the crowd behind them - roused themselves. First Jeong’s shot was blocked in the crowd ahead of him, then Schäfer’s follow-up was stopped by Karius. Querfeld then flashed his header over after a lovely piece of skill, then a wicked cross from Jeong on the right. There were howls and whistles of derision when Becker brought down Aebischer on the edge of the box, only for Gerach to indicate that he had got the ball.

But then, amazingly, just as it had against Eintracht, play stopped as the referee pulled up, injured. All that momentum, all that visceral energy just drifted away as the players kept warm and milled about and kicked the occasional ball to an occasional teammate.

It took an age. And when play finally restarted, a new man in the middle, tempers were starting to fray. Gosens caught Jeong, then Ebimbe was very late on Khedira, causing the Union captain to have a word back, a murderous look on his face. Ljubičić was booked for a foul on Tanaka, accepting his card without argument.

Union weren’t done. Karius was again called into action, springing low to his right to stop Rothe’s volley. Jeong drove over just as the board went up for Tim Skarke to replace Latte Lathe. He made an even better stop from Aebischer’s first time, edge of the box shot that seemed to be heading underneath the bar but then could only watch on as Jeong smashed his volley high and wide. His next came from another neat bit of play from Aebischer, though this too went over. Juranović and Aebischer both saw Schalke players throw themselves at their shots like cartoon soldiers onto grenades. It was Aebischer’s last attempt, replaced by Janik Heberer with five minutes of normal time remaining.

For a moment it seemed that Union still had a chance as Skarke hit the back post, the ball rolling onto it in slow motion. With 12 minutes added on already running out, Lustrinelli made his final throw of the dice, taking off Jeong and replacing him with Robert Skov, making his first appearance since halfway through last season.

Then with six minutes played, implausibly, Skarke pulled Union back into the game after Querfeld had launched another one into the box. They couldn’t do it again, surely? Belief surged through the stadium. Muslic was effusive in his praise of the way Union fought back, mentioning Braunschweig and Frankfurt.

Skov came as close as one could drawing a fine, sprawling, last-gasp stop from Karius. Rothe nodded Skov’s cross over. But it wasn’t to be. As chaos took over in midfield, with tackles being launched into like there were prizes for them on offer, Schalke broke a final time. Maximilian Wöber finished to make it 3-1 with the last kick of the game.