Players of Schalke 04 and Mainz 05 in action during the Bundesliga match in Gelsenkirchen, Germany, March 5, 2021. /CFP
Bundesliga basement club Schalke 04 drew 0-0 at home to Mainz 05 in their relegation derby on Friday in coach Dimitris Grammozis' debut on the Royal Blues' bench.
The Greek took over this week following the sacking of Christian Gross and became Schalke's fifth coach this season with the team anchored in last place.
The draw leaves Schalke on 10 points, with Mainz in 16th – the relegation playoff spot – level on 18 points with second-bottom Arminia Bielefeld, who host Union Berlin on Sunday.
Schalke, who had to make do without midfielder Amine Harit after his injury during the warm-up, came close to scoring after 18 minutes with a Shkodran Mustafi header.
Although Mainz had to wait until the 38th minute for their first chance through Leandro Barreiro, the visitors gradually took control of the game and had several efforts on goal in the closing stages of the first half.
Schalke were on the back foot after the break once more and Danish goalkeeper Riis Ronnow was kept busy with his team doing very little in terms of attacking.
Goncalo Guedes of Valencia (R) scores the winning goal during the La Liga match against Villarreal in Valencia, Spain, March 5, 2021. /CFP
In Spain, Valencia scored twice in the last five minutes through Carlos Soler and Goncalo Guedes to beat visiting neighbours Villarreal 2-1 in La Liga and claim a much-needed three points for under-pressure coach Javi Gracia.
It seemed that Gerard Moreno's first-half penalty would be enough to secure the points, but Valencia's late show means it is now eight league games without a win for Unai Emery's side.
Soler equalised with a spot kick four minutes from time after Maxi Gomez was felled in the box before substitute Guedes rifled home the winner in stoppage time.
The victory lifts Valencia to 11th on 30 points from 26 games, while Villarreal remain seventh with 37.