Former Norwich City loanee Ralf Fahrmann was on the receiving end of a 8-0 loss on his return to the Schalke starting line-up.
The German shot-stopper conceded eight goals as David Wagner’s men were thrashed by the Bundesliga and Champions League winners Bayern Munich on the opening night of the German top-flight.
Fahrmann’s last game for the club arrived in Europe - with the 31-year-old between the sticks as Manchester City beat Schalke 7-0 in March 2019. He has made 235 appearances for the club.
The goalkeeper was replaced by Alexander Nubel in the side and lost his position in the team, prompting him to move to Carrow Road in 2019 in search of regular first-team football.
His arrival in Norfolk brought the best out of City goalkeeper Tim Krul - and Fahrmann struggled to nail down a consistent starting berth in the Premier League for the Canaries.
His only appearance in the league arrived in City’s 2-0 defeat to Crystal Palace, with Fahrmann replaced by Michael McGovern after 22 minutes due to injury.
His spell with City was cut short and he joined Norwegian side SK Brann, only to fail to make a single appearance due to the suspension of football owed to the coronavirus pandemic.
A Serge Gnabry hat-trick and goals from Thomas Muller, Robert Lewandowski, Leroy Sane, Leon Goretzka and 17-year-old England Under-17 international Jamal Musiala helped pile the misery onto Wagner’s men.
Reflecting on his loan spell with City, Fahrmann told transfermarkt.de in April: “There’s no question that it didn’t go perfectly (laughs),” he said. “Last summer, the situation was for me that Schalke absolutely wanted to extend the contract with Alex Nubel. I knew there would be no chance for me.
“I agreed with Schalke to borrow for a year so that I could gain as much experience as possible in the Premier League. The idea sounded great, but unfortunately I wasn’t really happy at Norwich.
“The constellation there simply wasn’t right for me.
“There were many things that weren’t so rosy. So it was clear to me: Okay, I’ll be back in the summer, especially since I’ve still had a three-year contract with Schalke.
“In England everything is not as tactical as in Germany. It looks less at the opponent and more at your own game. And I got to know a different mentality and culture and how the English tick.”
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