Ghanaian duo Baba Abdul Rahman and Bernard Tekpetey were involved in Schalke O4's first preseason friendly on Thursday, after playing in the 3-3 draw with Southampton.
Baba Rahman- on-loan from Chelsea- started the game before he was substituted in the second half when they were down by 2 goals to one.
Meanwhile, in the second half compatriot Bernard Tekpetey was introduced into the game, when he came on for Franco Di Santo to help the Germans peg the English side to a 3-3 draw.
Schalke Coach Domenico Tedesco started with a line-up that combined both experience and youth, but included a first Schalke start for new signing Mark Uth.
Both sides set out to attack from the off in humid conditions near Shanghai, but it was the Royal Blues who struck first thanks to Yevhen Konoplyanka’s deflected effort.
Southampton had pushed but rarely looked like beating goalkeeper Ralf Fährmann until first-half injury time and Nathan Redmond’s strike from Charlie Austin’s flick.
Both sides sent out completely different teams for the second half as Tedesco and former Bayern Munich striker Mark Hughes looked to get minutes into their players’ legs. It meant Schalke debuts for midfielders Suat Serdar, Omar Mascarell and Steven Skrzybski.
It was former Mainz man Serdar who brought the game back to 2-2 after Harrison Reed’s early goal, curling the ball exquisitely beyond the reach of former England goalkeeper Fraser Forster.
The Saints took the lead again with 20 minutes remaining as Jake Hesketh’s shot deflected off Benjamin Stambouli and past the helpless Alexander Nübel, but another new face, Skrzybski, fired home a swerving effort late on to ensure Schalke start their pre-season undefeated as they gear up for a return to UEFA Champions League football.
The next match of their tour is on Wednesday against new partner club Hebei China Fortune.