Ailton's goal glee

Ailton has expressed delight at helping Schalke to their third straight win.

Ailton has expressed delight at helping Schalke to their third straight win under new coach Ralf Rangnick.

Despite scoring four goals in Europe, Ailton had been under some pressure to open his Bundesliga account this season and the controversial Brazilian was a relieved man after he scored the winner over Mainz in front of a sell-out 62,000 crowd.

"I had some problems here at Schalke where I missed four games after being sent off, but today we had a great game and I scored after a fine set-up by Lincoln. I donate this goal to my family and the whole team," smiled Ailton, who joined Schalke this summer after a highly-successful five-year spell at Werder Bremen.

Rangnick's team started in impressive fashion and playmaker Lincoln gave them the lead with a stunning strike, but Mainz equalised after the break thanks to an own goal from Marcolo Bordon before Ailton's effort on 69 minutes ensured that the three points remained at Schalke.

"We all know that Tony [Ailton] had his problems at Bremen too, especially in the beginning when he struggled to get along with the first two coaches and even in the end [coach Thomas] Schaaf had to have a lot of patience with him, but he pays it all back with his goals," declared Schalke coach Rangnick.

While Schalke rose to sixth, Mainz felt back to fifth, but coach Jurgen Klopp is confident that his team will strike back in midweek when they host Rostock.

"It was a deserved win for Schalke, but I am pleased that we were able to keep the game open for so long and I am sure that my team will show the right reaction on Wednesday," claimed Klopp.