Schalke grind out 1-0 win against Hertha

The Royal Blues sealed a third consecutive Bundesliga win on Saturday (3.3) afternoon. It took just one goal for FC Schalke 04 to ensure all three points stayed in Gelsenkirchen against Hertha BSC – Marko Pjaca bagging the winner in the 37th minute.

Bundesliga

03.03.18, 17:34

Three changes for Tedesco

Head coach Domenico Tedesco made three changes to the team that beat Bayer Leverkusen 2-0 last weekend. Suspended Gudio Burgstaller was replaced by Marko Pjaca, while Benjamin Stambouli and Nabil Bentaleb came in for the unavailable Thilo Kehrer (ill) and Leon Goretzka (foot).

Strong start, well-worked goal

The Royal Blues started the match well, putting the visitors under pressure right from the off. Marko Pjaca and Franco Di Santo both forced good saves from Rune Jarstein in the Hertha goal. But Hertha slowly worked their way into the match, testing Ralf Fährmann three times between the 10th and 15th minute. But the Schalke number parried well to keep the Berlin side at bay. Hertha slowly dropped back into their own half, keeping things tight and looking to break on the counter. Then, seemingly out of nowhere, the breakthrough came for Tedesco’s men. A composed Daniel Caligiuri delivered a low cross from the right-hand side, Franco Di Santo met the ball with the slightest of flicks to tee up Marko Pjaca, who needed no invitation to slot the ball cleanly passed a helpless Jarstein.

Defence holds firm to see out victory

The second half was an even encounter, as both sides cancelled out each other’s threat. Hertha arguably had the better of possession and chances, with Schalke rarely looking likely to score a second, but Naldo, Nastasic and Co. held firm to deny the visitors an equaliser. In the end, it was a hard-fought victory for Schalke which carries them up to second place in the Bundesliga. Next up for the Royal Blues is a trip south of the Rhine to face relegation strugglers 1. FSV Mainz 05 on Friday (9.3) evening at 20:30 CET.

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