Schalke lose 2-0 to Hertha BSC

Debut for Rudy

Sebastian Rudy made his debut for S04, just days after signing from FC Bayern München. The German international replaced Suat Serdar in the starting XI, with Nabil Bentaleb, Yehven Konoplyanka and Breel Embolo also coming in for Amine Harit, Guido Burgstaller and Matija Nastasic, the latter being suspended.

Caligiuri misses a penalty, Duda scores for Hertha

Schalke started well in the game and were on top for the initial stages. However when the hosts finally got a golden chance, they failed to take it. Daniel Caligiuri missed a penalty in the 13th minute, putting it past the post after Marko Grujic had been penalised for a handball (given after intervention from the video assistant). Less than two minutes later Hertha were then celebrating again, as Ondrej Duda gave Hertha the lead, expertly finishing after Javairo Dilrosun’s pass, albeit with a deflection from Salif Sané.

Schalke then had to regroup after the somewhat undeserved lead for the side from the capital. On the 28th minute, Yehven Konoplyanka had the next chance for S04, with his bending shot only denied by an excellent Niklas Stark header. Breel Embolo then had a header well saved from the resulting corner, with Schalke getting ever closer to the equaliser. Hertha reacted to this, and Salomon Kalou had a fine chance for 2-0, narrowly missing the far post. Just before the half-time whistle there was a penalty appeal for S04, after Breel Embolo went over in the box after contact from Maximilian Mittelstädt. Referee Sascha Stegemann judged the tackle to not be worthy of a penalty, and received no instructions from the video assistant to check the scene either.

Hertha complete victory in added time

After the break, Schalke struggled to make an impact on the game, with a lack of precision going forward evident in their play. Hertha’s well-organised defence were also able to defend the usually highly-effective Schalke set-pieces. Away keeper Rune Jarstein was rarely called into action, with a distinct lack of shots coming in the second period.

Schalke were only able to come alive again in the last ten minutes of the match, with the hosts carving out two chances which very nearly resulted in an equaliser. Guido Burgstaller and then Mark Uth were both denied by Jarstein, the latter’s attempt being the closest Schalke would come to scoring. In the sixth minute of injury time, Hertha’s counter-attacking game paid off, with Dennis Jastrzembski breaking free into the Schalke half, before being brought down by the last man Yevhen Konoplyanka, who subsequently saw the red card. Ondrej Duda took the resulting free-kick and left Fährmann with no chance to seal Hertha’s first win at Schalke in 14 years.

International break before heading to Borussia-Park

The fans will have to be patient, with the next game coming after an international break in Mönchengladbach (15th September, 18:30 CEST). A number of Schalke players will also be on international duty, while the rest will remain training ahead of that next Bundesliga encounter.