FC Schalke 04 was unlucky in game one after the dismissal of Frank Kramer and lost the sixth game in a row in the 1-2 (0-0) at Hertha BSC on Sunday (October 23, 2022) in the Bundesliga.
Lucas Tousart (49th minute) put the Berliners ahead with a long-range shot. In the closing stages, Florent Mollet (85′) equalized before Wilfried Kanga (88′) ensured Berlin’s victory.
Schalke is now bottom of the table, for Hertha BSC it was the first home win of the season. “It was important for us to get this home win,” said Hertha coach Sandro Schwarz. “We’re happy that we came back like this after the 1-1 draw.”
Schalke’s goal denied
The game started energetically: Kanga (2nd/5th) appeared twice dangerously in front of the S04 box, on the other side Dominick Drexler only hit the side netting (4th).
Schalke were unlucky afterwards: First, a volley worth seeing by Bülter (15′) was rightly disallowed for offside, then the second Schalke goal after a previous foul was not recognized (21′).
“We showed our true colors, especially in the first half. Then we scored two goals, which are corrected to be taken back. That also fits into the overall picture,” said Schalke interim coach Matthias Kreutzer.
After that, the game flattened out: the home side had a little more possession without becoming dangerous – the guests didn’t really come into their own offensively either. With no real chance to score, both teams cheated towards the break, both the Herthaners and the “Knappen” lacked accuracy and the move to the goal in the last third.
Kanga counters late equalizer
The second half started with a bang: Tousart shot from 25 meters and, with the kind help of S04 goalkeeper Alexander Schwolow, the ball landed in the net. Schalke looked shocked, playing far too imprecisely forward. Hertha’s efforts to score a second goal weren’t any more purposeful either. In the middle of the second round, both teams hardly got a pass from their own man.
Substitute Marco Richter at least made sure of a goal again (70th). There was hardly anything to be seen from Schalke offensively, the Bundesliga promoted seemed unimaginative and creative despite the deficit.
But then Mollet heralded an exciting final phase with the equalizer out of nowhere: Because almost in return, Hertha took the lead again after a pass to Kanga. S04 never recovered from this.
Hertha opens against Bremen
At the start of the 12th matchday of the Bundesliga, Hertha BSC is challenged in Bremen on the Weser (Friday, October 28th, 2022 at 8:30 p.m.). Two days later, Schalke welcomes SC Freiburg (5.30 p.m.).
