Schalke 04 lost 2-1 away to TSG Hoffenheim on Sunday, marking the club’s third defeat in the league.
Loris Karius experienced a match to forget in goal, culminating in a catastrophic blackout before the opening goal when he played a backpass from Soufiane El-Faouzi directly into the right foot of Fisnik Asllani, sending the ball looping over the goalkeeper and into the net.
Karius also looked insecure during a long-range shot by Asllani immediately after the restart, which resulted in a heavy collision with teammate Robin Gosens. Karius was subsequently substituted due to a head injury and received the lowest individual rating of a 6.
Gosens had fallen to his knees earlier in the 35th minute after referee Tobias Stieler whistled a free-kick against him, and the player later had to leave the field injured with a bandaged knee following the collision with Karius, earning a rating of 4.5.
Among the rest of the squad, Adil Aouchiche emerged as the best Schalke player of the evening with a 2.5 rating, creating multiple major chances including a 57th-minute shot against the crossbar and a precise corner kick that led to a goal.
Other player ratings from the defeat included Mertcan Ayhan at 4, Nikola Katic at 5 after being easily beaten for the second goal, Hasan Kurucay at 4, Satoshi Tanaka at 4.5, Soufiane El-Faouzi at 4.5 for covering a team-high 13.1 kilometers, Dejan Ljubicic at 5, captain Kenan Karaman at 4.5, and Hee Chan Hwang at 5. Kevin Müller entered the match in the 51st minute as an unexpected replacement for the injured Karius.
Keep reading