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If S04 does not win against Hoffenheim on the next round, the club has set the negative record for Tasmania Berlin. Tasmania had not won 31 matches in a row in 1965/1966.
To save Schalke from this mark, the club had introduced the fourth manager of the current season at the end of the year: Gross, 66, began to keep the Royal Blues in the league. There were two signs against Hertha: how Gross wants to approach the rescue. And that it will be very difficult to reach them.
Gross relied on a rather cautiously lined 4-4-2 formation, his Schalke players leaving most of the game to the Berliners and even stalking counterattacks. So that was not a completely different approach than their predecessors David Wagner or Manuel Baum, who had played similarly. After all, it worked very well in Berlin at least once.
After a safe shot from Hertha’s Vladimír Darida, Schalke goalkeeper Ralf Fährmann quickly threw the ball towards Amine Harit; used Mark Uth with a remarkable pass, but striker Uth missed the possible lead from the right half (28th minute).
It would not have been a total surprise, Schalke seemed more confident than in previous league games, and defensively gave Hertha few chances. But one of them was sitting down and that changed the game.
After a throw-in, a shot from Matheus Cunha was blocked, the rebound landed on Mattéo Guendouzi and the Hertha midfielder threw the ball from about 15 meters into the far corner (36).
Before this 1-0 win, Dodi Lukébakio missed because of Schalke goalkeeper Fährmann (22nd minute), and the hosts had not developed much clearer opportunities. With the 1-0 but the party inclined in favor of the Berliners.
Even after the 0-2, Schalke continues to play waiting
In the minutes after the advantage, but especially after the break, Hertha was much closer to a second goal than Schalke to equalize, the 2-0 through Jhon Córdoba was logical: Suat Serdar lost the ball in the midfield, seconds later Darida played in front of Schalke’s goal. He crossed the ball and found forward Córdoba (52nd).
Even now, Schalke played with a wait-and-see attitude, always waiting for the ball to be won. Which made it easier for the now cautious Berliners to control the game. The 3: 0 of the substitute Krzysztof Piatek (79th) was the consequence, the goal was prepared by a pass from the strong Darida. In the end, Schalke had around 38 percent possession and a shot-on-goal ratio of 10:20.
In the table, Schalke remains last with four points from 14 games, Hertha is twelfth with 16 points.
