Overview

• Moussa Sylla broke the deadlock in the 16th minute before Nikola Katic headed in a second goal seven minutes later.
• Schalke’s aggressive pressing from the first whistle disrupted Hertha’s build-up play and limited the visitors to few clear chances.
• Coach Miron Muslic said he was “very, very proud” of his squad after a performance that showed renewed intensity and belief.
• A crowd of 62,083 watched Schalke dominate early on, underlining strong fan support for the club’s push to return to the Bundesliga.
• Despite a late yellow-red card for Katic and Sebastian Grönning’s 89th-minute strike, Schalke held on to hand Hertha an early setback in their promotion bid.