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| Marius Bulter of Schalke scores his teams fourth goal during the Bundesliga match between FC Schalke 04 and Hertha BSC at Veltins-Arena on April 14, 2023 in Gelsenkirchen, Germany. |
Schalke have pushed Hertha Berlin to the bottom of the Bundesliga table after handing out a 5-2 beating to the capital club.
The hosts made a perfect start as Tim Starke curled a beauty into the top corner in the third minute on Friday.
He then acted as provider for Marius Bulter, who nodded home from close range to double Schalke’s lead in the 14th minute.
Hertha pulled one back shortly before half-time with Stevan Jovetic firing a stunner into the net, but Schalke came back with a quick response early in the second half thanks to Simon Terodde.
Bulter completed his brace in the 78th before Marco Richter scored a second for Hertha in the 84th.
But any possible drama was avoided after Marcin Kaminski whipped a free-kick over the wall to seal the win in stoppage time.
“We clearly had better control of the game, lots of possession in midfield. We knew we could score the goals because we worked hard for it,” Bulter told broadcasters DAZN.
“We have a lot of confidence (going into the upcoming weeks) but knowing that we still haven’t reached our goal,” he added.
Forward Kenan Karaman said “it was a very, very important game for us. After two defeats, it was important for our fans to get a win here.”
Schalke are now 16th, in the relegation play-off spot with 24 points, while Hertha are last, two points behind.
Hertha sporting director Benjamin Weber was “extremely disappointed” with his team’s performance and said the first three Schalke goals came from individual mistakes.
“The meaning of this game was clear to us, everyone was prepared for the situation. Of course it’s difficult when you concede a goal early but we never got into the game. We made too many mistakes,” he said.
Asked if coach Sandro Schwarz will still be in charge of the team in the next game against Werder Bremen, Weber stressed it was the “wrong moment” to talk about the topic.
Leaders Bayern Munich host Hoffenheim on Saturday and second-placed Borussia Dortmund visit VfB Stuttgart.