Schalke makes a top start in the 2nd division

Schalke 04 has made a strong start to their 2. Bundesliga campaign. Under new coach Miron Muslic, they made a statement in their season opening match on Friday evening (August 1, 2025) against fellow promotion contenders Hertha BSC.

Moussa Sylla (16th minute) and Nikola Katic (23rd minute) scored both goals for Schalke in the 2-1 (2-0) victory. Schalke could have won the match by a much larger margin, but Hertha also tried hard but were weak in the final minutes. Sebastian Grønning (89th minute) only narrowed the gap to 1-2 shortly before the final whistle.

"It was an incredible atmosphere, and it was a fantastic game," said Schalke's Peter Remmert afterward. "We wanted to give something back to the fans; I still have goosebumps." Fabian Reese, a former Schalke player and now at Hertha, was annoyed: "We weren't there at all in the first half, and we made it far too easy for Schalke when we conceded goals."

His coach, Stefan Leitl, shared his view: "Unfortunately, we weren't on the pitch for the first twenty minutes. We weren't present. We let ourselves be a bit overwhelmed by Schalke's aggressiveness." His colleague, Muslic, on the other hand, celebrated the performance: "I liked the intensity my team brought to the pitch from the start."

From kickoff, the match was at full throttle, with the Royal Blues in particular starting off on fire. In the 13th minute, Hertha striker Dawid Kownacki was forced to clear Sylla's header on his own goal line. After a quarter of an hour, the home side's passion was rewarded: Remmert burst into the Hertha penalty area at high speed, easily outpacing Márton Dárdai before both stumbled. The Schalke fans loudly demanded a penalty, and Dárdai waved helplessly at referee Richard Hempel, who refused to blow his whistle. Remmert, on the other hand, remained alert, continued the play lying down, and made the decisive pass to Sylla, who slotted home with a well-considered finish.

Subsequently, the Berlin side also wanted to push forward, but apart from a header from Deyovaisio Zeefuik (20'), they barely managed to get into clear positions. Sylla (19') and Christopher Antwi-Adjei (23') with a free kick could have extended Schalke's lead, but Tjark Ernst was on the spot twice.

Seconds after his missed chance, Antwi-Adjei played a key role in forcing Ernst to reach behind him for a second time. Nikola Katic headed his corner into the far corner, while Hertha defender Toni Leistner just watched.

Schalke could have sealed the deal before halftime, but the outstanding Remmert was a bit too eager: Ernst clumsily deflected Adrian Gantenbein's fierce cross right to the feet of the 20-year-old, who had transferred from VfL Osnabrück's youth academy to Schalke's reserves last year. Remmert aimed to fire the ball under the bar, but shot well over. Zeefuik also took a slight deflection, but the corner wasn't awarded.

In the second half, Schalke largely switched to control mode, but in the 57th minute, they needed luck and a strong goalkeeper: Maurice Krattenmacher played the ball perfectly into the back of the net, but Reese was denied by Loris Karius's brilliant reaction. The linesman's flag was raised afterward, but the slow-motion replays showed it was more like "the same height"—a goal would likely have stood.

However, this scene didn't serve as a source of encouragement or a guide for Stefan Leitl's team. Although they had significantly more possession afterward, reaching a percentage of almost 60 percent at the final whistle, this pseudo-superiority resulted in almost no shots on goal: 7:15 was the meager tally from Berlin's perspective.

The fifth of these seven shots on goal, however, still found its way into Schalke's net. Substitute Marten Winkler broke through on the left and delivered a powerful cross into the middle. Substitute Grønning skillfully kept his foot in the net and at least got the equalizer. Things got hectic again after that, with Katic receiving a second yellow card for a deliberate handball in the 98th minute.

Schalke will be visiting Lautern on the next matchday on Saturday evening. Hertha welcomes Karlsruher SC on Sunday afternoon (1:30 p.m.).

• football
• Bundesliga
• FC Schalke 04
• Hertha BSC