Can Džeko turn it around? Schalke off to their worst start of the season | OneFootball

On the transfer market, Schalke is making positive headlines in the winter. However, on the field, the Knappen have not yet managed to translate their quality into the new year. In the local derby against VfL Bochum, S04 even had the worst start to a game in their current league season.

Miron Muslic's team fell behind 0:2 against Bochum in the first half. Koji Miyoshi (1st minute) and Philipp Hofmann (43rd minute) put the hosts in the lead.

The Königsblauen had only conceded two goals in a competitive match once in the 2025/2026 season. In the clear 0:4 defeat against Darmstadt, in the second round of the DFB-Pokal, they had already conceded twice before the break.

Because the best defense in the German lower house (14 goals conceded) usually kept a clean sheet before halftime. That will definitely not be the case today.

More importantly, Schalke must now look forward, namely to the attack. Hopes also rest on veteran Edin Džeko. The 39-year-old was brought on directly for the second half.

Can he, as in his debut against Kaiserslautern, initiate a turnaround with a joker goal? The S04 fans will hope so. Because their team has not won in the last three league games. If the league leader wants to defend their top spot, this dry spell must be ended quickly.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇩🇪 here.

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