CAM Suat Serdar
With Amine Harit out due to a thigh injury, Suat Serdar was tasked with playing a more attacking role for the Royal Blues against a Gladbach midfield spearheaded by Denis Zakaria.
And Serdar flourished. He had a brilliant, swerved finish for Schalke’s first, showing his technical quality on that goal. The Germany international sliced through Gladbach’s defense with a team-high four dribbles completed, drawing three fouls and putting another shot on target in addition to his goal.
Serdar is one of the best all-around midfielders in the Bundesliga, and he showed it again on Friday, providing competent defense to go with his sensational attacking play. He is a star.
LB Bastian Oczipka
Bastian Oczipka was rewarded with a contract extension that will take him through the age of 34 with the Royal Blues, and he likely sealed the deal with his strong display on the left-hand side of Schalke’s defense.
The German fullback stood tall to everything Gladbach threw at him defensively, never giving up an inch of space on the flank despite doing some extra defending with Schopf switching flanks so often. Oczipka was effective in the attack, too, putting in a pair of accurate crosses and key passes with three fouls drawn and two dribbles completed for good measure.
Defensively, Oczipka had a team-high three interceptions and won two tackles. He has been one of the best fullbacks in the Bundesliga for another year running.