1. Free Ahmed Kutucu
If ever there was a clearer sign that Ahmed Kutucu needs to start. The Revierderby was meant to be a reset, a start over. A chance for Schalke to fix what had gone wrong, to put together a formidable effort against a stout side.
They did nothing of the sort and, for as bad as the defense looked, the attack looked even worse. Yet again we had no striker to put the finishing touches on attacking plays, we had no movement, no cohesion in the attack, and, compared to the Dortmund attack, we might as well have stuck a bunch of scarecrows out there. They’d have fared better.
Ahmed Kutucu was left completely out, as Wagner instead opted for Guido Burgstaller as his striker solution and you can guess how that went.
The excuses not to start Kutucu ran out ages ago, but the Revierderby had to be the final straw. If Wagner wants something to change in this attack, he has to introduce changes, and Kutucu is an incredibly easy change to make to spark something.