Schalke 04 vs Werder Bremen player ratings: Not every loss created equal

Schalke 04 returned home to play host to relegation-zoned Werder Bremen and David Wagner made some changes. here are the player ratings.

David Wagner made some changes for Werder Bremen, though those changes were certainly headscratchers. Schalke 04’s awful streak continued with a loss to Fortuna Dusseldorf, despite taking an initial lead, and Werder Bremen, being in a relegation fight and five points behind our latest loss, was the perfect subject to get back on track.

For Wagner, that meant removing Markus Schubert from goal and replacing him with Alexander Nubel, and it meant removing Bastian Oczipka in favor of Juan Miranda.

Yet it still did not mean the first start of the season for Ahmed Kutucu, which is where the true head-scratching came in. And if you’ve been scratching your head about the Kutucu decision making as much as we have since it started, then your scalp is getting pretty tender.

Schalke 04’s player ratings against Werder Bremen

It didn’t begin well. Schalke barely touched the ball in the opening ten minutes, as Werder Bremen looked determined to strike early. Most likely because when that happens, the Royal Blues often crumble. Bremen controlled nearly 80% of possession as the 15-minute mark neared.

We didn’t see our first cohesive attacking move until the 23rd minute, and that little burst alone made me giddy. It seemed to level out after that, though, with Schalke playing more of a part in the match and not just hiding in a shell. Of course, that gave way to Bremen’s first goal just after the half-hour mark.

Wagner stepped out of his comfort zone in making changes. Before the hour mark, he had already introduced four substitutions, including two of the guys we’ve been chirping for—Boujellab and Kutucu.

Just like that, like a flip of the switch, there was cohesive attacking play. Around the hour mark, the Royal Blues started firing shots left and right. They all ended up blocked, but it was inspiring play nonetheless, and it gave hope of something better coming.

In the end, though, it wasn’t. 11 matches in a row without a win. Here are the player ratings.