Skov on the spot as Hoffenheim pile pressure on Schalke

Schalke 0-3 Hoffenheim
0-1 Skov pen. (11'), 0-2 Dabbur (assist: Rutter), 0-3 Skov pen. (59')

Schalke got off to the worst possible start as Leo Greiml conceded a penalty for a rash challenge on Christoph Baumgartner. Skov stepped up to slam the spot-kick past the goalkeeper, an early set-back from which the Royal Blues simply didn't recover. It wasn't for the Royal Blues' want of trying as Thomas Ouwejan's free-kick tested Oliver Baumann, Tom Krauß shot wide and Florent Mollet struck the woodwork, but it always felt like Hoffenheim were comfortable. And so it proved. After Georginio Rutter blazed over and Baumgartner forced a sprawling save from Alexander Schwolow, Munas Dabbur capped a wicked counter with a fabulous finish to give the visitors a 2-0 lead in first-half added time.

Simon Terodde flicked a header from a corner against the outside of a post soon after the restart, but it just wasn't to be for Schalke. Sure enough, a VAR review showed Ouwejan to have handled under pressure from Skov soon after, with the Dane arrowing in the ensuing penalty to all but end the game as a contest. Mollet fired another sighter just wide, before Hoffenheim assumed total control. Only Schwolow prevented Angelino and Rutter from adding the gloss, while ex-Schalke midfielder Sebastian Rudy put a close-range header wide. Hoffenheim climb to third, with the pre-match top four - Union Berlin, Freiburg, Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund - all in action on Super Sunday.

• Hoffenheim ended a run of three matches without a win.
• Skov has three Bundesliga goals already this season. Four is his personal best.
• Dabbur matched his previous personal best of four goal, including two in as many games.
• Schalke have conceded a league-high 24 goals this term.
• Ozan Kabak made 40 Bundesliga appearances for Schalke between September 2019 and January 2021.
• Andre Breitenreiter coached Schalke in 2015/16, while Frank Kramer was in charge of the Hoffenheim reserves between 2011 and 2013.

>>> Get Skov for your Fantasy team for 7.6M!

Watch: Skov: "A very nice feeling"

Schalke: Schwolow - Brunner (Aydin 46'), Greiml, Yoshida, Ouwejan - Krauß, Flick - Drexler (Larsson 70'), Mollet (Polter 72'), Bülter - Terodde (c) (Karaman 70')
Unused subs: Fährmann, Matriciani, Latza, Flick, Mohr
Out: Kaminski (calf), van den Berg (ankle), Zalazar (metatarsal)
Coach: Frank Kramer

Hoffenheim: Baumann (c) - Kabak, Vogt, Nsoki - Skov (Quaresma 88'), Prömel, Geiger (Rudy 65') Angelino - Baumgartner (Stiller 75') - Rutter (Becker 88'), Dabbur (Bruun Larsen 75')
Unused subs: Philipp, Kaderabek, Akpoguma, Bischof
Out: Bebou (knee), Bicakcic (fitness), Hübner (ankle), Kramaric (ankle)
Coach: Andre Breitenreiter