It’s been a tale of two halves for Schalke 04 this season.
The arrival of Jürgen Klopp protégé David Wagner was hailed as a progressive step forward after a disastrous 2018-19 campaign that saw the club flirt with relegation, and that excitement was thoroughly justified through 18 games as Schalke climbed as high as fifth in the Bundesliga.
Football players have to acknowledge their responsibility as role models and take a stand against racism, Bayern Munich midfielder Joshua Kimmich has said.
Kimmich was speaking following the death of George Floyd, an unarmed black man who died in police custody in Minneapolis last week. Floyd's death has triggered a wave of outrage and protests in the United States.
World soccer's governing body FIFA has asked competition organizers to use "common sense" with players who show messages of protest over the death of George Floyd, an unarmed black man killed in police custody in the United States.
The move, which marks a change from a previous strong line against players displaying messages on the field, came as athletes and sports figures around the world made their views on the situation in the United States clear.
After a scoreless first half, Borussia Dortmund shifted through the gears in the second 45 to overwhelm Paderborn 6-1 on Sunday. The match featured a couple of historic firsts for Dortmund: 20-year-old English phenom Jadon Sancho notched his first professional hat-trick, and 17-year-old American prodigy Giovanni Reyna registered his first Bundesliga assist.
Gladbach took care of business against Union Berlin on Sunday with a comfortable 4-1 victory. The biggest talking point of the match came in the 41st minute, when Alassane Pléa found Marcus Thuram for a well-placed header and the Frenchman quietly celebrated in a powerful way.
Alassane Pléa → Marcus Thuram@borussia_en's French connection strikes again pic.twitter.com/33rXCHv7nc
German-American coach David Wagner saw his Schalke side fall to a fourth consecutive defeat with a 1-0 result against Werder Bremen on Saturday.
Hertha BSC secured a 2-0 victory over Augsburg in front of a haunting, empty Olympiastadion on Saturday.
Hertha went ahead in the first half through Javairo Dilrosun. The team found itself on the back foot for much of the second half as Augsburg pushed constantly for an equalizer, but Krzysztof Piatek sealed the win with a goal on the counterattack in stoppage time.
Don't sleep on @HerthaBSC_EN
The well-worn cliché in England states that league titles are captured by winning games on your worst days. In Germany, Bayern Munich claims titles by demoralizing opponents on its best days.
Bayern looked well on its way to an eighth straight Bundesliga championship with a 5-0 win over Fortuna Düsseldorf on Saturday at Allianz Arena. The German giants never let up the pressure against relegation-threatened Fortuna, squeezing the life out of the visitors for 90 minutes.
After protests erupted across the U.S. this past week, Schalke’s American midfielder Weston McKennie has joined in from Germany. The 21-year-old Texas native wore a “Justice for George” armband during Saturday’s match with Werder Bremen, showing support for George Floyd, who died in police hands on Monday in Minneapolis.