Hertha BSC Berlin vs Schalke 04 preview - Shrug off European blues - Nastasic

Posted Friday, March 13, 2015 by PA

Schalke need to put their Champions League disappointment behind them as they return to Bundesliga action at Hertha Berlin this Saturday.

Despite beating Real Madrid 4-3 at the Bernabeu on Tuesday, that was not enough to see them through to the quarter-finals of the competition due to a 2-0 defeat in the home leg.

Now, they only have the Bundesliga left this season, and getting back into the top four to enjoy more similar nights like Tuesday next season is their objective, starting this weekend in the capital.

"On the one hand, of course we're all incredibly proud of what we achieved," said defender Matija Nastisic on Schalke's website.

"We did Schalke proud and showed what we can do, but somehow it also hurts.

"Just one goal was all that was lacking. We were so close to it. We will definitely gain confidence from our Bernabeu performance for our coming games."

Trying to put the midweek's game behind them as quickly as possible will be the biggest challenge the Royal Blues face this weekend.

"It was a short night," added Nastisic. "We were up again early and the game at the Bernabeu has certainly taken a lot out of us, but I'm convinced that we'll give another great performance in Berlin.

"We're in good shape and we're desperate to win so that we can play in the Champions League again next season."

Hertha coach Pal Dardai has already promised that his side will not be as much of a pushover as Real were.

"We want to be more aggressive than Madrid were," he said at a press conference. "We want more possession than we've had recently and then we want to create more chances.

"We've got to show that we too can beat a big club."

John Brooks is a doubt for Hertha while Schalke coach Roberto Di Matteo will assess the condition of his players with a few changes possible from the side which won in Madrid.