After 483 days without a win in the German top flight, having seen relegation and promotion in between, Sepp van den Berg helped Schalke win on Saturday.
While Liverpool were out of action over the weekend due to the Queen’s passing, that was not the case for the club’s overseas loans.
On Saturday night, Van den Berg made his second start since joining Schalke in late August, following a 1-1 draw in Stuttgart with a home clash with Bochum.
The Dutchman teamed up with former Southampton defender Maya Yoshida at the heart of the defence, in a side that started the weekend 15th in the Bundesliga table.
With three previous draws and two defeats, Schalke were desperate for their first win of the campaign, and by securing a 3-1 win, they marked their first top-flight victory in 483 days, having spent the last season in the second division. .
The first of the night came when Manuel Riemann spilled a shot from Marius Bulter into the path of Dominick Drexler, who converted with ease, only for Simon Zoller to equalize for Bochum shortly after halftime.
Schalke took the lead thanks to a brilliant free-kick from Tobias Mohr, converted into his own goal by Erhan Masovic, before Sebastian Polter secured it 3-1 with a goal in the sixth minute of stoppage time.
The celebrations were wild, and the significance of Schalke’s first win of the Bundesliga season was not lost on anyone at the Veltins-Arena.
It continued an impressive start to life for Van den Berg, who made the second-most interceptions (three) and clearances (seven) of any player, as well as winning the third-most aerial duels for Schalke (two).
Speaking to the official Schalke website in the build-up to the clash with Bochum, Van den Berg attested to the spirit within the team, saying it has “felt at home from day one”.
“It is important that there is a good understanding between the four behind,” he explained.
“This is helped by the fact that the team gets along so well with each other.”
The 20-year-old was Liverpool’s only loan involved on Saturday, with Anderson Arroyo coming on as an unused substitute during Alaves’ 2-1 win over Lugo.
However, Billy Koumetio could appear on Sunday, when Austria Wien takes on Hartberg, the Frenchman hoping to make his seventh start for the club.
