Berlin (dpa) – Six goals in the mark of Hertha BSC! A game that could have given the Berlin Bundesliga team new hope in the relegation battle with a passionate performance over an hour ended in a debacle.
Highest home defeat this season, low blow in an already highly critical phase with a corona outbreak, plus the difficult opponents to come. “We’re not complaining, we’re moving forward positively,” emphasized Hertha manager Fredi Bobic. And coach Tayfun Korkut, whom Bobic brought in as a rescuer at the end of November, said: “Of course it’s not good for us, but it won’t knock us out.”
Hertha needs “tough qualities”:
It was the scene that started the debacle for Hertha. Marc Oliver Kempf’s wrestling performance against Leipzig’s Christopher Nkunku. The man-decker, brought in in winter and designated as the new chief of defence, caused the penalty after an hour and also saw the red card. Korkut emphasized that he did not want to make accusations against Kempf. But it was the moment that separated the game into two parts. With the penalty, Leipzig took a 2-1 lead – the rest was silence from Berlin’s point of view. “We have to swallow the result,” said Korkut, “but we also have to develop resilience.”
Hertha’s result distress:
Despite all the efforts of those responsible to emphasize the positive approaches in the game of Berlin, the team has to score points. 0: 4 against Mainz, 1: 4 against Bayern, 1: 2 at the bottom of the table Fürth, 1: 6 against RB. Bitter bankruptcies are also piling up under Korkut. With the Turk, Hertha got nine points from ten games, under predecessor Pal Dardai it was still 14 points from 13 games. The lead over the relegation rank is one point – and the remaining program of the capital club is not without: In Freiburg, Leverkusen and Dortmund, among other things, you still have to compete.
Hertha in the Corona bracket:
Six players were added shortly before the game against Leipzig, eight were not available to Korkut due to positive corona findings. They were not far from applying for a game transfer, said Bobic. Of players who fall under the category of seasoned professionals, only two sat on the bench.
The problem will now also be that orderly training with around 25 percent of the Hertha squad in quarantine is difficult. In addition, Marc Oliver Kempf will also be missing in the next game at strong sixth-placed SC Freiburg after his red card.
Hertha’s Big City Club distress:
Fredi Bobic did not want to respond too much to the sharp criticism from investor Lars Windhorst, who once coined the title Big City Club at the beginning of his involvement. “Because he doesn’t have to play football, it’s all okay,” said the Hertha manager on the DAZN streaming service. “I’ll concentrate on the sport first. That’s the important thing.” But Windhorst is unlikely to be mollified by a good 60 minutes if Hertha ended up with the next hefty bankruptcy. He recently described his investment of 375 million euros (“from today’s perspective yes, unfortunately”) as a mistake.