FC Schalke has been eliminated from the cup. Schalke “lacked a lot” of what it had recently achieved. Now the focus is on the future, with KSC waiting on Saturday.

After doing so well in the 2nd Bundesliga, FC Schalke suffered a bitter setback in the DFB Cup. The Royal Blues were beaten 4-0 by SV Darmstadt on Wednesday, ending their run in the second round.

After the game, S04 coach Miron Muslic lamented the defeat, which bore little resemblance to the 1-0 win against Darmstadt in the league a few days ago. “Congratulations to Darmstadt, who did a good job. We lacked a lot of what we’ve been showing week after week recently. If you don’t give 100 percent on the pitch, it’s not enough in the cup or in the league, and you’ll get crushed. But I know how strong the boys are, and we’ll fight back.”

SVD coach Florian Kohfeldt was more satisfied, seeing the right reaction from his team after their league defeat: “We played a very good game. After Friday’s match, we wanted to play more courageously and changed our system a little. The boys played determined and fast-paced soccer. We deserved to advance to the next round.”

Schalke will be back in action on Saturday, when Muslic’s team faces its next tough challenge. At 1 p.m., they will travel to Karlsruher SC, who have won four of their five home games.

Muslic is looking ahead: “We are focusing on the future again. The boys have been investing a lot for months and performing strongly, earning many points in the championship. That was no coincidence, but hard work, and we will return to that mode on Saturday.“

Schalke player Janik Bachmann also does not want to dwell too much on the cup exit, speaking of a ”slip-up that we need to work through. We were lacking in many areas, including intensity, compactness, aggressive defending, and pressing – there was something missing everywhere. Now we have to prepare as best we can for Karlsruhe.”