
The crisis surrounding Schalke looked set to deepen on Saturday evening, with the club in grave danger of ending its 31st game without a win, which would have equalled the Bundesliga record set by Tasmania Berlin in 1965-66. But Matthew Hoppe, a 19-year-old football player from the United States, proved the unlikely hero to save the club from such shame, scoring a hat-trick and helping Schalke beat Hoffenheim 4-0 in the club’s first win since January 2020. “I don’t know how to describe how I feel but I’m happy, just lost for words,” Hoppe told Sky Sports after the game. The youngster was set t…