FCA head coach Enrico Maaßen was forced into one change as Ermedin Demirović, who received a red card in the 1-1 draw with Schalke, began his three-match suspension. Dion Beljo started up front in his place, whilst Niklas Dorsch (nose operation) and Kelvin Yeboah (ankle) were also missing from the matchday squad. 

Some youth players who were involved in the practice were goalkeeper Ritzy Hülsmann, attacker Arijon Ibrahimović, center-back Justin Janitzek and center-back/left-back Gabriel Marušić.

Pál Dárdai played 373 times in all competitions for Hertha and has since taken charge of 203 competitive matches as head coach for the club. We have no exact number for his training sessions at Schenckendorffplatz, but it’s surely well over 1,000. He added to this tally on Monday after returning as head coach for the third time. “The important things, like the pitches here, have always been good,” said the 47-year-old at his press conference prior to training. “A few things have changed though. For example, the changing room is a bit nicer now.” Dárdai stepped out onto the training pitch at 15:32, starting his first session back in charge by talking to the players. That was followed by a warm-up, with the players clapping in time with one another whilst running. His focus after the heavy defeat in Gelsenkirchen was on team cohesion and enjoyment. Prince Boateng and his teammates then looked to “clear their heads” during a game of football tennis.

Three days after his official unveiling and first training session with the team, Pál Dárdai spoke to the media again on Thursday afternoon ahead of Saturday’s (15:30 CEST) home game against SV Werder Bremen. The head coach discussed his first impressions of the side and his thoughts on the weekend’s clash. “It’s too early to talk about our system. The most important thing is that the players have confidence in each other and play with courage. The fans want a team that fights together for the shirt – and one that doesn’t get relegated,” said Dárdai, who also spoke about the importance of the fans’ support, togetherness and Saturday’s opponents. herthabsc.com have summarised what the head coach had to say. Pál Dárdai on…

RBL Women win promotion to the Frauen-Bundesliga with six matchdays to spare | Gütersloh’s defeat against Ingolstadt cements top two finish

David Nemeth has joined 2. Bundesliga side St. Pauli for an undisclosed fee. The 21-year-old signed for Mainz back in the summer of 2020 and spent the following season on loan at Austrian Bundesliga side Sturm Graz, before returning to the Bruchweg for the 2021/22 campaign. The youngster made seven league appearances for FSV last season.

Following the departure of Fabian Plachel at the end of the season, 1. FC Union Berlin...

Viktoria Berlin: Kinzig (Schulz 60); Cvjetinovic, Kewald (Durmushan 60), Sucsuz (Michael 55); Tougio (Frimpong 60), Inler (Cvjetinovic 60), Günay, Maric; Thiesen (Mattmüller 55), Yilmaz (Skakun 55), Küc

Arsenal thought they had claimed a 79th-minute winner through captain Martin Odegaard but the ball was adjudged to have gone out of play before it was cut back by substitute Kieran Tierney.

Emre Can: “How does that happen? I don’t understand the situation for the second penalty. He hits the post – end of story. The referee was arrogant throughout the entire match. We wanted to talk to him normally at half-time, he said: We’ll see each other later. But I’m proud to be part of this team. We put in a decent performance, didn’t embarrass ourselves. Ultimately, we didn’t deserve to lose.”