Schalke crush Hertha 5-2 in relegation battle to move off bottom place

GELSENKIRCHEN, Germany : Schalke 04 cruised past fellow strugglers Hertha Berlin 5-2 in their relegation battle on Friday to climb off last place and into the playoff space with six games remaining.

The Royal Blues, who have staged a comeback in the past months having lost just two of their 11 league games, bounced back after two straight defeats and moved up to 16th place on 24 points leaving Hertha in last place on 22.

Schalke raced to a two-goal lead in the opening 14 minutes with Tim Skarke firing in from the edge of the box after three minutes and Marius Buelter adding a header.

The visitors pulled a goal back in first half stoppage time, Stevan Jovetic drilling in with a superb shot.

But before they had any time to complete their comeback after the break Schalke hit back, restoring their two-goal cushion with Simon Terodde tapping in three minutes after the restart.

Buelter then flicked the ball over the keeper to make it 4-1 before Hertha's Marco Richter struck from close range to cut the deficit once more.

Schalke had the last laugh with Marcin Kaminski drilling in a free kick to complete their biggest win of the season.