Kevin Schade interview: Leicester hat-trick, Damsgaard link-up and bravery in the box | OneFootball

Kevin Schade’s hat-trick ball, a reward for his outstanding performance in Brentford’s 4-1 win over Leicester City earlier this season, sits proudly on top of his PlayStation in his west London home.

Everything Schade touched on that memorable November afternoon turned to goals.

His first telling contribution was a slide-rule assist for Yoane Wissa to equalise just four minutes after Facundo Buonanotte had put the Foxes in front.

Shortly afterwards, the 23-year-old stroked into the bottom corner after being found in the box by Bryan Mbeumo.

Schade's delightful dink over Leicester keeper Mads Hermansen, which kissed the inside of the post on its way over the line, put the hosts firmly in the driving seat at the break.

And the livewire forward sealed a first career treble just shy of the hour mark courtesy of a composed strike from Nathan Collins' inch-perfect pass.

Schade's electric display saw him join Chelsea's Cole Palmer, Liverpool's Mohamed Salah and Bournemouth's Justin Kluivert as one of four players to rack up four goal involvements in a single Premier League game in 2024/25.

“The stats were very good in that game,” says Schade, who left home at the age of 12 to pursue his dream of becoming a professional footballer.

“It was unexpected, I would say. I was very happy and very thankful. My first ball.

“After scoring two goals, I really wanted the hat-trick. When I got it, I felt very free.”

Schade’s hat-trick ball, which he allows his friends to kick around his living room during visits to his apartment, is a tangible reminder that persistence pays off.

For while Schade had the rub of the green against Leicester, this was not often the case during his first 18 months in England.

Having joined the Bees from Bundesliga side Freiburg in January 2023, initially on loan, Schade made 19 appearances during the second half of the 2022/23 campaign and offered glimpses of his blistering pace and clever movement.

He recorded his first assist for the club in the 3-2 west London derby victory over Fulham, cutting the ball back to Mathias Jensen who finished inside the six-yard box, and earned the first of his four caps for Germany when he came on as a substitute in a 2-0 friendly win over Peru.

Schade’s transfer was made permanent in June, and he netted his first Premier League goal against Crystal Palace in August, bending beautifully into the top corner from 15 yards to open the scoring in a 1-1 draw at Gtech Community Stadium.

The German further endeared himself to the Bees fans by marking the occasion with Lloyd Owusu’s signature Raise the Roof celebration, honouring a promise he had made to club presenter Stu Wakeford during his first interview.

“When I came here, I played pool and I lost. I had to do this celebration as one of the number nines before me celebrated like that,” Schade smiles.

“My team-mates reminded me a few times, so it was in my head. It was my first goal after a long time, so I felt very happy.”

But just as Schade looked set to fly, he was grounded by misfortune.

During a shooting drill before Brentford’s game against Everton in September, he hit the turf and rolled around in agony.

A scan revealed that Schade had suffered an adductor injury and was set for a lengthy spell on the sidelines.

“I realised it would be an injury when I went down, but I didn’t know what kind,” he recalls with a grimace.

“Something was torn. When I went in, I thought maybe I could play, but as soon as I was called again, I realised, ‘No, this is worse than I expected.’

“Of course, it was a tough time, especially when you watch it back in your mind.”

Schade returned in April and ended the season on a high, helping the west Londoners secure a 16th-place finish.

Seconds after his introduction in his comeback game against Sheffield United, with the Bees holding a slender lead during the closing stages thanks to Oliver Arblaster’s own goal, the forward met Sergio Reguilón’s throw-in with a deft touch, which left Frank Onyeka with time and space to drive into the net and secure a much-needed victory.

The following weekend, Schade slammed home the Bees’ final goal in a 5-1 win at Luton Town.

At the start of the current campaign, he impressed during victories over Southampton and Wolves in the Premier League and scored his first goal of the season against Sheffield Wednesday in the Carabao Cup.

However, despite these positives, Schade admits that frustration was setting in.

“I didn’t play as much as I wanted to,” he says. “It’s hard to get that rhythm if you play one game, then you don’t play, then 20 minutes, then 10. That was a tough time as well.”

The aforementioned player-of-the-match performance against Leicester, which saw Schade pushed to the front of group during the players’ post-match lap of honour (“I’m shy in those situations, but that was nice!”), was a clear turning point.

Ahead of the Foxes' visit to TW8, Schade had started five of the Bees' 12 Premier League games; since then, he has started 17 of 22.

Brentford have scored 62 goals in the top flight this season - only five teams have more - and the trio of Schade, Mbeumo and Wissa has scored 46 (74 per cent) of those.

Schade's ability to stretch a defence yet also drop deep and compete in the air - among forwards, only Dominic Calvert-Lewin, Paul Onuachu and Chris Wood have won more aerial duels this term - has seen him become a regular fixture in one of the division's deadliest frontlines.

“We are all enjoying it. It has been a very good season for each of us,” he says.

“We fight for each other and the goals are coming naturally.

“I’m quick and Brentford’s system is to play quick at the top, with deep runners and crosses from the outside. That’s my game. And I can jump high as well. The style fits my game.”

Like Schade, Mikkel Damsgaard has overcome a challenging start to his Brentford career to emerge as one of Thomas Frank’s most important players.

Damsgaard has assisted three of Schade’s 10 goals this season, including an inviting cross which the forward bravely headed home during a 2-1 win at Crystal Palace in January.

There was no celebration from Schade after a nasty mid-air collision with Chris Richards and he was replaced by Yehor Yarmoliuk before play resumed at Selhurst Park.

“I didn’t know the contact was coming because he came from behind, but even if I knew it was coming, I would have done the same,” says Schade.

“This is the risk every time you challenge for a ball in the box. It’s one of my strengths, headers - it’s part of my game.”

This leads to a discussion about Schade’s relationship with Damsgaard.

“He is very important for me,” he says.

“We have built a connection; I just know when he wants to play deep, and he knows when I want it deep. I enjoy playing with him.

“It comes from training as well, but everyone at the club knows he is this type of player.

“When I joined the club, one of the first things I was told is, ‘This is your guy. He’ll play you deep all the time - this is what he does.’”

Three strikes with his left foot, four with his right and three headers in the Premier League this term illustrate the all-round threat that Schade poses.

His goals-per-shot ratio (0.20) ranks him a hair's breadth outside the top 10 players in the division, ahead of Salah (0.17) and Manchester City's Erling Haaland (0.19), and of players to reach double figures, only Tottenham Hotspur's Brennan Johnson and Wolves' Jorgen Strand Larsen (both 11.4 yards) have taken their shots closer to goal, on average, than Schade (11.6).

This, the former Freiburg man reveals, is very much by design.

“Everyone knows the most goals will be scored in the box, so of course I’ve got to get in there,” he says.

“Where can I position myself to get between the centre-backs, or between the right-back and one of the centre-backs? Where is Wissa?

“There are many things. And, of course, to train the composure to hit the goal if you take a shot.

“We discuss it every day, in every training session, so often that we just get used to it. We don’t even think about it, we just do it.

“That’s the aim, that’s the goal, but there’s always something we can do better.”

With three games of the season left to play, Schade’s ambitions are clear.

“I don’t really have goals because I think they limit you,” he concludes.

“I just want to score - assist or goal - in every game.

“I try every game to play well and to stay fit. It would be the first season I have stayed fit for the whole year, if I make it. These are my goals.”