Whatever Schalke might be lacking, they can be sure that they have a leader of substance. After the final whistle at Borussia Mönchengladbach on Saturday, as some of his players sat dejectedly on the turf and others wandered around looking lost following a 2-1 defeat, Domenico Tedesco came on the pitch and approached the away fans, waving arms and clenching fists, with passion and defiance clear on his face.

The 33-year-old manager won an army of admirers in his debut Bundesliga season and, if he can lead his team out of the hole they have started to dig, he can win even more. The weekend’s reverse left Schalke pointless after three matches (the worst run of his tenure at the club), only challenged in the premature calls of crisis stakes by the equally empty-handed Bayer Leverkusen.

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The club knew this was coming, to some extent. The extending of Tedesco’s contract to 2022 little over a month ago seemed a preemptive show of faith, seeing that there would be bumps in the road with a return to the Champions League providing significant extra traffic. What they didn’t expect is that it would be this tricky. And this soon.

Tedesco certainly seems prepared to batten down the hatches. “You can’t blame anyone,” he said. “I’m proud of the team. Gladbach almost overran us at the beginning, but we came back well.” Sporting director Christian Heidel concurred, backing his man in what appeared a genuinely supportive, rather than a your-days-are-numbered, fashion. “The coach is doing his job as well as ever,” Heidel said, “and I think we totally controlled the game from the 25th minute onwards.”

They had a point. Only poor finishing – with new signings Mark Uth, excellent for Hoffenheim last season but still searching for a first Schalke goal, missing an absolute sitter after Tony Jantschke’s mistake – and another excellent display from the revitalised Yann Sommer in Gladbach’s goal sent them home empty handed. Substitute Breel Embolo’s rocket of a consolation goal in stoppage-time was both too late and underlined what could have been.

On the other hand, the performance had plenty of holes in it. That Die Königsblauen were forced to battle back was a legacy of them gifting Gladbach a third-minute opener, with Matthias Ginter left in oceans of space to head in Jonas Hofmann’s corner. Tedesco insisted his side had grasped his request to mark zonally at corners perfectly well in training, but as the ball drifted over the heads of the side’s three towering centre-backs – Salif Sané, Naldo and the returning Matija Nastasic – it suggested his instructions had gone in one ear and out the other. This was a return to the bad old days, towards the end of the Jens Keller era, when Schalke fans had their hearts in their mouths every time their team conceded a set-piece.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Schalke’s head coach Domenico Tedesco approaches fans at the end of the match. Photograph: Friedemann Vogel/EPA

More generally – and possibly more concerning – Dieter Hecking’s rejuvenated side were very good at playing around the press then launching swift counter-attacks. In return, the visitors were frequently reduced to long, hopeful balls forward, where little was sticking with the ineffectual Franco Di Santo or an off-colour Guido Burgstaller. In midfield, the big summer signing Sebastian Rudy doesn’t seem to have quite grasped Tedesco’s tactical plan yet.

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Another new arrival, left wing-back Hamza Mendyl, forced his manager into a rethink only 25 minutes in after flying into a challenge on Nico Elvedi, having already been booked. Referee Manuel Gräfe – inexplicably – spared the debutant a red card, which would have been his team’s third in three Bundesliga matches so far, and Tedesco replaced Mendyl with Alessandro Schöpf to be on the safe side.

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In a different context, the Champions League would have been there to be enjoyed but now it feels an obligation rather than an adventure. “What’s important,” said Tedesco, “is that we don’t lose our sense of having fun.” He will be due immense credit if he succeeds in maintaining that ambience, with a clement draw against Lokomotiv Moscow, Galatasaray and Tuesday’s opponents Porto adding a layer of expectation to the excitement toa Veltins Arena that is rarely a place for the faint-hearted. With Bayern Munich due for Saturday’s early evening game it’s a huge week in Gelsenkirchen, and even if there are more winnable fixtures on the horizon, with Freiburg, Mainz and Fortuna Düsseldorf coming up in the next month, the revival has to start somewhere.

Tedesco should be fine but Saturday’s defeat brought to mind Lucien Favre, Gladbach’s greatest coach of modern times, falling on his sword in September 2015. Nobody wanted him to go, with sporting director Max Eberl desperately trying to persuade him to stay, but he felt out of solutions after beginning the season with five straight losses. Nobody is suggesting Schalke’s young leader will suffer a similar fate but lift-off is eagerly awaited. “Chest out,” said captain Ralf Fährmann, when asked for his remedy. “Work, work, work.” That, certainly, is straight out of the Tedesco manual.

Talking points

• As mentioned Leverkusen didn’t break their duck either, somewhat less surprisingly, at Bayern, despite taking an early lead through Wendell’s early penalty. Yet it was Heiko Herrlich’s opposite number Niko Kovac who ended the afternoon grim-faced despite his team’s eventual 3-1 win. Corentin Tolisso (cruciate ligaments) and Rafinha (ankle ligament damage following an awful Karim Bellarabi challenge, described as “intentional assault” by an enraged Uli Hoeness, and for which the winger was sent off) both suffered serious injuries which leave the champions looking a little stretched.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Rafinha limps from the field after sustaining an injury against Leverkusen. Photograph: Marc Mueller/EPA

• Dortmund are two points behind after finishing off Eintracht Frankfurt by the same score. Jadon Sancho again came on to lay on goals, for Marius Wolf and fellow substitute Paco Alcácer this time, and his compatibility with the Barcelona loanee already looking very promising.

• The best first touch of the weekend by was by Sancho’s countryman Reiss Nelson, whose sensational effort took him past Adam Bodzek to strike a goal 14 minutes into his Hoffenheim debut. Fortuna Düsseldorf were not to be denied, though, with Dodi Lukebakio’s penalty giving the promoted side a first win of the season. All their coach Friedhelm Funkel could do at the end was simply point at his overworked throat.

• Leipzig dug out a first win of the season against Hannover despite the forced omission of striker Jean-Kévin Augustin, subject of a complaint from the FFF after pulling out of France under-21 duty but still playing in a practice match for his club. “It’s a really strange situation,” said Ralf Rangnick, “and annoying for us, because Augustin’s in great form.” He could console himself with two excellent Timo Werner goals, straight from the vintage Leipzig playbook.

• After Nicolai Müller last season, Ji Dong-won became the latest to injure himself celebrating, after striking late for Augsburg at Mainz. It didn’t even turn out to be the winner, with Sandro Schwarz’s men pulling out an improbable win via Anthony Ujah and Alexandru Maxim’s goals.