Real Madrid went head to head against Schalke 04 in the second leg of the Round of 16 knockout stage today at the Santiago Bernabeu. Schalke needed a tie or win to go to the quarterfinals round, but as much as they pressured Real Madrid and won the game, it was not enough effort as they lost 5-4 in aggregate score.
Real Madrid looked once again very bad in the field and gave away too many chances as players from Schalke were able to get four goals behind the net of Iker Casillas. The defense was too vulnerable and without the presence of Sergio Ramos in the centreback, things were not looking so great for the team. Cristiano Ronaldo was finally able to surpass Raul’s record in most goals in UEFA club competition top scorers netting his 77th and 78th goal. He was able to tie Lionel Messi in UEFA Champions League all time scorer as well. Luka Modric was another player that saw time in the field after recovering from an injury he picked up back in November. Fans greeted him with a warm welcome and was phenomenal on the field.
Schalke 04 was the better team in Tuesday’s matchup as they were able to defeat Real Madrid 4-3 but it was not enough to get them through the next round. They pressured Real too many times, Huntelaar was great in the attacking position along with Leroy Sane and had a good possession percentage. Though they were the better team, Schalke continues to impress in the Champions League and next year might be a different story for them if they can find the magic to beat these big european teams.
The first goal of the game came in the 20 minute when Max Meyer made a great run taking three defenders and then found Eric Choupo-Moting in the right side of the field. Eric was able to make a nice cross pass inside the box only for Christian Fuchs to get the pass, and go for goal. Fuchs was able to get it in the net of Iker Casillas as Iker helped out with a bit of a deflection.
Cristiano Ronaldo was the hero for Real Madrid as he was able to bring back his team back to the game twice. As they were down 1-0, Ronaldo scored a beautiful header in the 25 minute, beating Roman Neustadter to it and bringing the game to a 3-1 aggregate score.
In the 40 minute, Huntelaar was finally able to find the net with a volley after hitting the cross bar moments earlier in the game. Neustadter gave a cross inside the box to Christian Fuchs who tried to win the ball but as it rebounded off his leg, Meyers was able to get to it. Meyers had an open shot and took the chance only to see Iker Casillas block it but Huntelaar was quickly there to get the rebound and get the 2-1(3-2 aggregate).
But not five minutes later before the first half came to an end, it was Ronaldo who came to the rescue once again. With a cross from Fabio Coentrao from the left side of the field, Ronaldo was able to beat the defense to the ball once again and head it in to make it 2-2 (4-2 on aggregate).
Ronaldo’s goal ended the first half but six minutes into the second half, it was Karim Benzema that gave hope to Real Madrid to take an even bigger lead. Karim got a nice pass from Coentrao inside the box as he went through two defenders and let Karim get the ball. Benzene took on three defenders plus the goalkeeper and went for goal as he saw an open opportunity. This put Real Madrid up 3-2 (5-2 aggregate) for the first time in the game.
Things seemed to turn around for Schalke when Leroy Sané was able to score his first ever Champions League goal on his Champions League debut. Leroy got a pass from Christian Fuchs just outside the box and as Leroy went up against Fabio Coentrao, he saw an open opportunity. Leroy was able to curve it into the net and past Iker Casillas to level the game once again at 3-3(5-3 on aggregate).
Just when you thought the game was over, Schalke was able to get another goal in the 84 minute when Huntelaar scored for the second time on Tuesday night. Huntelaar got the ball from a rebound in which Luka Modric tried to take the ball away from Leroy Sane. Huntelaar then went against three defenders running right behind him and took the opportunity to score as he crossed the box line. As Huntelaar went for goal, the ball bounced off the crossbar and into the net to make it 4-3 (5-4 on aggregate).
Schalke had a couple more chances to make the lead 5-3 and tie the game up and have an opportunity to go on to the next round, but the effort was not enough as the defense of Real Madrid decided to finally step up and Iker Casillas to make some saves. The game ended with Schalke winning the second leg 4-3 but with a score of 5-4 on aggregate. The fans of Schalke cheered their team as the final seconds came to an end and were given a standing ovation from both their fans the Madrid fans as they fought hard and gave Real Madrid a hard time.
The man of the match goes out to Leroy Lane of Schalke for his incredible first goal of his Champions League career and for assisting Huntelaar on his second goal of the night to take the lead for the third time in that night. As things come to an end for Schalke, Real Madrid hopes on to enter the semi finals round but with the way they have been playing things might end up soon for them, depending on who they face in the Quarterfinals.
Photo by: Andres Kudacki/Associated Press