It was a big night for Real Madrid as Cristiano Ronaldo sets a new scoring record in European football and Los Blancos advance. Schalke gave them no room to breathe and were within a crossbar of staging one of the biggest comebacks in Champions League history. On the other side of the Iberian Peninsula, Porto cruised past a disheveled Basel to secure their first quarterfinal appearance since 2009.
Real Madrid 3 : 4 Schalke 04
Real win 6-5 on aggregate
Real win 6-5 on aggregate
Schalke put on a glorious show at the Santiago Bernabeu as they came within an inch of knocking out Real Madrid in the round of 16, highlighting the brilliance that this competition can bring out in teams and players.
The German visitors came away with a deserved 4-3 victory on the night but were unable to overcome the two goal deficit that they had conceded back home in Gelsenkirchen and Carlo Ancelotti’s star-studded roster slunk away to the quarter-finals. Right from the blow of the whistle, Schalke were all out, knowing that they had nothing to lose and everything to win. They caught Real Madrid on their heels early on and Fuch’s smashing goal in the 20th minute was seen coming from Schalke’s first push upfield. The home side looked frazzled and disorganized while Schalke were disciplined and only had an eye for goal.
Cristiano Ronaldo was the man to spare Madrid’s blushes and answered Fuch’s goal with a powerful header in the 25th minute. Di Matteo’s men didn’t stop fighting and had the support of thousands of faithful Schalke fans behind them who had optimistically made the journey south; their team didn’t disappoint.
At the end of the day, Real Madrid really had only their lucky stars to thank as Schalke attacked relentlessly, the ball rolling just wide or just over the bar. The prodigal midfielder Max Meyer hit the post but Huntelaar was there to tap the ball in for Schalke’s second in the 40th minute after Madrid’s goal had been under a five-minute siege. On a snappy counter-attack just before the whistle for halftime, Ronaldo put another header past teenage Wellenreuther in the visitor’s goal and once again leveled the score. While Madrid desperately needed every goal they could get, Ronaldo was able to celebrate setting the new goalscoring record in the UEFA Champions League, overcoming Raul’s astounding 77 goals to make his tally 78.
Real Madrid came out confidently in the second half now knowing what they were up against. Benzema seemed to half collected himself after he and his team were rattled in the first half and he netted a cheeky goal with a few fakes and jukes across the box before he tapped it past Wellenreuther for Madrid’s third.
In spite of the goal, Schalke were just as disciplined and organized and they dazzled with their midfield play that was all being orchestrated by two teenagers, Meyer, and Sane, who had come on part way through the first half to replace the injured Choupo-Moting. Sane, with a stroke of brilliance and confidence, netted Schalke’s third- a stunning strike that left the seasoned Iker Casillas with no chance as it flew past his gloves and tucked itself neatly in the far corner of the goal. Schalke were not backing down in spite of Real Madrid’s invigorated second-half side.
With time ticking down, it seemed like Schalke were finally fatigued but Huntelaar once again managed to breath some life into his side and their travelling fans but in the 84th minute, he confidently collected a long pass just inside Madrid’s half and carried it downfield with three defenders hot on his heels. He made no mistake and blasted a powerful shot into the roof of the net. Schalke could taste victory. The remaining minutes of the game consisted of the blues hammering away at Real’s net. Casillas made some of the most crucial stops of his career, and Real Madrid could thank their twelfth man, the crossbar, for helping them out just moments before the final whistle. It was a heart-stopping match from the first minute until the end when Real Madrid could breathe a sigh of relief and Schalke could rest easy knowing that they had given everything that they had and luck simply wasn’t on their side. They were a part of one of the most exciting matches in Champions League history and had certainly won over any neutrals watching the match that night.
