Having gotten their road goal, Schalke now appears to be playing for the second leg, as evidenced by the need for two, silly yellow cards. In the 78th minute, Manuel Neuer picked up a yellow card for stalling. In the 81st, teammate José Manuel Jurado was also cautioned for disrupting a free kick.
UEFA Champions League, Valencia Vs. Schalke: Teams Brace For Match’s Last Phase, With Schalke Playing For Second Leg
Schalke has also made their first substitution, taking off the attack-minded Jefferson Farfán (who has done little to stop Jeremy Mathieu’s influence on Valencia’s left), bringing on young Julian Draxler in the 79th minute. Three minutes later, Edu was on for Jurado, a move perhaps intended to protect Felix Magath’s carded, left-sided midfielder.
As the match goes on, there is a sense from both teams that the day's action has played out. Valencia has most of the ball and is making the obligatory entries into the Schalke third, but they're easily dispossessed, often given the ball back with impatient crosses that eschew a more intricate build-up. Schalke's able to start some half-hearted counters, but now firmly in the mindset to take the match back to Germany, their attacks fizzle quickly.
Now with two minutes of regulation time remaining, the match is still 1-1.
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