So this game might not mean a whole lot (if Manchester United don't go through, SB Nation Soccer will eat its metaphorical hat), but at least it's fairly entertaining. After a stilted opening period, whose most interesting moment was probably Darron Gibson getting a knee in the gut and staggering off the field, the game sprung to life when that same Gibson threaded a beautiful through ball to Antonio Valencia, who took a touch before nutmegging Manuel Neuer, making it 1-0 and 3-0 on aggregate.
Manchester United Vs. Schalke 04, 2011 UEFA Champions League Semifinal: United Lead 2-1 (4-1) At Halftime
A second United goal followed suit almost immediately, with Gibson (again!) involved, the Irish midfielder lashing in rebound with Neuer very much at fault, but it wasn't long before Schalke took advantage of some rather miserable defending by Chris Smalling to make it 2-1 on the might. The young defender let an aerial ball get away from him in the box and Jose Jurado was on hand to smash home into the top corner from 16 yards.
There've been a few yellow cards to United players - Gibson and Anderson are both on bookings now after throwing themselves about in the midfield, and Paul Scholes has managed to pick up a caution for being overly obnoxious as the visitors were trying to take a free kick. Anyway, Schalke need to score three goals in 45 minutes at Old Trafford to go through. It's not happening.
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