Real Madrid vs. Schalke, 2014 UEFA Champions League: Los Merengues coast, but lose Jese

Bale made an impact in 21st minute, working his way into the right side of the Schalke box before centering to Cristiano Ronaldo. The Schalke defense could do nothing to cut off the pass, allowing Ronaldo to open up his body and tap the ball past Ralf Fährmann to go up 1-0 on the day.

Morata should have added another goal to the scoreboard in the 28th minute when once again Bale shredded the Schalke defense and sent another perfectly placed pass to the center of the box. Morata’s shot was poor, however, going well off target.

The 21-year-old went down after taking a shoulder charge in the back from Schalke defender Saed Kolasinac. As Jesé fell, Kolasinac lost his balance and landed on the striker’s knee with his full body weight. Jesé was in immediate pain, shouting loudly and pounding the grass several times as medical staff ran on to the pitch.

Jesé has made 30 appearances in all competitions this season for Madrid, scoring eight goals.

Schalke 04 are likely looking to build some confidence and avoid a repeat of their embarassing performance form the first leg. Just a couple changes from the first leg with Kaan Ayhan, Benedikt Höwedes, and Chinedu Obasi coming into the lineup, with Jefferson Farfan, Felipe Santana (both injured) and Kevin Prince-Boatang out.

Real Madrid (4-3-3): Iker Casillas; Fabio Coentrao, Raphael Varane, Sergio Ramos, Nacho; Xabi Alonso, Asier Illaramendi, Isco; Cristiano Ronaldo, Alvaro Morata, Jese Rodriguez

For Jens Keller and Schalke, they fully realize that they probably have just 90 minutes left in this season’s Champions League. A five-goal aggregate deficit is virtually impossible to overcome against any team, but to go into the Bernabéu and pull it off against Madrid is basically impossible.

Real Madrid injuries and suspensions

Real Madrid played up how much they respected Schalke going into the first leg of their Champions League tie, and on the evidence of their performance at the Veltins Arena, they believed everything they were saying. They took Schalke so seriously that they dumped six goals on them, rendering the second leg of this tie utterly meaningless, even if the hosts did add a goal at the end.

Schalke 1-6 Real Madrid. Schalke’s one goal was pretty, though!