Schalke's Champions League campaign is over, but not before they gave Real Madrid a solid scare in the second leg of their Round of 16 tie with a 4-3 win on Tuesday. Madrid still advanced thanks to winning the aggregate scoreline, 5-4, but Schalke pushed the Spanish side the entire match, taking advantage of a poor defensive performance from Los Blancos.
3 things we learned from Schalke 04’s 4-3 win over Real Madrid
Madrid lost at home to Schalke, but advanced to the quarterfinals with a 5-4 aggregate win. It’s a performance that will hardly leave anyone fearing the defending champions.
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Schalke needed an early goal to both get back in the tie and put Real Madrid under some pressure, and after 20 minutes they got just what they needed. After some early chances for the Germans fell apart in the attacking third, Christian Fuchs put the visitors up 1-0.
Max Meyer started the play by getting past a couple challengers before laying the ball off to Tranquillo Barnetta. The midfielder curled a pass to the pack posted where Fuchs was waiting unmarked to drive a shot past Iker Casillas.
The lead lasted all of five minutes.
In the 25th minute a Toni Kroos corner kick found Cristiano Ronaldo lurking in the Schalke area and the Portuguese striker did the rest, burying a header past Timon Wellenreuther to even the score at 1-1 on the day.
Schalke roared back, however, and scored a second away goal in the 40th minute. Meyer was again involved, controlling a knocked down ball in the Madrid area and blasting it on frame where Casillas was only able to parry it away. Klaas-Jan Huntelaar, who was hunting the rebound, was happy to hammer it into the net and put the Germans back ahead 2-1.
Ronaldo came to the rescue again in the 45th minute, once again pulling Madrid back even at 2-2. This time it was a cross from Fabio Coentråo that found Ronaldo free in the box after he was able to peel away from his marker. Ronaldo again beat Wellenreuther with a strong header, calming the nervous Bernabéu crowd during the halftime break.
Madrid extended the lead in the 53rd minute when Karim Benzema picked up the ball on the left side of the box. Benzema proceeded to dribble his way across the face of goal before placing a shot past a diving defender and goalkeeper.
Schalke refused to give up, though, and tied the match yet again, this time at 3-3 in the 76th minute.
Leroy Sané -- who was making his Champions League debut -- took advantage of being left with a ton of space on the edge of the Madrid area, unleashing an impressive strike that froze Casillas before tucking itself nicely into the far corner of the net. Coentrão will take the bulk of the blame for the goal as he failed to close down on the Schalke youngster.
Huntelaar scored his second goal of the match in the 84th minute, giving Schalke a 4-3 lead on the day and moving them within one goal of eliminating Madrid. Sadly for the Germans, the final goal they needed wouldn’t come as Madrid survived.
Fans at the Bernabéu rained down their displeasure on Madrid players at the final whistle, making it clear that despite the fact their side advanced, the performance was nowhere near good enough.
Real Madrid: Casillas, Arbeloa (Nacho 83’), Varane, Pepe, Coentrão (Marcelo 58’), Kroos, Khedira (Modrić 58’), Isco, Bale, Benzema, Ronaldo
Goals: Ronaldo (25’, 45’), Benzema (53’)
Schale 04: Wellenreuther, Höwedes, Matip, Nastasic, Höger (Goretzka 57’), Neustädter, Fuchs, Barnetta, (Uchida 81’) Meyer, Choupo-Moting (Sané 29’), Huntelaar
Goals: Fuchs (20’), Huntelaar (40’, 84’), Sené (57’)
3 things
1. Reports of Ronaldo’s demise have been greatly exaggerated - Has one of the world’s best players been struggling of late? Yes. Has he been failing to score goals and be the dominant attacking force we’re used to seeing? Yes. Is he suddenly not good anymore? No. NO. He’s Ronaldo. He’s still amazing, he’s still great, and let’s be honest, the Madrid midfield has been a wreck lately. Remember how good they were playing before the Christmas break?
2. Madrid need Sergio Ramos back - Yeah he has some wheels off moments, but Ramos is the anchor of the Madrid defense. He sets the tone, keeps them organized, just makes them better in so many ways. Without him at the back, Schalke were able cause major problems for Madrid. Of course, it also didn't help having both Marcelo and Dani Carvajal not starting either. The Coentrão-Pepe-Varane-Arbeloa combination just wasn't good enough ... at all.
3. It’s REALLY hard to judge this Madrid team right now - It’s very easy to just say that Real Madrid isn’t as good as they were last year based on their current form. It’s also very easy to forget that before injuries left Carlo Ancelotti with limited rotation options, they were destroying everyone in their path without consideration for anyone’s feelings. Will the return of Ramos and Luka Modrić and James Rodriguez help right the ship in the next round? Probably, but the Clásico in two weeks will be a huge litmus test. If they right the ship, they can repeat at UCL winners. If not, they could go out in the next round.
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