Category Archives: Champions League

Man City 7:0 Schalke 2019 | S04 player ratings from German media as Royal Blues drubbed

“Schalke-Schande” (Schalke Shamed), read German newspaper Bild’s headline after the game, and it was pretty much on point as the Royal Blues were thrashed 7:0 by Pep Guardiola’s men in the second leg of their Champions League tie at the Etihad. Given their domestic woes in the lead up to this game, few would’ve expected Schalke to progress, but even fewer would’ve expected them to capitulate the way they did at the Etihad- the biggest ever defeat for a German side in the Champions League era.

For thirty minutes S04 kept City at bay, but once referee Turpin pointed to the spot after Bruma had fouled Bernardo Silva, the floodgates opened. Aguero scored the first (with a cheeky panenka we must add!), and the goals kept coming. The Argentine scored two, with five different players on the scoresheet for the other goals. City had thrashed Shakhtar Donetsk 6:0 in the group stages, and went one step better here, as they scored 7 against Domenisco Tedesco’s helpless side.

schande

The player ratings for the Schalke team also indicated how badly they were outclassed at the Etihad. (6 is the worst, 1 is the best). The 51.518 City supporters present were treated to an attacking masterclass from their side, who could do the quadruple this season.

S04 Ratings v Man City Media Continue reading Man City 7:0 Schalke 2019 | S04 player ratings from German media as Royal Blues drubbed

Round up- German teams performance in Round of 16 Champions League First Leg

When the draw for the Round of 16 was made, few would’ve expected Schalke as the team to come closest to winning their first leg tie. S04 were up against mighty Man City, who had trampled all over Maurizio Sarri’s Chelsea, winning 6-0 a few days before their trip to the Veltins Arena.

Schalke were five minutes away from causing a massive upset before a superb free kick from Leroy Sane and a Raheem Sterling goal (set up by City goalkeeper Ederson!) saw the Royal Blues suffer heartbreak. With City having won in Germany (with ten men too!) and scored three goals as well, the odds are against S04.

Man City XI v Schalke

Schalke were the only German team to have their first leg tie at home. Both Bayern and Dortmund had to travel to England. Bayern prevented Liverpool from scoring, and as pointed out by this LFC fan blog, would probably be the happier side- they prevented the Reds from scoring, and a victory at the Allianz should seal the deal for them. Curiously enough, Bayern have travelled to Anfield thrice.

Dortmund were probably the most disappointing of the trio as they were well beaten by Spurs at Wembley. They lead the Bundesliga currently, but didn’t play like BuLI leaders against Pochettino’s men and crumbled to a 3-0 loss that has all but ended their chances of progressing to the last eight.

MD1- How did German teams fare in the Champions League

Four German teams were in action as the group stages of the Champions League kicked off this week. Bayern, Dortmund and Hoffenheim were all on the road, with Schalke the only German team to enjoy home advantage. Bayern and Dortmund both won their away fixtures, while Hoffenheim squandered the lead twice in Kharkiv to draw with Shakhtar. S04 failed to make home advantage count as they were held by Porto at the Veltins Arena.

Results for German teams on MD1 of the Champions League

Club Brugge 0:1 BVB (Pulisic 85) Group A

Dortmund left it late to beat Brugge in Belgium, with Christian Pulisic scoring the winner five minutes from time. Brugge are probably the easiest of BVB’s opponents in Group A, with further trips to Madrid and Monaco awaiting Lucien Favre’s men

Schalke 1:1 Porto (Embolo 64) Group D

S04 took the lead through Embolo on 64 minutes, but conceded a penalty ten minutes later to allow Porto back into this fixture. They’ll be off to Moscow in a fortnight’s time to play Lokomotiv, who were beaten 3:0 by Galatasaray in their opener

Benfica 0:2 Bayern (Lewandowski, Sanches) Group E

A good result for Bayern, beating Portuguese giants Benfica in front of a 60.000 strong crowd at the Estadio da Luz.

Shakhtar 2:2 Hoffenheim (Grillitsch, Nordtveit) Group F

A draw is a fairly good result for any team travelling to Shakhtar, but Hoffenheim would probably feel they squandered two points here. More importantly, their next opponents are Man City, who will be out for blood after being upset by Olympique Lyonnais at the Etihad.