Real aim to erase doubts with more first-leg success against Schalke
Life in the white-clad half of Madrid remained firmly mired in discontent this weekend ahead of the first leg of the UEFA Champions League Round of 16 tie against Schalke 04.
There were simply too many doubts during the victory over Deportivo La Coruña to provide any measure of comfort or relief after the 4-0 defeat to Atlético a weekend ago. The rampaging start -- including a goal from Isco and two shots off the bar as part of an overwhelming opening 22 minutes -- offered a chance to cast aside the demons of the derby embarrassment. The inability to procure a second goal or stop Deportivo from dreaming of an equalizer until the final quarter of an hour left the Santiago Bernabeu faithful to howl in disgust instead.
“The team reacted very well after a strange week,” Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti insisted after Karim Benzema eventually extinguished Deportivo’s hopes and secured a 2-0 win on Saturday. “I expected to see this Real Madrid side. We were going to have difficulties, but it was important to have the concentration and motivation needed to win. In the end, we did well.”
The trip to Gelsenkirchen on Wednesday (live, FOX Sports 1, FOX Sports Go, Wednesday, 2 p.m. ET) presents another complex challenge for a side still missing Luka Modric (groin) and Sergio Ramos (hamstring) through long-term ailments.
Ancelotti is not short on depth or quality, but the 4-0 defeat at the Vicente Calderon against Atletico Madrid reinforced the struggle to hit top gear without the primary orchestrator in midfield and the most established presence in central defense. The lurching performance against Deportivo prompted widespread introspection about the challenges ahead against a reinforced and rejuvenated Schalke under Roberto Di Matteo.
“It won't be easy,” Real Madrid midfielder Toni Kroos told the club website ahead of the match. “Schalke are enjoying success in the Bundesliga. They are well organized, they drew in Munich and are strong at the back. With their new manager they have become extremely solid in defense. We have injuries so this will be a tough challenge, but our aim is to qualify to the next round.”
It is more of a mandate for the holders against an opponent dispatched 9-2 on aggregate at this stage last year. The gap between the two sides is presumably smaller given the evolution and the form in both camps, but this is still the sort of hurdle Ancelotti and his players expect to navigate with some measure of ease. Whether Schalke -- now fourth in the Bundesliga after winning eight of 13 domestic fixtures since Di Matteo took charge in October, though Eintracht Frankfurt pegged them back at the weekend -- plans to comply remains another story entirely.
“It’s a new season, a new situation,” Schalke wingback Sidney Sam told the club’s official website. “I think we are more stable as a team this year.”
Most of the uncertainty dissipated when perpetually beleaguered manager Jens Keller finally made way after a poor start to the season. Di Matteo erased most of the defensive failings to arrest the slide in form and turn Schalke back on course. He also concocted a team shape bent on extracting the most from his resources.
Schalke prefer a 3-5-2 setup to rely heavily on Christian Fuchs (exposed for his defensive frailties against Eintracht at the weekend) and Atsuto Uchida and transition quickly from back to front. The structure -- particularly with Benedikt Höwedes and Matija Nastajić likely placed either side of Joel Matip in the back three -- places considerable pressure on Schalke to keep its shape tight and reduce the operating room for Gareth Bale and Cristiano Ronaldo on the break. If Höwedes and Nastajić are forced to pull toward the touchlines from their marking back positions often, then Schalke could find themselves trying to fend off a repeat of the 6-1 first leg defeat at Veltins-Arena a year ago.
Even in this home fixture, it is more about playing for the break, reducing operating room and waiting for the right times to counter quickly toward Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting and perhaps Klaas-Jan Huntelaar (available here despite a long-term suspension in domestic play).
“They have a world class squad full of big names like Cristiano Ronaldo, Gareth Bale, Karim Benzema and many more,” Sam was quick to point. “If we defend in a compact manner, we will make life difficult for any team in the world. We have good players, too. I’m certain that we’re going to have chances.”
As Schalke attempts to upset the odds on home soil, FC Basel and FC Porto prepare to take full advantage of the kind draw afforded to them in the other Round of 16 tie poised to start in Switzerland (live, FOX Soccer Plus, FOX Soccer 2 Go, Wednesday, 2 p.m. ET).
These two domestic powers often find their occasional forays into the knockout stage stopped at this point. Their pairing here -- in stark contrast to some of the other potential opponents in the pot -- provides them with a chance to dream of a place in the last eight.
Porto enter the tie as favorites to reach that point for the first time since the 2008-09 edition after escaping the January transfer window relatively unscathed. The decision to resist the urge to sell off struck a sharp contrast with their Swiss opposition. Basel grasped the opportunity created by navigating through the group stage to flog Serey Die to VfB Stüttgart and Marcelo Diaz to Hamburger SV.
Basel manager and former Portugal midfielder Paulo Sousa cited the “difficult challenge” presented by Porto when the draw unfolded in December. His side must conjure a way through it at St. Jakob-Park to maintain any reasonable designs on an unexpected quarterfinal place next month.
