Schalke 04 2 Inter Milan 1:SCHALKE 04 completed a stunning elimination of holders Inter Milan with a second leg win and 7-3 aggregate victory last night to set up a semi-final with Manchester United. Schalke secured their first last four appearance when Champions League record scorer Raul slotted in on the stroke of half-time for his 71st goal in the competition. Inter equalised early in the second half when Thiago Motta scrambled the ball over the line from close range.
With United coach Alex Ferguson watching from the stands, Benedikt Hoewedes raced clear to fire Schalke’s winner nine minutes from time. It was Schalke’s fourth successive win since Ralf Rangnick took over as coach last month.
Inter’s early offensive moves were stifled by Schalke who pressed deep and forced Leonardo’s side to chase after the ball. The home side were content to wait for the quick breaks and Raul went close with a header after a quarter of an hour.
Inter responded with a Dejan Stankovic long-range effort that keeper Manuel Neuer palmed wide before Raul struck in the 45th minute after rounding goalkeeper Julio Cesar. Motta levelled four minutes after the restart from a Wesley Sneijder corner but defender Hoewedes finished Inter off with a crisp low shot in the 81st minute.
SCHALKE 04:Neuer, Uchida, Metzelder, Howedes, Sarpei, Baumjohann (Draxler 73), Matip, Papadopoulos, Jurado (Schmitz 86), Raul, Edu (Charisteas 77). Subs not used:Schober, Plestan, Hao, Karimi. Booked:Raul, Papadopoulos, Schmitz.
I NTER MILAN:Julio Cesar, Maicon, Ranocchia, Lucio, Nagatomo, Motta, Stankovic (Pandev 46), Zanetti, Sneijder (Coutinho 80), Eto'o, Milito. Subs not used:Castellazzi, Cordoba, Kharja, Cambiasso, Materazzi. Booked:Lucio, Motta, Ranocchia.
Referee:Damir Skomina (Slovenia).
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