Improving Schalke demolish Lyon
Reuters - Wednesday 24 November 2010, 23:05
GELSENKIRCHEN - Schalke 04 sent a
warning to their Champions League rivals that they have matured
into a force in Europe after sealing their last 16 place with a
3-0 demolition of Olympique Lyon on Wednesday.
Both sides advanced from Group B after Hapoel Tel Aviv's
victory over Benfica left the Portuguese side out of contention.
Schalke, despite some inconsistent performances in the
Bundesliga in which they sit 15th, produced their most
impressive display of the season against Lyon.
"There is more harmony in the team and that is what has been
lacking at the start of the season," a beaming Schalke coach
Felix Magath said. "This win was a sign that we are getting
stronger.
"We have become more stable, more consistent and to keep a
clean sheet against such a strong team means we are finding
ourselves, and we see that the season is not as bad as the table
in the Bundesliga shows," he added.
With winger Jefferson Farfan combining brilliantly with
front pair Raul and Klaas-Jan Huntelaar, Schalke's attack ripped
into a dazed Lyon defence.
But it was their own back-line, that had let them down so
often this season, that lived up to the occasion with former
Germany international Christoph Metzelder and Bendikt Hoewedes
shutting down the corridors for the usually aggressive French
outfit.
Schalke's early pressure paid off in the 14th minute when
Farfan benefited from a Raul effort in the box to fire them into
the lead.
"Our start was very good. We kicked off very well and showed
in the opening minutes we wanted to win and to carve out an
early lead," said Magath.
They did just that as Lyon struggled to contain Huntelaar
and Raul, with the Dutch striker netting Schalke's second goal
in the 20th minute after a perfect pass from Peer Kluge from the
left side.
Huntelaar added another in the 89th minute with the help of
a deflection to book Schalke's ticket into the next round, a far
cry from the early stages of the season when they lost their
first four Bundesliga matches.
"This shows that we can play football and we can do it
against teams like Lyon. The only way is up and that is the
direction we are taking," said Schalke goalkeeper and captain
Manuel Neuer.