week 5 - match report

Scoreless draw in Valencia sets up "Rosenborg showdown"

After the 0-0 draw at Valencia in the Champions League the unanimous view in the Schalke camp was that it a very good result. But with the Royal Blues enjoying a man advantage for an hour after the dismissal of David Albelda, head coach Mirko Slomka qualified the performance, saying: "I'm not happy with the way we played. But ultimately we have a 0-0 draw and the chance to progress to the next round. That's what we were all hoping for."

The situation going into the game was clear. To maintain their chance of reaching the first knockout round, Valencia had to win, while Schalke had to at least match Rosenborg's result against Chelsea. And it soon became clear that the English side would provide the necessary backup in Norway.

At the same time the Royal Blues were getting off to a convincing start at the Mestalla. The home team struggled to get going as Slomka's men deployed a successful strategy of hit and run. And when Rafinha sped away down the right on 32, the Brazilian right-back was brought down by a clumsy challenge from Valencia captain David Albelda, who was duly sent off. "We drew the red card because we used the space very well. We were well in the game at that point", said Slomka afterwards.

Yet the numerical advantage interrupted Schalke's flow. "The game didn't get any easier for us. Valencia stayed solid for a long time, which meant we had very few chances to break", the Schalke boss explained. "And we didn't take the ones we had, even though we had two men over at one stage." Halil Altintop and Kevin Kuranyi both wasted golden opportunities, raising Valencia's hopes of finding a winner despite being a man down. "Valencia knew we were good on the counterattack, which was why they held back", said Slomka. "But they were a threat even with ten men. We had to be alert the whole time."

This was underlined by the home side, for whom substitute David Silva almost won it in stoppage time. "I'm very pleased with the second half, we gave our all and had the better chances despite being a man down", said a rueful Valencia coach Ronald Koeman. "All we lacked was a bit of luck and the goal we deserved."

"With more composure in the middle and more courage going forward even teams with a reputation in the Champions League can be beaten", said Slomka after the final whistle. "We may have had one or two moments from the reverse fixture in the back of our minds as well because we knew the game could turn against us on a single moment." If the Royal Blues had lost, victory in the final game may not have been enough as they would have been reliant on Valencia not winning at Chelsea, who have already secured the top spot in the group. So all things considered Slomka was "very satisfied with the result, even though we would have wanted a win. Sometimes you have to settle for less."

Overall the Royal Blues got what they wanted from the trip to Valencia. "When we started the group phase we wanted to set up a showdown against Rosenborg and we've done that", said Slomka, pointing out that Schalke now have qualification for the knockout stage of the Champions League in their own hands. But only if they beat Rosenborg at home on 11 December.

Valencia: Canizares - Miguel, Helguera, Marchena, Marco Caneira (Albiol 43') - Joaquin, Albelda, Edu, Vicente (Silva 72') - Villa, Morientes (Manuel Fernandes 35')
Schalke: Neuer - Rafinha, Krstajic, Bordon, Westermann - Ernst, Jones (Bajramovic 71') - Rakitic (Grossmüller 65'), Özil - Kuranyi, Altintop (Asamoah 79')
Referee: De Bleeckere (Belgium)
Red card: Albelda (32'/serious foul play)
Yellow cards: Morientes, Villa - Rafinha, Jones, Özil
Attendance: 29,232