Round of 32: Barcelona - Schalke Report
Schalke claim last-16 UEFA Cup spot
Barcelona: Kameni - Lopo, Pochettino, Jarque - Armando Sa (Coro 57'), Zabaleta (Juanfran 68'), Costa, Domi (Jofre 68') - de la Pena - Pandiani, Luis Garcia
Schalke: Rost - Rafinha, Bordon (Kläsener 76'), Krstajic, Kobiashvili - Ernst, Poulsen, Bajramovic - Lincoln - Asamoah (Sand 66'), Kuranyi (Larsen 74')
Goals: 0-1 Kuranyi (53'), 0-2 Sand (70'), 0-3 Lincoln (73')
Attendance: 18,100
Referee: Tom Henning Ovrebo (Norway)
Yellow cards: Armando Sa, Pochettino
Espanyol Barcelona (0) 0 - 3 (0) FC Schalke 04
Schalke's European tour continues! A vastly improved second-half performance with goals by Kevin Kuranyi, Ebbe Sand and Lincoln brought them a deserved 3-0 win at Espanyol in their second leg last-32 UEFA Cup tie. They now face Italian side US Palermo in the last 16.
And so the first half produced just two incidents worthy of mention, one at either end. The first came in the Espanyol penalty area in the 29th minute, when Kevin Kuranyi slipped past marker Alberto Lopo and squared the ball into the middle, but Fabian Ernst was unable to direct his effort on target. Five minutes later an Armando Sa cross found the unmarked Didier Domi, who fired his shot over the bar.
After the interval Schalke's passing was much more direct and assured and as a result they took the lead with their first chance of the half on 53, Kuranyi heading Rafinha's cross into the left-hand corner to give his side that all-important away goal. And seven minutes later Lincoln almost took Kameni by surprise with a volley from 20 metres. The ball slipped through the Cameroon goalkeeper's hands but fell agonisingly short of the line.
Ebbe Sand then came on to join Frank Rost and Gerald Asamoah in writing a little piece of Schalke history. Along with Marc Wilmots they now hold the club record for appearances in European competition with 26 each. But apparently that was not enough for Sand. Another flowing Schalke move in the 70th minute saw Kuranyi thread the ball through to the former Denmark striker, who stormed into the Espanyol box, took the ball round Kameni and slid the ball into the empty net for the second. This meant that Espanyol would now have to score four to progress to the next round. And three minutes later it became five when Lincoln cheekily bent a free-kick into Kameni's corner of the goal, the goalkeeper having speculated that the ball would be floated over the wall.
With that the tie was over as a contest, allowing Mirko Slomka to make more substitutions with Saturday's home clash with Nürnberg in mind. And in the closing stages there were chances at both ends. But substitute Sören Larsen was unable to convert the best opportunity four minutes from time, while Frank Rost achieved his aim of keeping a clean sheet with two fine saves in a personal battle with Luis Garcia.
In the last 16 Schalke now face Italian Serie A outfit US Palermo, who went through on the away goals ruling after beating Slavia Prague 1-0 on Thursday. The first leg is in Sicily on 9 March, with the return in Gelsenkirchen on March 15/16.
At the Olympic Stadium the Royal Blues began as expected with the team that won at Hertha BSC Berlin in the Bundesliga last Saturday. In the first half the game was a scrappy affair. The Royal Blues looked the better side but were unable to mount any pressure on their opponents' goal. And in defence they showed the odd lapse of concentration, allowing Espanyol, after a cautious start, to feel they were in with a chance. Ivan de la Pena, in particular, constantly sought to play probing balls through to his strikers. Whenever he did so, however, the Schalke defence moved quickly to snuff out the danger.
