Santander - match report

Schalke happy to settle for 1-1 draw in Santander

"Objectively the result is okay for both teams", said Schalke head coach Fred Rutten after the 1-1 draw at Racing Santander on Matchday 2 of the UEFA Cup group stage. The result saw the Royal Blues defend their lead in the table.

Despite there being one or two gaps in the stands of the Estadio El Sardinero, the noise made by the 16,000 home crowd made it clear that the visit of Schalke 04 for their UEFA Cup premiere was a special occasion and they were expecting a corresponding performance from their side.

And Racing showed their willingness to meet the expectations from the outset, making life difficult for the Royal Blues with their aggressive tackling, strong defensive running and four lively, attack-minded players who constantly sought to get the ball forward quickly. Jonathan Pereira was presented with an early chance to give his side the lead, but Neuer pulled off the first of many fine stops.

Rutten made two changes to the side that won 2-0 at Energie Cottbus in the Bundesliga on Saturday, Fabian Ernst coming in for Jermaine Jones and Jefferson Farfan for Halil Altintop. Yet they created just one clear-cut chance in the first period, when Kevin Kuranyi fired inches wide from a narrow angle after Orlando Engelaar's shot had been blocked.

Neuer was Schalke's best player before the break, advancing quickly to deny Colsa on 22 and then preventing an own goal by Engelaar with a reflex save on 37. "In the first half we helped Racing a bit by giving them the feeling they can beat us", criticised Rutten. "We failed to match them and our passing was untidy. So we were a bit fortunate before the break and Manuel made some good saves."

After the interval it was a different story. "In the second half we were better and we soon had a fantastic opportunity through Ivan Rakitic", he continued, referring to a fine move in the 54th minute that lacked only the finishing touch. So it came as something of a surprise when Racing opened the scoring through Mohamed Tchite, who reacted the quickest to prod the ball over the line with 59 minutes gone.

Four minutes later, however, Engelaar struck the equaliser. The tackling became increasingly fierce as the game wore on but neither side were able to fashion a genuine chance to win it. "We responded well to going a goal behind", said Rutten. "It was a proper European game and the draw is a result I'm happy to live with. I said beforehand that it wouldn't be easy because Racing had enjoyed a confidence boost thanks to the win in Valencia." The Royal Blues stay top of the Group A table on four points after FC Twente lost 3-2 at Manchester City.

Yet the home side were also happy with the outcome. "There were times I thought we could win it", said Racing coach Juan Ramon Lopez Muniz. "But we have to be realistic enough to accept that we were up against big opposition who are very experienced in Europe. We prepared for that and I think we played very well." Two other things pleased the Racing boss: "Compared with the beginning of the season we managed to play ten to fifteen metres higher up the pitch and we also had some great support from our fans."

Racing: Tono – Pinillos, Cesar Navas, Marcano, Sepsi – Colsa, Lacen – Munitis, Oscar Serrano – Jonathan Pereira, Tchite
Schalke: Neuer – Rafinha, Westermann, Bordon, Kobiashvili – Ernst (Jones 86'), Engelaar – Rakitic (Altintop 65') – Farfan, Kuranyi (Asamoah 81'), Streit
Goals: 1-0 Tchite (59'), 1-1 Engelaar (63')
Referee: Johanesson (Sweden)
Attendance: 16,000
Yellow cards: Jonathan Pereira, Munitis – Streit, Ernst, Rafinha