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Schalke makes last 16 in Champions League with win over Lyon

Schalke 04 booked their place in the last 16 of the Champions League with an impressive 3-0 win over Lyon on Wednesday night as they shook off their poor Bundesliga form to top Group B.

Schalke makes last 16 in Champions League with win over Lyon
Photo: DPA

Although they are 15th in the Bundesliga, Schalke are now top of their group with three wins and 10 points ahead of their last game against Benfica on December 12.

“It’s a nice feeling, because for weeks we have been written off, but now we will play in the knockout stage,” said coach Felix Magath. “We played really well, especially in the first 30 minutes. This suggests that we have found our form again and now we need to re-focus on the Bundesliga.”

After his team beat Werder Bremen 4-0 in the Bundesliga last Saturday, Magath said his side look to have finally turned the corner after a disastrous start in the German league.

“The opening period (against Lyon) pleased me the most – we took control of the game from the start,” he said. “We have some stability now and the results speak for themselves that we are improving.”

Despite the defeat, Lyon will also go through to the last 16 as Benfica lost to Israeli side Hapoel Tel-Aviv in Israel and have a worse head-to-head record against the French side.

“The fact we have qualified is overshadowed by our performance,” said Lyon coach Claude Puel. “We were disappointing tonight and qualification does not hide our bad performance.”

Schalke took control of the game from the whistle and raced into a 2-0 lead after just 20 minutes thanks to goals by Jefferson Farfan and Klaas-Jan Huntelaar, before the Dutchman completed the rout with an 89th-minute goal.

The Royal Blues went ahead when a surge into the box by Spanish striker Raul – who scored a hat-trick in the hammering of Bremen – fed Farfan and the Peru star fired home from 12 yards out.

With the hosts attacking in waves, Huntelaar netted his 10th goal of the season for Schalke in all competitions since his transfer from AC Milan when he was fed on the edge of the area and rifled his shot in on 20 minutes.

Farfan was booked for diving over Lyon goalkeeper Hugo Lloris on 30 minutes as Schalke screamed for a penalty and Huntelaar fired over just before the half-time break.

Having already lost captain and central defender Cris for the trip to Gelsenkirchen with damaged knee ligaments, Lyon also look to have lost Yoann Gourcuff for a few weeks as the midfielder was stretchered off on 58 minutes.

Huntelaar added his second of the game in the dying stages when a long ball from the right flank found him in the penalty area and he held off two defenders before beating Lloris with a deflected shot.

AFP/ka

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RACISM

VIDEO: Spain’s La Liga reviews video of boy racially abusing Vinicius

Spain's La Liga on Monday said it was reviewing a video of a child making racist insults towards Real Madrid forward Vinicius Junior during the 2-2 draw with Valencia at the weekend.

VIDEO: Spain's La Liga reviews video of boy racially abusing Vinicius

“We’re in the process of studying and analysing the facts from a legal standpoint to see what we can and should do,” La Liga sources said.

In a video published by a journalist for ESPN Brasil, and picked up by Spanish media, a boy sitting in a woman’s lap can be heard calling Vinicius a “monkey”.

https://twitter.com/GravesenFumado/status/1764242481984491822

The Brazilian scored twice for Madrid as his team recovered from two goals down at Mestalla on Saturday.

Vinicius raised his fist in a “Black Power” salute after the first of his two goals at a ground where he was racially abused last season. Valencia subsequently banned three people from the stadium for life.

The 23-year-old has become a symbol of the fight against discrimination in Spanish football after suffering racist abuse on many occasions, and he was jeered repeatedly by home supporters on Saturday.

Jude Bellingham was sent off after the final whistle against Valencia for protesting after the referee blew the final whistle right before the England midfielder headed home what he thought was the winning goal.

READ ALSO: Football star Vinicius highlights racist behaviour from Spanish fans

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