A struggling Real Madrid side will start once again their run for another UEFA Champions League trophy against Schalke 04, just like they did last year. While the first semester of the 2014-2015 season was amazing for Los Blancos, Carlo Ancelotti's crew seems to have lost the flare that made experts consider them to be one of the best teams of all time. On the other side of the pitch, Los Merengues will face a well-known enemy, who has nothing to lose and everything to win, including their destroyed pride after being routed by the current champions with an aggregate of 9-2.
Being deemed as the favorite team to win the coveted European tournament, Real Madrid will visit Germany for the fourth consecutive knockout stage in a row. Last year, in order to get La Decima, Ancelotti's team defeated Schalke at Veltins Arena with a 6-1 score, then went on to beat Borussia Dortmund 2-0 in the quarterfinal stage. Finally, Real Madrid defeated Bayern Munich with an upholding 4-0 score. In the course of those games, Cristiano Ronaldo's performance was key for Los Merengues, and his coach believes he will show his best during the most important game of the season so far.
"His game against Deportivo was good on a physical level. He was intense, and I believe he is getting there. He just needs a goal to recover his confidence, and on Wednesday he will have a good chance of scoring one," the Italian coach stated.
Last season's knockout stage between the Miners and Real Madrid left a scar not easy to heal. For this game, the team led by Roberto Di Matteo will try to put together a team that will endure the attacks of Real Madrid's BBC trio. To make matters worse, the Blue and white team will have to start 19-year old goalkeeper Timon Wellenreuther, who's only played three games in his professional career. Disregarding their complications to set up a competitive team, Di Matteo trusts his players can take advantage of the current misfortunes Real Madrid has undergone this past few weeks.
"It's going to be a tough test for us. Real Madrid are the obvious favorite, but we also have experience in this kind of matches, and we will try to show what we can do on the pitch. Everyone has seen how hard it's been for them during the past couple of weeks, and we have to take advantage of their weaknesses, even though they don't show them very often," Di Matteo told the press.
The second leg of this Round of 16 matchup will take place on March 10 at Santiago Bernabeu Stadium.
Schalke 04 vs Real Madrid team sheets
Schalke's Lineup: Wellenreuther, Uchida, Howedes, Matip, Nastasic, Aogo, Neustadter, Hoger, Boateng, Choupo-Moting, Huntelaar.
Real Madrid's Lineup: Casillas, Varane, Pepe, Ronaldo, Kroos, Benzema, Bale, Marcelo, Carvajal, Lucas Silva, Isco.
Schalke's Bench: Wetklo, Kirchhoff, Meyer, Fuchs, Ayhan, Barnetta, Platte.
Real Madrid's Bench: Keylor Navas, Chicharito, Arbeloa, Nacho, Jesé, Illarramendi, Medrán.
Match details, result and original broadcast info
This match has ended. Below are the original Live broadcast details for this match.
Live TV coverage and streaming in United States
Live TV coverage and streaming in United States
Follow the game on-the-go
Download our iOS and Android apps to follow soccer on-the-go. It comes packed with features - live scores, fixtures, results, tables, line-ups, stats, TV schedule and much more! Sorry, no live streaming within the app.
