Schalke coach Roberto Di Matteo
expressed "great disappointment" that
his side failed to edge Real Madrid out
of the Champions League on Tuesday.
The Bundesliga outfit pushed the
defending champions all the way but,
despite winning 4-3 on the night, exited the tournament 5-4 on
aggregate.
"Our squad did everything this evening. We had a very young team on
the pitch, we expressed ourselves well. To win at Madrid, scoring four
goals and not go through, we feel great disappointment," he told Sky .
Former Madrid forward Klaas-Jan Huntelaar threatened a famous
upset with a stunning 85th-minute strike that meant Schalke needed
to score just once more to progress on away goals.
The holders' 2-0 victory in Gelsenkirchen in the first leg ultimately
proved enough to see them through - but the Bernabeu faithful were
less than impressed, greeting the final whistle with a deafening
chorus of jeers as Madrid's relative slump in form continued.
Cristiano Ronaldo had twice saved the hosts in a poor first-half
showing as his headers cancelled out goals from Christian Fuchs and
Huntelaar - the Portuguese's double making him the highest
goalscorer in European competition.
Karim Benzema put Real ahead on the night shortly after half-time,
only for Leroy Sane to curl home an exquisite equaliser for
Schalke, before Huntelaar's superb finish set up a grandstand ending
to the game.
"It was a great match for the spectators. We played very well but it's
a strange feeling, to play that well and crash out nonetheless," said Di
Matteo.
"We hit the crossbar in the first leg and we hit it here, too. Luck was
not on our side today. I want my team to play more football - and
that's what we did here today."
Schalke are fifth in the Bundesliga and must now target a place in the
competition next season, according to the Italian.
He added: "Our objective is to get our injured players back and return
to the Champions League." source: goal |
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