Champions League

Being a supporter of German soccer’s eternal bridesmaid Schalke can be a nerve-racking affair. But on Wednesday evening, goalkeeper Manuel Neuer showed he had the mettle over the course of 120 minutes and penalties to send Schalke’s loyal fans into ecstasy and put his team through to the Champions League quarter-finals.

Neuer’s reflexes were overcome only once in regular time, but he had three world class saves to keep Schalke in the match. And in penalties, he held two shots while his team-mates coolly scored four times to give Schalke’s supporters reason to cheer after weeks of frustration in the Bundesliga.

But Schalke's frayed nerves could easily have been in tatters in Porto. Coach Mirko Slomka’s side played great parts of the game with trepidation, looking more to play 90 minutes of scoreless soccer. The Portuguese had ample opportunities in front of the Schalke goal, but almost always found Neuer stopping their shots.

And when Fucile was sent off for a hard challenge in the 82nd minute, Schalke seemed assured of victory. But Porto’s Lisandro Lopez scored the first and only goal of the match just four minutes from time. 10-man Porto had the clear better chances, but Neuer produced the key saves in the face of all dangers, and most importantly for Schalke, two times in the penalty shoot-out.

Real Madrid again fail in last 16

In the Spanish capital, Real Madrid was eliminated from the Champions League for the fourth year in a row in the round of 16 after losing 2-1 to AS Roma. What has been the Achilles’ heel of coach Bernd Schuster’s squad in the Champions League this year, namely shutting out their opponent at home, came back to haunt them. Rodrigo Taddei put Roma ahead in the 73rd minute. Raul would even it up just minutes later but Roma’s Mirko Vucinic scored an injury time strike and knocked out Real Madrid from the competition.

Ballack, Lampard shoot Chelsea into next round

In London, Chelsea and Olympiakos Piraeus started from scratch after a scoreless draw in Greece. But German international Michael Ballack and his midfield team-mate Frank Lampard quickly put any chance to rest of a surprise from Piraeus, with the Blues winning 3-0. Ballack scored in the sixth minute on a Lampard cross. Lampard doubled the lead some 20 minutes later by tapping in a Ballack shot that was too hard to handle. Kalou would score shortly after the interval, and Chelsea coach Avram Grant’s side were through to the final eight.

One more match remains to be played in the Champions League round of 16. Next Tuesday, Liverpool face Inter Milan.