Schalke, Hanover lose in Europe

The already slim possibility of an all-German Europa League final was emaciated further on Thursday, when both Schalke and Hanover lost to Spanish opposition in their quarterfinal first leg matches. Schalke conceded three late goals against visitors Athletic Bilbao to ultimately lose 4-2, while another last-minute strike in Spain saw Atletico Madrid sneak past Hanover 2-1.

The return legs will be played on April 5 in Bilbao and Hanover respectively, but both German sides now have mountains to climb.

There was one surprise on the Schalke team-sheet before the match at the Veltins Arena, with coach Huub Stevens opting to play the more defensive duo of Jermain Jones and Marco Höger in holding midfield, resting the more fluid playmaker Lewis Holtby. Schalke sought to involve Julian Draxler and Jefferson Farfan on the flanks to compensate for the missing offensive spark in the center - playing an even wider attacking game than usual.

It was the prolific Dutchman Klaas-Jan Huntelaar, already the Europa League's clear top scorer, who had Schalke's first big chance of the tie, capitalizing on some good midfield work from teen wizard Draxler. Huntelaar lost his footing as he fired off a low, first-time shot with his weaker left foot, but still only narrowly missed the far-post.

Before the 20-minute mark, however, it was the guests who defied the run of play and opened the scoring through number nine Fernando Llorente. Llorente's close-range strike followed a fumble from Timo Hildebrand in the Schalke goal, who twice failed to gather up a low Oscar de Marcos cross. Hildebrand appeared to hurt his hand in the scuffle; he was replaced by 35-year-old Mathias Schober at half time.

A Spaniard against the Spaniards

Seconds after conceding, Schalke hit back. Jefferson Farfan and Atsuto Uchida combined down the right, and Raul got his left boot to a low Uchida cross at the near post - the veteran Spaniard's point-blank shot bobbled in.

Huntelaar had another dangerous shot, following some pinball at a corner kick, blocked ten minutes before the break.

Defender Kyriakos Papadopoulos and Farfan both had good early chances for Schalke early in the second period but were unable to find the net.

Raul was on hand around the hour-mark to put Schalke into the lead. Capitalizing on a pair of half-clearances from a shaky Bilbao back line, Raul smashed a 20-meter left-footed volley into the bottom-right corner of Gorka Iraizoz's goal.

Defensive frailties exposed late on

Bilbao were again able to turn the tides, tying the score at 2-2 with a little over 15 minutes left to play. Llorente picked up his second of the game from an Ibai corner. Joel Matip, who was allowed to play on Thursday after a successful appeal against his suspension, was on hand to deal with the problem but misjudged the flight of the ball, leaving Llorente free to head the ball home. Coach Stevens in the Schalke dugout could be seen furiously mouthing and waving his fists.

Things scarcely improved for Stevens and Schalke in the latter stages. Midfielder de Marcos restored Bilbao's early lead on 81 minutes, picking up a rebound after Schober could only parry an initial effort from Markel Susaeta. Ibai was again the architect, releasing Susaeta with a sublime pass to the right flank.

Klaas-Jan Huntelaar, seeking his 10th Europa League goal this season, struck the woodwork with a long-range volley in the latter stages, but the hosts were unable to rescue a draw from their first leg encounter. Quite to the contrary, Bilbao completed their latter-stage rout in stoppage time, with teen sensation Iker Muniain getting in on the action, courtesy of a Susaeta run and layoff.

Quarterfinal virgins Hanover fly south

Hanover's coach Mirko Slomka trusted a mixture of form and experience up front for the club's first ever European quarterfinal, partnering industrious German all-rounder Jan Schlaudraff with Mame Biriam Diouf. Club top scorer Mohamed Abdellaoue and last year's star Didier Ya Konan both started the match on the bench.

Atletico Madrid striker Falcao opened the scoring for the favorites, rising to head home a Gabi free kick in the ninth minute. Hanover and German under 21 goalie Ron-Robert Zieler leapt out to claim the floating cross but never got close.

The Colombian international banged in 17 goals last season as he led his former club FC Porto to glory in the same competition.

Senegalese striker Diouf continued his dream start for Hanover, tying the score on 38 minutes. Midfielder Lars Stindl played a delectable low cross from the right, just in reach of the sliding Diouf's outstretched left foot. The new signing from Manchester United, who has now netted seven goals in his first 11 games for the club, diverted the cross past teenage Belgian Thibaut Courtois in the Madrid goal. It was Hanover's first real chance of the game as they soaked up the Spanish pressure.

Salvio wonder-goal breaks deadlock

Slomka decided to go for gold during the break, bringing Ya Konan on to replace midfielder Manuel Schmiedebach. Ya Konan soon combined with Diouf to create a solid close-range chance, but in this instance Courtois was equal to the shot.

Madrid had the upper hand during the second period, with Falcao an ever-present threat at the sharp end of their attack. Nevertheless, this played into Hanover's resilient counter-attacking style for most of the period, until the northern Germans also faced late heartbreak. Eduardo Salvio battled for the ball on the edge of Hanover's box, won it, and then threaded a right-footed shot between a pair of defenders and into the top corner of Zieler's goal.

All four quarterfinal first legs were played on Thursday evening. AZ Alkmaar of the Netherlands secured a shock 2-1 win at home against Valencia, with the winner of that tie set to meet either Hanover or Atletico Madrid in the semis. Portugal's Sporting Lisbon secured a narrow 2-1 home win against Ukrainian outfit Metalist Charkow as those sides fight to face either Schalke or Athletic Bilbao.

Author: Mark Hallam
Editor: Charlotte Chelsom-Pill