Here’s what happened on Wednesday in the UEFA Champions League, in case you missed it…
The results
• Watch match highlights: Schalke 0, Real Madrid 2 || Basel 1, FC Porto 1 ||
• Read match reports: Ronaldo, Real Madrid tops Schalke in first leg || Late Porto penalty secures draw vs Basel
The main talking points
The amazing story of Timon Wellenreuther: It would be easy to focus on Cristiano Ronaldo breaking out of his scoring slump, Marcelo’s fabulous late goal that sealed a record-tying victory for Real Madrid, or how Schalke have come a long way since their 6-1 loss to Los Blancos a year ago at the exact same stage of the tournament.
But for this correspondent, the real story from Real’s 2-0 win in Germany was the play of Timon Wellenreuther, Schalke’s 19-year-old goalkeeper. Wellenreuther was Schalke’s fourth-choice shot stopper at the start of the Bundesliga campaign but a rash of recent injuries saw him called into duty. When Fabian Giefer limped out of a recent match against Bayern Munich, Wellenreuther deputized and did enough to convince manager Roberto Di Matteo to give him the starter’s job, instead of 35-year-old former Mainz goalkeeper Christian Wetklo, the only other fit custodian for the Gelsenkirchen club.
The next time out, Wellenreuther responded by posting a shutout in helping Schalke earn a 1-0 win over Borussia Monchengladbach. Wednesday, though, was the big test for Wellenreuther—a home match against the defending European champions in only the fourth senior team appearance of his professional career. The German teenager responded brilliantly, playing with a level of maturity and poise that betrayed his age. For a 19-year-old playing against a goalkeeping icon such as Iker Casillas, Wellenreuther commanded his box as though he was an experienced veteran, and he came up with two big saves to deny Cristiano Ronaldo—one off a dipping free kick, the other when the Portuguese was played in alone on goal.
Wellenreuther had no chance on either of Real’s brilliantly taken goals, and it’s safe to say that if not for him that Schalke would have suffered a much heavier loss. In a touching scene, Casillas swapped jerseys with Wellenreuther after the match and while it certainly wasn’t a symbolic passing of the torch, it was a classy recognition of the quality of the German prospect’s performance from the Spanish veteran.
Penalty controversy in Basel: When is a handball by a defending player in the 18-yard box not cause for a penalty? We saw the perfect example on Wednesday when Basel defender Walter Samuel (remember him?) was adjudged to have handled the ball.
Danilo converted the ensuing penalty kick with 11 minutes left in regulation to help Porto earn a valuable 1-1 draw in Switzerland.
Replays showed this was incredibly harsh and soft call on Samuel—the Argentine slid on the ground in an attempt to block a cross and the ball made contact with his plant arm. There was no intention or deliberate attempt by Samuel to play the ball with his hand. None. This was the very definition of “ball to hand.” But that didn’t stop Mark Clattenburg from pointing to the spot.
It was a shocking decision from the English referee who earlier in the match controversially (but quite correctly) ruled out an apparent equalizer by Casemiro. Clattenburg took some time to consult with his assistants before ruling that Porto’s Cristian Tello was in an offside position when Casemiro scored. If only Clattenburg got the Samuel decision right, instead of horribly botching it.
Thursday programming alert: Watch Young Boys vs Everton on the four main Sportsnet channels at 1:00 pm ET, Trabzonspor vs Napoli on Sportsnet ONE at 1:00 pm ET, AS Roma vs Feyenoord on Sportsnet World at 1:00 pm ET, Liverpool vs Besiktas on the four main Sportsnet channels at 3:00 pm ET, Tottenham vs Fiorentina on Sportsnet ONE at 3:00 pm ET and Celtic vs Inter Milan on Sportsnet World at 3:00 pm ET. || Also, watch these six games online at Sportsnet World NOW: Dnipro vs Olympiacos at 1:00 pm ET, Torino vs Athletic Bilbao at 1:00 pm ET, Wolfsburg vs Sporting at 1:00 pm ET, Sevilla vs Borussia Monchengladbach at 3:00 pm ET, Ajax vs Legia Warsaw at 3:00 pm ET and Villarreal vs Salzburg at 3:00 pm ET. || Broadcast schedule
Goal of the day
Save of the day
Cristiano Ronaldo unleashed one of his trademark dipping free kicks from distance midway through the first half, only to see Timon Wellenreuther read it all the way and push the ball out of danger with both hands.
Best moment of the day
It has to be Derlis Gonzalez’s amazing first touch on that goal he scored for Basel vs FC Porto.
Tweet of the day
Six pack of stats
Cristiano Ronaldo’s goal in the first half ended a personal run of four hours and 59 minutes without a competitive goal for Real Madrid.
Porto has only won one of its 14 road games in the knockout stages of the Champions League (five draws and eight losses).
Real Madrid has now won 10 games in a row in the Champions league, equalling a tournament record set by Bayern Munich in 2013.
13 of Porto’s last 14 goals in the Champions League have been scored in the second half.
Cristiano Ronaldo has now scored 58 goals in 58 Champions League appearances for Real Madrid.
FC Basel vs FC Porto saw more yellow cards (nine) than any other Champions League matches this season.
** Stats courtesy of Opta
He said it
“It was a great occasion for me, but I wish I had kept a blank sheet.” — Timon Wellenreuther
Burning question
3 stars
1) Timon Wellenreuther: The German goalkeeper was outstanding in only his fourth senior team appearance for Schalke.
2) Cristiano Ronaldo: The Portuguese star scored one goal and set up another as Real Madrid earned a valuable road win in Germany.
3) Fabien Frei: The Swiss midfielder put in a solid shift for Basel at both ends of the pitch, and set up Derlis Gonzalez’s goal.
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