Schalke end Rosenborg dream

Kuranyi: Superb goal

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Schalke booked their place in the knockout stages of the UEFA Champions League as they broke Rosenborg's hearts.

The Norwegian outfit needed just a point from their trip to the AufSchalke Arena but were undone by a breathtaking first-half display from the home side.

Gerald Asamoah, Rafinha and Kevin Kuranyi were on target as the Rosenborg defence was torn to shreds, with Yssouf Kone's response of little consequence.

Mirko Slomka can now plan for the last 16 of Europe's premier club competition, while Trond Henriksen must focus on the Uefa Cup.

Schalke were the first to threaten with nine minutes on the clock as Kuranyi drilled a first-time effort wide after Carlos Grossmuller's clever ball into the box.

Rosenborg, despite only needing a point to progress, were not afraid to commit men forward in attack but were looking decidedly shaky at the back.

Schalke took the lead in the 13th minute and it was mainly due to poor defending by Rosenborg as they failed to clear a low free-kick into the box by Grossmuller.

Asamoah was first to react and he stabbed home from the edge of the six-yard box to claim his first Champions League goal in six years.

Fantastic

And it was 2-0 soon after as a fantastic build-up ended with Rafinha firing home the second to the delight of the AufSchalke Arena.

Asamoah found the full-back, with Rafinha playing a deft one-two with Kuranyi before advancing into the box, turning one defender and drilling a low shot beyond Lars Hirschfeld.

But Rosenborg refused to lie down and hit back through Kone in the 23rd minute.

Some neat one-touch passing ended with a deep ball into the box from Alexander Tettey which Heiko Westermann misjudged badly as he jumped underneath the ball, allowing Kone to lash home.

The vibrant attacking continued and after 25 minutes the Rosenborg defence hesitated after a Schalke short corner and Grossmuller drilled in a shot which curled away from the top corner and wide.

But the home side were not to be denied and regained their two-goal advantage with another superb strike.

Fabian Ernst showed great strength as he found Grossmuller, who fed Kuranyi and the striker side-stepped a challenge on the edge of the box before driving into the bottom corner.

Tempo

The tempo dropped somewhat after the interval but Schalke continued to press and Westermann advanced from the back and fired in shot from the edge of the box which was well held by Hirschfeld.

With 20 minutes remaining, the lively Kone was crudely felled by Marcelo Bordon, with referee Mike Riley brandishing a yellow card, but Marek Sapara wasted the resulting free-kick.

Grossmuller should have made it 4-1 in the 79th minute after being set free by Kuranyi's superb reverse pass, but the midfielder dallied when he should have hit it first time and the Rosenborg defence blocked his eventual effort

Kuranyi departed with three minutes remaining to a deserved standing ovation after running the Rosenborg defence ragged all night.