Raul was on target for Schalke as his away goal earned a 1-1 draw against Valencia at the Mestalla.
Tie finely poised after first leg
Raul was on target for Schalke as his away goal earned a 1-1 Champions League draw against Valencia at the Mestalla.
The Spanish striker fired home his 70th goal in major European competition, breaking the long-standing record of Gerd Muller.
Valencia dominated the possession during the first half, using their full-backs to great effect as they attacked Schalke down both flanks.
It was this width that led to the opening goal as Jeremy Mathieu burst down the left before firing in a cross for Roberto Soldado to side-foot home.
Felix Magath's Schalke side came out much stronger in a second half that saw a battling performance from Raul.
The striker was determined to grab a goal on his return to Spain and his vital away strike puts Schalke in a strong position ahead of the return leg in Germany.
Quick start
The visitors should have taken the lead in the ninth minute when Klaas-Jan Huntelaar found himself unmarked as Valencia appealed for offside but he completely miss-kicked.
However, it was the hosts who took the lead. Mathieu overlapped on the left wing and crossed into the near post where Soldado had lost his marker, and the striker sent a first-time right-footed shot into the bottom right corner.
Schalke kept plugging away and Mehmet Topal was powerless to stop the ball hitting his hands in front of his face in the penalty area before Guaita had to be alert to push Peer Kluge's looping header on to the bar, but they were having problems dealing with Valencia's attacking play.
Miguel kept getting forward and on one occasion put a ball in for Soldado who flicked a header just past the left post.
Missed chances
Schalke also allowed Aritz Aduriz to get free in the box and would have been thankful when his fine first touch was not matched by the finish as the striker put the shot into the sidenetting.
Tino Costa unleashed a fierce shot from long range which startled Manuel Neuer as Valencia ended the first half in the ascendancy.
Ever Banega's ball across goal was not anticipated and it went inches wide before Schalke had a good chance to equalise when Raul brought down Neuer's goal kick and unleashed a shot from the edge of the area, forcing Guaita to dive to his right to push the ball away.
Aduriz again lost his marker in the area but his shot was more like a backpass and Valencia were penalised when Raul equalised.
The ball was played in from the left by Jurado and Raul nipped across David Navarro, took a touch and placed the ball under the goalkeeper.
Nervous finish
Ricardo Costa played a poor backpass with Raul lurking, which the goalkeeper had to be alert to sweep away, and Valencia must have been frustrated to find themselves on level terms given their dominance of goalscoring chances.
Aduriz had a feeble attempt at a chip after being played in but Schalke were a far different proposition in the second half and they had a chance to take a 2-1 lead in the tie.
Hao found himself with just the goalkeeper to beat. He unleashed a firm, low shot which Guaita did well to turn aside before Schmitz was sent off, although the referee had to be alerted by one of his fellow officials that he had been booked twice.
| Valencia |
Team Statistics |
FC Schalke 04 |
| 1 |
Goals |
1 |
| 1 |
1st Half Goals |
0 |
| 6 |
Shots on Target |
5 |
| 7 |
Shots off Target |
1 |
| 2 |
Blocked Shots |
3 |
| 5 |
Corners |
7 |
| 9 |
Fouls |
21 |
| 4 |
Offsides |
3 |
| 1 |
Yellow Cards |
3 |
| 0 |
Red Cards |
1 |
| 84.3 |
Passing Success |
65.6 |
| 23 |
Tackles |
27 |
| 73.9 |
Tackles Success |
81.5 |
| 64.6 |
Possession |
35.4 |
| 49.1 |
Territorial Advantage |
50.9 |
|
