Raúl González Blanco

FC Nuremberg - Schalke

Schalke 04

Manuel Neuer

7.0

Held onto every ball and from crosses, he was very decisive and assured, which breathed confidence into the Schalke backline and laid the foundation upon which Schalke built this win. Never called upon to make a truly spectacular save but his bravery and mental strength to stand up to a hostile crowd earn him a lot of brownie points.

Hans Sarpei

6.5

A lot of people probably gasped or chuckled at the addition of Sarpei, who had been banished to the second team. As it happened, the experienced utility-man acquitted himself well as he relied on positional sense and nouse to limit the threat of Robben.

Benedikt Höwedes

Top of the Match

8.0

The young defender was a tower of strength at the back, producing one of his best displays of the season. His positioning was excellent, he cleared every ball that needed to be and also set up the winning goal to boot with a clever header into the path of Raul.

Christoph Metzelder

7.5

Metzelder has endured his fair share of criticism this season but tonight he was at his very best, reminding us all why he was a key player for Dortmund when fit and why Real Madrid wanted him. He cut out/intercepted countless balls inside the box with his head and always resisted the temptation to lunge in with a rash tackle.

Atsuto Uchida

6.0

A chequered performance from the Japanese international, who is yet to return to his best since the Asian Cup. He did a lot of good work against Ribery, sticking to the winger like glue but he undid that when he lost his rag in the second-half and should have been sent off for an off-the-ball trip on the Frenchman.

Joel Matip

6.5

In the midfield trio today instead of defence, he covered a lot of ground in front of the back four. Although he did fall foul of Florian Meyer on a few occasions and was lucky a further time not to be penalised for a foul on Klose, for the most part he shielded the defence very well as the gameplan emphasised his defensive strengths. Was like a third centre-back at times coming back into the box to sweep up anything not picked up by the centre-backs.

Anthony Annan

6.5

Annan has long been earmarked for a move to a bigger club after impressing for Rosenborg but until now, he had not truly convinced in the royal blue of Schalke. He was somewhat better tonight - tenacious and determined but needs to win more midfield battles. Was tidy with the ball and played his part in the victory.

Peer Kluge

6.5

Kluge is a real unsung hero in this Schalke team among an array of superstars. He gave excellent protection to Uchida, which meant they could double-team Ribery and had bounds of energy to come forward with the ball. He is a player whom Felix Magath can rely on against the sternest of opposition.

Jurado

5.5

Was nominally on the left-hand side but his average position was dead centre behind Raul, which did lend a lop-sidedness to Schalke going forward. Did not get hugely involved in the play although in fairness, the Schalke gameplan of letting Bayern have most of the ball did not suit his style of play.

Raúl

7.0

Scored the opening goal, which ultimately proved decisive - the goalscoring hero could have had a couple of others but for being denied by Bayern. His movement was excellent and he held the ball up reasonably well when required. Blotted his copybook a little with a fiery temperament but that should not detract from his decisive contribution this evening.

Jefferson Agustin Farfán

6.5

Shook off an adductor problem to play and took a lot of pressure off his side, who had only one third of the ball, with his speed and ability to transform defence into attack. His delivery from set-pieces was good, if not great and exposed weaknesses in the Bayern team setup.

• Substitutions

Kyriakos Papadopoulos

N/A

N/A

Julian Draxler

5.5

Did not have the stunning impact he had against Nuernberg upon replacing Jurado. He was tidy on the ball as usual but with Bayern piling on the pressure, had little opportunity to display his wares.

Lukas Schmitz

Today he was just like a hero!

haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaappy!

SEÑOR RAÚL!!!!!!!

9 gorgeous hq pix of raúl on yesterday's match against bayern münchen:

http://donadabola.wordpress.com/2011/03/03...l-da-dfb-pokal/

Thank you all for the pictures, videos and information!

Great job, captain! As always!

HAPPY INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY!

1 BEAUTIFUL PIC OF MAMEN + 3 OTHER PIX OF WAGS WHO DESERVE TO BE REMEMBERED ON THIS SPECIAL DATE:

http://donadabola.wordpress.com/2011/03/08...gs-de-respeito/

:hell yea!:WE BEAT VALENCIA 3-1!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :hell yea!:

Would have loved a goal from Raul but Farfan (2) and Gavranovic got the goals GO SCHRAULKE!!!!!!!!

Good job,Schalke！

Thank you,Neuer! Thank you,Farfan! Thank you,magath! Thank you,Gavranovic !

Thanks all of them!

Raul: I don't want to face Real

Schalke striker Raul admits he would prefer to avoid more Spanish opposition in the quarter-finals of the Champions League.

Especially what would be an "emotional" return to former club Real Madrid.

Raul helped Schalke dump La Liga side Valencia out at the last-16 stage, winning the second leg at home 3-1 for a 4-2 aggregate victory.

"I'm very happy. For Schalke to be in the quarters is a very important step. Now we can enjoy two more games against a great opponent because, whoever it is, they will be among the best in Europe. We will try to make it difficult for them and dream of the semi-finals," Raul said in Marca.

Last night's success means Schalke join Barcelona, Tottenham and Shakhtar Donetsk in the next round, with the final four places to be decided next week.

Among those hoping to progress through to the quarter-finals are Raul's old side Madrid, who are currently locked at 1-1 with Lyon following the first leg in France, but the veteran hitman admits he would rather not face the team he represented for over 15 years before moving to Germany last summer.

"I would prefer for us not to face any Spanish team. I don't want Madrid because it would be too emotional to return to the Santiago Bernabeu wearing another shirt," said the 33-year-old, who won the Champions League three times with the Spanish giants but was also part of the Madrid side that has failed to get beyond the last 16 in six successive campaigns.

He added: "For me it's a special competition. I've gone many years without getting past the last 16 and to be in the quarters will be special. We are performing at a great level in the cup competitions and where we haven't been consistent is in the Bundesliga.

"Hopefully we can achieve two or three wins so as not to suffer towards the end of the season."

Schalke are currently 10th in the Bundesliga, five points above the bottom three.

B-Liga

Schalke 04 2 - 1 Eintracht Frankfurt

S04 2:1 FRANKFURTS

Neuer (5) - Uchida (3) , Papadopoulos (3,5) , Metzelder (3,5) , Escudero (3,5) - Kluge (3) , Annan (4) - Farfan (3) , Jurado (3,5) - Raul (1,5) - Gavranovic (4)

Another one for Atsuto Uchida,for Japan！God Bless you！