A stunning Julian Draxler strike gave Schalke 04 a 1-0 Champions League win at Basel, who came back down to earth with a bump after their shock victory at Chelsea last month.
A partially cleared corner fell to the 20-year-old 25 yards from goal and although it came to him at an awkward height, he delivered a superb rising shot into the top corner after 54 minutes.
Roman Neustäedter hit the crossbar minutes earlier with a looping 30-yard effort following another brilliant piece of skill by Draxler.
The win gave leaders Schalke six points from two games in Group E and no goals conceded, a contrast to their league form where their rearguard is one of the most unstable in the Bundesliga.
There was little to choose between the teams, although Schalke created more chances, while Basel, playing their 18th game of the season, could not find the finishing touches to match their neat approach.
Kevin-Prince Boateng missed an early chance for the Germans when he dragged his shot wide of the post after a mis-hit clearance by Fabian Schäer.
Draxler missed the target after getting into a good position and a poor first touch from Jefferson Farfán meant another flowing move came to nothing for Schalke just after the half-hour.
The visitors went close again when Neustäedter headed wide from a free-kick just before the break.
Basel pushed forward after the goal and Schäer saw a dipping shot go narrowly wide, while a Giovanni Sio effort was parried by keeper Timo Hildebrand.
Draxler nearly added a second after a mazy run that ended with him shooting over the crossbar.
Basel have three points from two matches, the same as Chelsea, who won 4-0 at bottom club Steaua Bucharest.
Environmental protesters briefly interrupted the match between Basel and Schalke 04 when they dropped down on cables from the stadium roof and unfurled a huge yellow Greenpeace banner.
Play was halted for about five minutes when four protesters wearing orange boiler suits and helmets descended slowly on ropes, which they had dropped from the roof after a few minutes of play.
The banners said "Gazprom, don't foul the Artic" and "Free the Artic 30" and had Greenpeace written at the bottom. The protestors then hauled themselves back on to the roof while officials watched from the touchline and the match continued.
Russian authorities detained all 30 members of the pressure group who were aboard icebreaker the Arctic Sunrise when they broke up attempts to scale state-run Gazprom's Prirazlomnaya offshore oil platform on September 18.
All 30 have been remanded in custody for two months. Gazprom are one of the Champions League sponsors.
via Football news, match reports and fixtures | theguardian.com http://feeds.theguardian.com/c/34708/f/663845/s/31f0a4df/sc/13/l/0L0Stheguardian0N0Cfootball0C20A130Coct0C0A10Cbasel0Eschalke0Echampions0Eleague0Ereport/story01.htm
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