Schalke face the prospect of missing out on the Champions League knockout stages after being held to a frustrating 0-0 draw at Steaua Bucharest. The result meant the Germans dropped to third in Group E and must now beat visiting Basel in their final game on 11 December to progress to the last 16.
Chelsea, now with nine points, qualified despite losing 1-0 at Basel. Steaua are bottom on three points before their trip to London next month. Chances were limited on a cold night at the National Arena in Bucharest and Schalke were decidedly lukewarm in attack.
Ralf Faehrmann, deputising for the injured Timo Hildebrand in goal for Schalke, was barely tested before the interval but he did well to parry a fine Federico Piovaccari volley on the half-hour. Steaua needed to win to retain any chance of reaching the last 16.
The home team replaced the ineffective midfielder Ionut Neagu with the centre-back Fernando Varela at half-time and they began the second half brightly. Steaua enjoyed more possession and Faehrmann had to produce an excellent save to deny Lukasz Szukala's effort 16 minutes after the interval.
At the other end Jermaine Jones missed the target with a firm header from a corner. The USA international will miss the last match against Basel after being booked 15 minutes from time.
Steaua went close again in the closing stages through Cristian Tanase's delightful free kick, and Nicolae Stanciu missed a good opportunity following a quick counter-attack.
via Football news, match reports and fixtures | theguardian.com http://feeds.theguardian.com/c/34708/f/663845/s/3422d1f6/sc/13/l/0L0Stheguardian0N0Cfootball0C20A130Cnov0C260Csteaua0Ebucharest0Eschalke0Echampions0Eleague/story01.htm
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