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ENTERTAINMENT and ADVENTURE => Sports Watch => Topic started by: Folami David on Feb 22, 2013, 05:22 PM

Title: Galatasaray left with tough trip to Schalke
Post by: Folami David on Feb 22, 2013, 05:22 PM
Galatasaray midfielder Nordin Amrabat has admitted the ambitious Turkish team face an uphill task to stay in the Champions League after their 1-1 draw at home to Schalke 04 in the last 16, first-leg.
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The Royal Blues take a slim advantage back to Gelsenkirchen for the return leg on March 12 after Burak Yilmaz gave Galatasaray an early lead, before US midfielder Jermaine Jones levelled for Schalke on the stroke of halftime.
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"The formula for victory is very simple: we need to score and win, but it won't be easy," said Amrabat after Wednesday's game.
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Schalke 04 ignored poor recent form to hold the hosts and could have left the Turk Telekom Arena with a win after missing a host of chances as Galatasaray, including star signings Didier Drogba and Wesley Sneijder, failed to fire.
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The Royal Blues arrived in Istanbul with one win in their last 12 games, but, along with neighbours Borussia Dortmund and Juventus, are now one of only three undefeated teams left in this season's Champions League.
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"We are really happy with the result," beamed goal- scorer Jones.
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"We made one or two mistakes and conceded the goal, but all together we played well.
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"Our goal was important, we'll see how things go from here. We have earned a lot of respect."
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However, Jones is suspended for the return leg on March 12 after his appeals for a booking against Selcuk Inan saw him earn a yellow card of his own on 35 minutes.
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"The action which led to my yellow card was dumb from me, I hope I can still play in the quarterfinal," he added.
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Schalke have now lost just one of their last ten European away fixtures, including victories at Olympiakos and Arsenal.