Mixed fortunes
October 21, 2010
Spanish striker Raul scored twice as Schalke clinched a win in their Champions League group stage encounter against Israeli side Hapoel Tel Aviv.
The first goal for Schalke came after only three minutes, when a pass from Dutchman Klaas-Jan Huntelaar put Raul one-on-one with Tel Aviv keeper Vincent Enyeama.
Raul made no mistake and went on to double his tally after 58 minutes, rolling the ball across the line after an exchange of passes between Huntelaar and substitute Ivan Rakitic.
Raul's fellow Spaniard Jose Manuel Jurado secured the win, controlling a high ball into the box to expertly curl the ball into goal.
There was a consolation for Hapoel in the final minute of injury time, when forward Etey Schachter took advantage of a mistake in the Schalke defense to score from a simple tap-in, brining the final tally to 3-1 for Schalke.
Former Real Madrid man Raul is the Champions League's all-time top goal scorer, with the two goals against Hapoel taking his competition tally to 68.
Schalke, third from bottom in the Bundesliga, are now second in the Group B table with six points after three games - three points behind leaders Lyon.
Bremen claw back point
Meanwhile, fellow Bundesliga side Werder Bremen could only manage a point away against bottom-of-the-group FC Twente.
Werder Bremen earned the draw despite conceding a goal to go behind in the 75th minute.
Theo Janssen put the hosts in front with a close-range strike after he pounced on a rebound from Bremen's substitute goalkeeper Sebastian Mielitz.
Mielitz had been brought on in the 37th minute after first-choice keeper Tim Wiese sustained a knee injury.
It was up to former Twente striker Marko Arnautovic to equalize five minutes later for Bremen, blasting the ball in after a combination with Claudio Pizarro.
Bremen are third in Group A with two points from three games - the same number of points as bottom club Twente.
In Tuesday's Champions League football, Bayern Munich rode their luck to clinch a 3-1 win over Romania's CFR Cluj.
Author: Richard Connor (Reuters, AFP, AP)
Editor: Matt Zuvela