EVEN MATCH

Even with the presence of a striker like Didier Drogba, Galatasaray were unable to get a first leg advantage in the match against Schalke. The Turkish club were playing against the German club the last 16 stage of the Champions league. The first leg was at home of the Turkish club, but it was Schalke who managed to take the first leg advantage after drawing the match 1-1. The return leg will be at Schalke in a week’s time. Galatasaray showed off their new signing Didier Drogba, who helped Chelsea win the Champions League during the summer.

The Galatasaray team also featured the former Inter Milan midfielder Wesley Sneijder in the line-up as well. Schalke were coming into the match on the back of a brilliant away form in Europe, as they have not lost more than a match in the last 10 encounters. During this period, they have managed wins against the likes of Arsenal. Hence, it was definitely not an easy match for Galatasaray, but they would have been hoping to see the poor form of Schalke that had seen them go with just one win in the last 12 Bundesliga matches. The Schalke midfielder Jones, who scored the equaliser, has said that the German team are extremely happy with the result.

“We are really happy with the result. We made one or two mistakes and conceded the goal, but all together we played well. Our goal was important, we’ll see how things go from here. We have earned a lot of respect. The action which led to my yellow card was dumb from me, I hope I can still play in the quarter-final,” said the midfielder, who will be unavailable for the return leg after being booked. The goalkeeper Timo Hildebrand, meanwhile, praised the atmosphere generated by the home fans.