Inter Milan v FC Schalke: Champions League match facts
PREVIOUS MEETINGS
- The clubs' past encounters have been tight affairs. In the 1997 UEFA Cup final, Huub Stevens' Schalke won the first leg in Gelsenkirchen 1-0 through Marc Wilmots' 69th-minute goal. Ivan Zamorano struck the only goal of the return for Roy Hodgson's Inter after 84 minutes.
- Luigi Simoni was in charge of Inter when they took revenge in the quarter-finals the following season. Ronaldo earned the Nerazzurri a 1-0 first-leg win and although Michael Goossens cancelled this out in the 90th minute of the return, Taribo West's extra-time effort earned the Italian side aggregate victory en route to lifting the trophy.
- Inter's Javier Zanetti played in all four matches and is the only survivor of those contests.
MATCH BACKGROUND
- Inter are bidding to become the first team to successfully defend the European crown in the UEFA Champions League era.
- This is their 12th quarter-final appearance and they have won eight of their previous 11. Schalke, by contrast, are hoping to make it to their first semi-final after previous defeats at this stage in 1958/59 and 2007/08.
- Inter will look to get back to winning ways at San Siro after going down 1-0 to Bayern in the last round, a defeat they reversed with a 3-2 second-leg victory in Bavaria. They had previously won seven consecutive home games in the UEFA Champions League, including a 4-0 success against Germany's SV Werder Bremen in the group stage.
- Since their Matchday One loss at Olympique Lyonnais, Schalke have been unbeaten on their travels in this season's competition, winning at Benfica in the group stage and drawing at Hapoel Tel-Aviv FC and Valencia, their last-16 victims.
- Schalke's most recent visit to Italy came in the 2005/06 UEFA Cup round of 16, when they lost 1-0 at US Citta di Palermo before winning the return 3-0. Schalke's record in Italy is one win and four defeats – and the former was a 3-0 forfeit victory against ACF Fiorentina in the 1977/78 UEFA Cup first round.
UEFA MILESTONES AND STATS
INTER MILAN
- Inter have conceded 145 European Champion Clubs' Cup goals.
- The holders have conceded 14 goals, three more than any other team in the quarter-finals.
- Inter have been caught offside 10 times, fewer than any team still involved.
- Samuel Eto'o has scored eight goals this season, the joint highest total along with Lionel Messi and Mario Gomez.
- Lucio serves a one-game ban; Cristian Chivu and Thiago Motta will incur a suspension with their next bookings.
FC SCHALKE
- Schalke have conceded 47 goals in the European Champion Clubs' Cup.
- Jefferson Farfan and Real Madrid CF's Sergio Ramos are the only players to have collected four yellow cards in this season's competition.
- Lukas Schmitz is available after serving a one-game ban; Farfan, Klaas-Jan Huntelaar and José Manuel Jurado are within a booking of suspension.
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