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Manchester City v Schalke background

A late first-leg turnaround has put Manchester City in pole position and leaves Schalke facing a fourth successive last-16 elimination.

Raheem Sterling after scoring a 90th-minute winner for Manchester City in the first leg
Raheem Sterling after scoring a 90th-minute winner for Manchester City in the first leg ©AFP/Getty Images

A late turnaround in a dramatic first leg has left Manchester City within sight of the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals for the third time in four years while Schalke face a fourth successive last-16 elimination.

• Sergio Agüero gave City an 18th-minute lead in an eventful first game in Gelsenkirchen, before two Nabil Bentaleb penalties late in the first half turned the match in Schalke's favour – those were the only three first-half goals scored across the eight round of 16 first legs. The visitors' problems intensified when Nicolás Otamendi was dismissed midway through the second period, but a fine free-kick from former Schalke favourite Leroy Sané (85) restored parity once more before Raheem Sterling's 90th-minute winner.

• The winners of Group F in the autumn, Manchester City are in the knockout stages for the sixth year in a row, and have won two of their last three round of 16 ties. In 2017/18 they went on to the quarter-finals, where they lost to fellow English side Liverpool.

• The German club reached the semi-finals in 2010/11, but have not been past the round of 16 in three attempts since. Schalke qualified for this season's knockout stages by finishing second to Porto in Group D.

Highlights: Schalke 2-3 Manchester City

Previous meetings
• City have won three of the teams' four previous fixtures, recordinga 2-0 success in Gelsenkirchen in the 2008/09 UEFA Cup group stage thanks to goals from Benjani and Stephen Ireland. Vincent Kompany played 90 minutes for City, the only player from either side who is still with their club.

• The English club also came out on top against Schalke in the semi-final of their victorious European Cup Winners' Cup campaign in 1969/70, overturning a 1-0 first-leg loss in Germany with a 5-1 victory in Manchester.

Form guide
Manchester City
• City have been in the UEFA Champions League round of 16 every year since 2013/14, although they have won only two of those five previous ties. Twelve months ago a 4-0 away first-leg success at Basel effectively booked their place in the quarter-finals, Josep Guardiola's side going through despite a subsequent 1-2 home reverse. They had won seven of their previous eight home European matches, including four in a row, before losing to Basel.

• The defeat by Basel meant City have won only one of their five home matches in the round of 16 (D1 L3) – and even that sole victory, a 5-3 defeat of Monaco in the 2016/17 first leg, was the precursor to an aggregate defeat on away goals.

Sané: We never give up

• This is City's third game in a row against Bundesliga opponents; they beat Hoffenheim 2-1 in Manchester on matchday six, having won by the same scoreline in Germany. The first leg made it seven wins from their last eight matches against German clubs (D1), stretching back to a 1-0 loss at Bayern München in September 2014.

• The Citizens have won their last four home games against Bundesliga visitors; a 3-1 defeat by Bayern München in 2014 is their sole loss to German opposition in Manchester (W7 D2).

• City have lost both two-legged contests against German clubs, UEFA Cup quarter-finals against Borussia Mönchengladbach in 1978/79 and Hamburg 30 years later.

• City's best UEFA Champions League performance was reaching the 2015/16 semi-finals.

• The English champions opened this season with an unexpected 2-1 loss at home to Lyon – their third successive European defeat in Manchester – but won four of their next five fixtures, including a 6-0 home victory against Shakhtar Donetsk on matchday four that was their biggest win in UEFA club competition.

• Josep Guardiola's side have won six of their last 12 European matches, home and away – losing five.

Manchester City celebrate their victory at Schalke
Manchester City celebrate their victory at Schalke©Getty Images

• City have never failed to win a European tie after winning the away first leg. There have been nine such contests, most recently against Basel in last season's round of 16 (4-0 away, 1-2 home).

• City's record in two UEFA penalty shoot-outs is W2 L0:
4-3 v Aalborg, 2008/09 UEFA Cup round of 16
4-2 v Midtjylland, 2008/09 UEFA Cup second qualifying round

Schalke
• Schalke are in the last 16 for the first time since 2014/15, when they lost 5-4 on aggregate to Real Madrid, going down 2-0 in the home first leg and bowing out despite a 4-3 success in Spain. That is their sole away victory in the round of 16 (D2 L2).

• That made it three successive last-16 eliminations for Schalke, who were also beaten 9-2 on aggregate by Madrid in 2013/14 and 4-3 by Galatasaray the previous season.

• Overall, Schalke have won only two of their five round of 16 ties in the UEFA Champions League, against Porto in 2007/08 and Valencia in 2010/11.

• Schalke picked up 11 points in this season's group stage, but only four away.

• Despite going down 3-1 at Porto on matchday five, Die Königsblauen have lost only three of their last 15 away European engagements (W8 D4).

Schalke's Nabil Bentaleb celebrates one of his two first-leg penalties
Schalke's Nabil Bentaleb celebrates one of his two first-leg penalties©Getty Images

• The German club are without a win in their last six games against English sides (D2 L4), since a 2-0 victory at Arsenal in October 2012 which is their sole victory in England (D2 L5).

• Schalke's last visit to England brought a 1-1 draw at Chelsea in the 2014/15 UEFA Champions League group stage; they lost the home game 5-0.

• Schalke's record in two-legged knockout ties against English clubs is W1 L1. Their most successful UEFA Champions League campaign, in 2010/11, was emphatically ended by City's neighbours Manchester United in the semi-finals (0-2 home, 1-4 away).

• Schalke have lost all five UEFA ties in which they succumbed at home in the first leg, most recently that 2015 aggregate loss to Real Madrid.

• Schalke's record in four UEFA penalty shoot-outs is W2 D2:
4-1 v Porto, 2007/08 UEFA Champions League round of 16
1-3 v Brøndby, 2003/04 UEFA Cup second round
4-5 v Slavia Praha, 1998/99 UEFA Cup first round
4-1 v Internazionale, 1996/97 UEFA Cup final

Bentaleb disappointment after City comeback

Links and trivia
• Leroy Sané was a Schalke player between 2005 and 2008 and from 2011 until joining City in 2016; he made 47 Bundesliga appearances between April 2014 and May 2016, scoring 11 goals.

• Matija Nastasić made 34 Premier League appearances for City between September 2012 and August 2014, when he joined Schalke, initially on loan.

• Sané scored Schalke's goal in a 1-1 draw against Wolfsburg in April 2015; Kevin De Bruyne was on target for Wolfsburg.

• Have also played in Germany:
Kevin De Bruyne (Werder Bremen 2012/13, Wolfsburg 2014–15)
İlkay Gündoğan (Bochum 2008, Nürnberg 2009–11, Borussia Dortmund 2011–16)
Vincent Kompany (Hamburg 2006–08)

• Have also played in England:
Nabil Bentaleb (Tottenham 2013–16)
Benjamin Stambouli (Tottenham 2014/15)
Sascha Riether (Fulham 2012–14)
Omar Mascarell (Derby 2014/15)
Gudio Burgstaller (Cardiff 2014)

• Sergio Agüero scored one goal and set up two more in Atlético Madrid's 4-0 defeat of Schalke in the 2008/09 UEFA Champions League third qualifying round second leg.

Latest news

Champions League best goals: round of 16 first legs

Manchester City
UEFA Champions League squad changes
In: Claudio Bravo, Gabriel Jesus, Philippe Sandler
Out: Brahim Díaz, Luke Bolton, Eliaquim Mangala

• Vincent Kompany made his 50th appearance in the UEFA Champions League, group stage to final, in the first leg against Schalke.

• İlkay Gündoğan made his 50th appearance in UEFA club competition in the first leg. Aymeric Laporte will reach the same mark in his next game.

• City have won 16 of their last 18 games in all competitions, losing one – they have scored 57 goals in that run, conceding only nine. They beat Watford 3-1 in Manchester on Saturday.

• The game in that sequence that City drew was against Chelsea in the League Cup final at Wembley on 24 February; they went on to win 4-3 on penalties to lift the trophy for the sixth time overall and the fourth in the last six seasons.

• City had kept three successive clean sheets in in all competitions before the weekend.

• Josep Guardiola's side have scored five or more goals in nine of their 47 games this season.

• Raheem Sterling scored a hat-trick on Saturday and has six goals in his last six matches.

• Sergio Agüero scored Premier League hat-tricks against both Arsenal (3-1) on 3 February and Chelsea (6-0) a week later, and has 11 goals in his last 11 City appearances.

• The treble against Chelsea was Agüero's 11th in the Premier League, equalling Alan Shearer's competition record.

• City's home record in all competitions this season is W21 L2 – they have won the last nine, scoring 39 goals and conceding three.

• The Manchester club beat third-tier Burton Albion 9-0 at home in the first leg of the League Cup semi-final on 9 January – City's biggest win since a 10-1 defeat of Huddersfield in 1987. They won the return leg 1-0.

• The Citizens signed 18-year-old midfielder Ante Palaversa from Hajduk Split in January, loaning the teenager back to the Croatian club for the rest of the season.

• Kevin De Bruyne (hamstring) and John Stones (muscle) picked up injuries in the 1-0 win against Bournemouth on 2 March.

• Laporte and Fernandinho have both been sidelined since picking up muscular injuries in the League Cup final against Chelsea on 24 February, although the former was an unused substitute on Saturday.

• Benjamin Mendy had surgery on the cartilage in his left knee on 14 November.

• Claudio Bravo has been out since sustaining an Achilles problem on 20 August.

Pick of the saves from the round of 16 first legs

Schalke
UEFA Champions League squad changes
In: Rabbi Matondo, Jeffrey Bruma, Bastian Oczipka
Out: Abdul Rahman Baba, Naldo, Franco Di Santo, Jannis Kübler

• Schalke are six competitive games without a win; their record in 2019 is W2 D2 L6. They were beaten 4-2 at Werder Bremen on Friday.

• Schalke have conceded three or more goals in each of their last four matches in all competitions – their worst run since September 1964 – and five of their last six.

• After 25 Bundesliga games this season Schalke have collected only 23 points, their worst haul since 1982/83 (two points for a win) when they were relegated.

• Three days after the first leg Schalke lost 3-0 in Mainz, followed by a 4-0 home defeat against Fortuna Düsseldorf a week later.

• Schalke's sole league victory so far in 2019 is a 2-1 defeat of Wolfsburg in their first game on 20 January, Daniel Caligiuri scoring twice.

• The home loss against Düsseldorf was Schalke's worst since 9 May 1981, when they went down 6-0 to Bochum.

• Breel Embolo (broken metatarsal) had been sidelined since 11 November before coming on for the final 13 minutes against Düsseldorf. He scored twice at Bremen on Friday, his first double since 2 October 2016.

• Benjamin Stambouli was sidelined between 25 January and 2 March with a fractured cheekbone.

• Alessandro Schöpf (knee) has been out since a 2-2 draw at Hertha BSC on 25 January.