Schalke 04 completed a stunning elimination of Champions League holders Inter Milan with a 2-1 second leg win and 7-3 aggregate victory on Wednesday to set up a semi-final with Manchester United.
Schalke, who crushed Inter 5-2 in Milan last week, dashed any lingering Italian hopes and secured their first last four appearance when Champions League record scorer Raul slotted in on the stroke of halftime for his 71st goal in Europe's top competition. Inter equalised early in the second half when Brazil-born Italy international Thiago Motta scrambled the ball over the line from close range.
With United coach Alex Ferguson watching from the stands, Benedikt Hoewedes raced clear to fire Schalke's winner nine minutes from time.
It was Schalke's fourth successive win since Ralf Rangnick took over as coach last month after the Bundesliga club parted ways with Felix Magath.
Inter needed a fast start but their early offensive moves were stifled by Schalke who pressed deep and forced Leonardo's side to chase after the ball.
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The home side were content to wait for the quick breaks and Raul went close with a header after a quarter of an hour.
Inter responded with a fine Dejan Stankovic long-range effort that keeper Manuel Neuer palmed wide before Raul stunned the visitors in the 45th minute after rounding keeper Julio Cesar.
Thiago Motta levelled four minutes after the restart from a Wesley Sneijder corner but defender Hoewedes finished the Inter off with a crisp low shot in the 81st minute.
(Writing by Karolos Grohmann, editing by Justin Palmer)
