Schalke stunned Champions League holders Inter Milan with a stunning 5-2 victory at Stadio Giuseppe Meazza on Tuesday evening.
Inter began the quarter-final first leg game in the perfect fashion when Dejan Stankovic scored in the first minute. Joel Matip equalised before last year’s final hero Diego Milito made it 2-1 to Inter.
But nothing went right for Leonardo’s side thereafter as Edu made it 2-2 at half-time and Raul put Schalke ahead early in the second half. An Andrea Ranocchia own goal was then compounded for Inter by a red card for Cristian Chivu before Edu put away Schalke’s fifth.
Inter could not have foreseen what was going to happen when Stankovic made it 1-0 with the fifth fastest goal in the competition’s history. Just 23 seconds had elapsed when Serbian Stankovic fired a sensational volley over everyone and to the net, from the centre circle, after Manuel Neuer had raced to clear the ball from Milito’s feet.
The Bundesliga side were level on 17 minutes, however. Jefferson Farfan swung in a corner and Kyriakos Papadopoulos headed for goal. Julio Cesar kept it out, but the loose ball fell for Matip and he rammed the ball home.
Cesar then denied Manuel Jurado before Sanuel Eto'o beat Neuer, but saw his effort chalked off for offside. His side did though make it 2-1 on 33 minutes when Wesley Sneijder picked out Esteban Cambiasso at the far post and he headed back for Milito to find the net from close range.
Back again came Schalke! Edu drove an effort goalward after a quick attack and was on hand to poke in the rebound after Cesar’s initial save.
Two away goals in Milan will have been well received by the team from Gelsenkirchen, yet they would get three more in the second half, starting with Raul’s 70th in the Champions League.
Milito and Eto’o had been wasteful for Inter early in the half and were punished as Farfan fed Raul to send an effort under Cesar for 3-2.
That was on 53 minutes, and on 57 three became four when Jurado's low cross was haplessly turned past Cesar by the sliding Ranocchia.
Eto'o missed a chance for a goal back before Chivu received a second yellow card for a foul on Edu. Jurado then hit the post and the clueless Ranocchia almost had a second own goal to his name when he could only divert a Farfan effort off the woodwork.
Inter cold not clear sufficiently from that attack, leaving Edu to collect the ball, round Ranocchia and curl the ball in to complete an astounding first leg result for a side labouring in the German league.