Schalke secure top spot in lisbon

Benfica were disappointing throughout but Lyon's late equaliser in the 2-2 draw against Hapoel Tel Aviv in the night's other Group B game meant the Portuguese champions finished

third and grabbed a Europa League place. "I did not want to know what was going on in the other game, but we finished third thanks to the Lyon draw. That's football, and we ending

up benefiting," Benfica coach Jorge Jesus said. The German team scored with their first real chance of the game when Ivan Rakitic's cross was chested down by Raul for his fellow

Spaniard Jurado to fire in on 19 minutes, with a static Benfica defence caught ball-watching. You may like "The priority was to win, go through to the Europa League with nine points and

not think about third parties. We didn't play well in the first half, we were not dynamic and the players were too rooted to their positions," Jesus added. Schalke doubled their

lead in the 81st minute when Howedes beat an offside trap after a corner to finish coolly from near the penalty spot before Luisao headed in a consolation goal for the hosts. FANS BOO

Lacking aggression going forward, Benfica's sole clear chance in the first half was a fierce long-distance effort by midfielder Carlos Martins that went just wide. The best features,

fun and footballing quizzes, straight to your inbox every week. The Lisbon club have failed to repeat last season's impressive performances and the fans, already unhappy that the side

are eight points adrift of Porto in the domestic league, made their point by booing the team during parts of the game. "Unfortunately things have not been going like we want. We are

anxious to change matters quickly and sometimes that is hurting us. We have to keep our feet on the ground, we still have the Europa League," defender David Luiz said. Even without

putting their foot on the gas, Schalke looked dangerous, with Rakitic and Jurado lively on the flanks and Klaas-Jan Huntelaar combining well with Raul to make the Portuguese side look

vulnerable. Benfica introduced Argentine duo Pablo Aimar and Nicolas Gaitan at half-time but Schalke continued to control the match and came close in the 54th minute when Peer Kluge beat

Fabio Coentrao in the box only to send his scuffed effort wide. The Portuguese team slowly started to threaten and created two chances in quick succession around the 65th minute, with Javi

Garcia sending a first-time shot wide and Oscar Cardozo forcing Manuel Neuer to block a powerful drive moments later.