PORTO - Goalkeeper Manuel Neuer was the penalty shoot-out hero as Schalke reached the quarter-finals of the Champions League despite defeat to 10-man Porto on Wednesday night.
Neuer saved from Bruno Alves and Lisandro Lopez to cap a superb display over the 120 minutes as the Bundesliga side claimed a 4-1 shoot-out triumph to qualify for the last-eight for the first time in their history.
Lisandro had cancelled out Schalke's one-goal lead from the first-leg in Germany with just four minutes of normal time remaining.
Porto's hopes had looked dashed when defender Jorge Fucile was harshly sent off in the 82nd minute for a late tackle, but Lisandro turned just inside the left edge of the area before bending a shot beyond the reach of Neuer and into the far top corner via the underside of the crossbar to force extra-time.
Up until Lisandro's strike Schalke had produced a fine defensive performance, backed up by the inspired Neuer, to withstand heavy Porto pressure almost from the first whistle.
Porto looked to stamp their authority on the game in the opening stages, but were let down by their poor delivery into the area as a succession of free-kicks in wide areas were comfortably headed clear by the Schalke backline.
The game though burst into life with two glorious Porto chances in the 12th minute.
Lucho Gonzalez was denied by a fine block by Neuer, racing off his line to narrow the angle, after a neat build-up on the edge of the area had put the midfielder in down the right of the centre-backs.
Ricardo Quaresma's right-wing cross then picked out Tarik Sektioui unmarked just six yards out, but his header hit Neuer before he had time to react and was deflected wide.
But that was as good as it got for the home side in the first half, with Schalke content to sit back in their own half with numbers behind the ball and protect their first-leg lead.
Kevin Kuranyi, the matchwinner two weeks ago in Gelsenkirchen, and Halil Altintop were often isolated figures up front, but the German side's tactics looked to be working as Porto struggled to create further openings.
Quaresma almost caught out Neuer with a long-range effort after 37 minutes which the keeper parried back out into the six-yard box, and it needed Mladen Krstajic to hammer the ball to safety before a Porto striker could pounce.
Kuranyi though could have put the visitors in front three minutes before the break when he mis-directed his header from Levan Kobiashvili's free-kick from the right, getting too firm a contact on the ball and sending it well wide when a glance was needed.
Almost incessant Porto pressure continued after the break and Quaresma caused problems for Neuer again when the keeper came off his line but failed to claim the Portuguese winger's corner and Gonzalez headed just wide.
The stopper though made up for that error moments later with a stunning save to deny Sektioui in the 54th minute.
Lucho headed a free-kick from the right back across goal and Sektioui arriving at the far post looked to have the simplest of headers from barely two yards, but Neuer somehow flung himself to his left to divert the ball round the post with his foot.
At the other end Porto stopper Helton was lucky to survive being sent off in the 65th minute. After a mix-up at the back, Helton looked to be a yard outside the area when he handled Altintop's shot, but he went unpunished.
If Helton was let off the hook, Fucile looked to have been hard done by when he was given a straight red card for a late, but far from dangerous, challenge on Kobiashvili.
It seemed Porto's hopes had gone along with Fucile, but Lisandro produced a moment of magic to level the tie - and Quaresma almost won it with the last kick of the game with a 30-yard free-kick which he curled round the wall with the outside of his right foot, but it flew just the wrong side of the post.
Porto's attacking instincts were dimmed in extra time as their numerical disadvantage began to tell.
But Schalke still needed Neuer to come to their rescue again in the 102nd minute when Quaresma was sent clear one-on-one.
The winger seemed to have too much time to pick his spot and Neuer stood tall to divert his weak shot out for a corner with his foot.
In the second period, Porto substitute Marek Cech chipped onto the roof of the net and Pedro Emanuel forced Neuer to punch clear with a fierce drive, while at the other end Gerald Asamoah fired wide from the edge of the area after holding off several challenges.
But neither side could find a winner and it was left to Jermaine Jones to fire home the winning penalty.
