Schalke 04 coach Ralf Rangnick has urged his team to emulate Manchester United's never-say-die spirit as they bid to upset the English giants in their UEFA Champions League semi-final second leg tomorrow.
Rangnick's side were comprehensively outplayed in last week's semi-final first leg match in Gelsenkirchen, losing 2-0 as United took a large step towards a third final appearance in four years.
United's victory in Germany has left Schalke as massive outsiders heading into tomorrow's return fixture, but Rangnick says he is unfazed by his team's underdog status. The Schalke coach said his team should take inspiration from United's famous win over Bayern Munich in the Champions League final, when they scored twice in the final minutes to win the title.
I think we have to be well organised in the first ten minutes and we have to take our chances when they come.
Ralf Rangnick, Schalke coach
"Even if there is only two minutes left we have to think of Manchester United when they won the Champions League in 1999," Rangnick said. "I think we have to be well organised in the first ten minutes and we have to take our chances when they come."
Rangnick said he was unconcerned that English bookmakers have made United heavy favourites to progress, recalling Schalke's stunning 5-2 win over Inter Milan in the quarter-finals. "What the people here say doesn't really matter," Rangnick said. "But that was no different than the situation against Inter Milan. Tomorrow we want to play better and show that we have learnt our lessons from last week.
"In the first leg we competed for first 15 minutes, but then we gave away too many clear-cut chances. But when we played in Milan against Inter, they didn't give us too much hope either."