Twente forge onwards at Rutten's expense

Rob Wielaert and Kenneth Perez scored as FC Twente booked a place in the UEFA Cup Round of 32 with a win against an FC Schalke 04 side coached by Steve McClaren's predecessor at the Arke Stadium, Fred Rutten.

Upper hand
An early strike from Wielaert and Perez's effort ten minutes after the interval left the Dutch team in a strong position, and while Gerald Asamoah pulled one back towards the end, Schalke could not find an equaliser. Though Twente are now sure of a top-three finish in Group A, Schalke need results to go their way on Matchday 5 if they are to play European football in the spring.

Early breakthrough
Twente were ahead after just three minutes, with Wielaert given space inside the area to collect Blaise Nkufo's lay-off and sidefoot the ball past Manuel Neuer for his second goal in as many UEFA Cup outings. Schalke looked lacklustre for a while but then came into things and tested Sander Boschker, with the Twente goalkeeper tipping Asamoah's shot around the post.

Off the post
Four minutes before half-time, Orlando Engelaar – who left Twente to join Rutten at Schalke in the summer – rattled an effort against the post, but the hosts regrouped during the break, and went further ahead on 55 minutes. Eljero Elia made the opening for Perez, who unleashed a low drive from outside the box that nestled in the bottom-right corner of Neuer's net.

Late rally
Kevin Kuranyi headed over when well-placed not long afterwards before Rafinha's strike from the edge of the area was palmed away for a corner by Boschker. Asamoah finally broke through for the Bundesliga side after 77 minutes, slotting home from close range after being played in by Kuranyi, but while the latter had another opportunity later, Romano Denneboom, Nkufo and Marko Arnautovic passed up chances for Twente.