Champions League group stage lowdown: Schalke
The UEFA Champions League group stage draw marked Schalke's official return to the top table of European club football after a four-year hiatus.
Royal Blue eyes watched on anxiously as the big names from pots one and two slotted into their groups, and there may have been a sense of relief when their name was placed in Group D, with Lokomotiv Moscow, Porto and Galatasaray.
With Schalke's Champions League return scheduled for 18 September at home to Porto, bundesliga.com has compiled a guide to their Group D opponents.
Lokomotiv Moscow
Perhaps the club everybody was hoping to draw from the top seeds, the Russian champions still cannot be considered pushovers by any stretch of the imagination. Having clinched their third Russian Premier League title last term, 14 years on from their last domestic triumph, Yuri Semin's side also reached the last 16 of the Europa League for the first time in their history, defeating Nice before succumbing to eventual winners Atletico Madrid.
Their last foray into the Champions League also saw them progress to the last 16, where they were beaten by eventual finalists Monaco. Previously, the Railroaders reached the semi-finals of the European Cup Winners' Cup in 1998 and 1999.
Key player – Jefferson Farfan
A man who will need no introduction to Schalke fans having made 170 Bundesliga appearances and scored 39 goals for the Royal Blues. Now 33, the Peruvian has not lost any of his blistering pace as he continues to terrorise full-backs.
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