Schalke´s Stevens rues dropped points

Schalke coach Huub Stevens was disappointed his side failed to secure the three points against Montpellier in the Champions League.

The German side were leading 2-1 with only seconds remaining before Souleymane Camara snatched a late equaliser for the visitors, who had been reduced to 10 men.

There was further bad news for Schalke after it was confirmed impressive teenager Julian Draxler requires surgery for a broken arm.

The 19-year-old scored his side’s first goal before injuring himself when he won a penalty following a tackle from Garry Bocaly, which saw the defender receive a red card.

“Of course we are upset. They have two shots on goal and both of them go in,” Stevens said.

“We needed to clinch this game earlier. Even against ten men we should know that at Champions League level you need to make the most of your chances.

“Yes, he (Draxler) broke his arm and he will have surgery tonight.”

The result leaves Schalke with four points in Group B, two points behind Arsenal and three ahead of Montpellier with Olympiacos still searching for their first point.

“In the last minute we conceded from a counterattack, despite having a lot of opportunities before that. We just need to be more efficient,” he said.

“You could say that we dropped two points today, but then we also have four points under our belt already and we just need to keep going strong – it’s as simple as that.”

Montpellier manager Rene Girard was delighted with his side’s character after they went down to 10 men and hopes the result will lay the platform for a strong performance in Europe’s premier competition.

“We keep learning and there is a good return leg to look forward. This game will help us a lot. We could see today that we played until the very end,” he said.

“To do what we did with 10 men on the pitch for 35 minutes is not easy, especially away. It’s an achievement and I’m proud of my players; we deserved this point.”