Schalke should not be downbeat; they were beaten by a better team The aggregate defeat suffered by Schalke at the hands of Manchester United was the heaviest inflicted at this stage of the competition since its inception. They were beaten by five clear goals and never looked like coming close to disrupting United over the course of two legs. Indeed, had it not been for Manuel Neuer, it could have been far worse. It leaves the European football audience with a perception of Schalke as a two-bit operation, scarcely able to string a pair of passes together in a row. They were underwhelming, that much is undeniable, but their run to that stage of the competition betrays the legacy they left to neutral observers. Schalke's campaign led to them being out of their depth, by a long way, but they deserved their shot at the big time. They negotiated their way past Lyon and Benfica, the Eagles representing Portugal as champions, before outmanoeuvring Valencia and outclassing reigning champions Inter. They did so with resolution, conviction and an intrepid spirit. Schalke supplied the tournament's outstanding goalkeeper and featured Jefferson Farfan as well as Raul who, at the age of 33, proved that there is life in the old dog yet. Felix Magath also introduced to the continental consciousness Kyriakos Papadopoulos and Peer Kluge, who were largely impressive throughout the campaign. More difficult times are afoot for Schalke, given their financial predicament and an impending transfer window, but the club and its supporters should look back on the 2011 Champions League campaign with much pride.

The subtlety of Andres Iniesta supplied the antidote for the Clasico's ailments

It does not take a genius to figure out that the four Clasico matches between Barcelona and Real Madrid over the past three weeks were not conducted in the most sporting of spirits. There has been acrimony, indiscipline, violence, wars of words and ill-behaviour. Overall, it must be admitted, that the sequence has left neither club covered in glory.

Real Madrid were guilty of being overly physical and also of adopting a persecution complex once their violent ways were exposed. Barcelona deserve scorn for their hounding of referees and claiming the moral high ground even as Pedro, Dani Alves and Sergio Busquets were feigning injury and attempting to have opponents sent off.

Certain individuals, however, have managed to rise above the fetid effluent that has flowed between the two cities over the past month. Lionel Messi, above all others, has commanded the football headlines for his goals, but even he showed disrespect by booting a loose ball into the crowd at the Bernabeu.

The man who emerges unscathed is Andres Iniesta. He generally stayed out of the way of trouble and his performance against Real Madrid on Tuesday exuded class and dignity. He was rattled by a few fouls but got on with things and when the time came, he gave a pass of rare quality to send Pedro on his way to goal for the lead. Iniesta possesses the ball, usually, for only half the amount of time as his midfield partner, Xavi Hernandez. Xavi is a player of influence, Iniesta is a player of decisiveness. He is not on the ball every third pass; he flits, he roves, he finds space in which to work his subtle magic.

Busquets tackles, Xavi passes, Messi scores but, quite often, it is the man whose goal won the World Cup who makes all the difference.