FC Twente beats Schalke to advance

Robbie Wielaert and Kenneth Perez scored a goal each Wednesday to lead FC Twente past Schalke 2-1 and advance to the next phase of the UEFA Cup.

Captain Wielaert put Twente ahead in the third minute, scoring from what appeared to be an offside position after Schalke goalkeeper Manuel Neuer had failed to hold on to the ball.

Perez doubled the lead in the 55th with a curling 25-yard shot.

Gerald Asamoah scored for Schalke in the 76th after Twente goalkeeper Sander Boschker deflected Kevin Kuranyi's shot back into play.

Manchester City leads Group A with seven points. Twente has six heading into its last group game at Paris-St. Germain on December 18. Schalke is third with four.

Wednesday's defeat is likely to pile pressure on Schalke coach Fred Rutten following recent defeats to Manchester City in the UEFA Cup and Stuttgart in the Bundesliga.

Schalke had a chance to equalise in the 18th when Orlando Engelaar ran past the Twente defence and delivered an accurate pass to Asamoah but the forward's close-range effort was saved by Boschker.

Defender Heiko Westermann was denied by the post in the 40th after more fine Schalke buildup play, further frustrating Rutten, who spent 25 years as a player and coach at Twente before moving to the Bundesliga in July.

Schalke, inspired by Englaar's accurate passing from midfield, had more chances to equalise early in the second half before Perez scored Twente's second goal from an Eljero Elia pass.

Schalke's Fabian Ernst then had two efforts saved in the 66th and 68th while Neuer made brilliant saves to deny Blaise N'kufo and substitute Romano Denneboom in added time to keep Twente from extending its lead.

Results Wednesday in the UEFA Cup (home teams listed first):

Group A

Manchester City (England) 0, Paris Saint-Germain (France) 0

Twente (Netherlands) 2, Schalke (Germany) 1

Group B

Metalist Kharkiv (Ukraine) 1, Olympiakos (Greece) 0

Hertha Berlin (Germany) 0, Galatasaray (Turkey) 1

Group C

Standard Liege (Belgium) 3, Sampdoria (Italy) 0

Sevilla (Spain) 3, Partizan Belgrade (Serbia) 0

Group D

Spartak Moscow (Russia) 1, NEC Nijmegen (Netherlands) 2

Udinese (Italy) 2, Dinamo Zagreb (Croatia) 1