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Schalke rally to see off Valencia

Hours before Schalke advanced to the quarter-finals for only their second time, Magath denied media reports he was leaving Schalke at the end of the season and at previous games he had been greeted by fans waving huge banners saying "Magath out".

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This time he left the ground with fans chanting his name and wearing T-shirts reading "I like Felix Magath" after his team secured a 4-2 win on aggregate after a spirited performance against the twice Champions League finalists from Spain.

"With such games where it is all or nothing, there is a lot of pressure and when you are so stressed that you cannot really play your game," Magath told reporters of his team's sluggish start. "It was difficult to press early in the game."

"The noise before the game (regarding his contract) should not interest or affect us because the truth is on the pitch. After going 1-0 down we had nothing more to lose so we went for it."

Magath's team have struggled in the Bundesliga all season but last week booked their place in the German Cup final, also advancing 4-2 on aggregate.