Soccer-Rijkaard already looking forward to United showdown

By Simon Baskett

BARCELONA, April 9 (Reuters) - Frank Rijkaard is already looking forward to a high-octane Champions League semi-final against Manchester United after his Barcelona side edged past Schalke 04 at the Nou Camp on Wednesday.

"I think we have to get ready for two great games against a team that is in top form and play very good football," Rijkaard told a news conference after Barca's 2-0 aggregate win over the Bundesliga side.

"I'm delighted to have the chance of playing against them. We are two teams that play very good football," added Rijkaard, who will be without defender Carles Puyol for the first leg at the Nou Camp on April 23 after he was booked on Wednesday.

"The level in the Champions League semi-finals is very high and anything can happen, so I'm not prepared to say who are the favourites."

Although they held a 1-0 advantage over Schalke from last week's first leg in Gelsenkirchen, Barca made heavy weather of the return, struggling to hold off the Germans in the first half.

The Catalans' nerves were eventually settled when Ivory Coast midfielder Yaya Toure took advantage of a catalogue of errors in the Schalke defence to stab home from close range just before the break for the only goal of the match.

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