The Switzerland international has taken great encouragement out of his side’s display against the European Cup holders ahead of their crunch clash with Liverpool at Anfield

Fabian Schar has claimed that Basel deserved a draw from their Champions League clash with Real Madrid on Wednesday night.

Cristiano Ronaldo put Los Blancos ahead 10 minutes before the break at St. Jakob-Park but the home side never looked like folding against the European Cup holders.

Indeed, Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti admitted after the game that Basel had put his side under serious pressure in the second half and Schar was disappointed that they did not have anything to show for their efforts come full-time.

“We could have got more out of the game,” the defender told reporters.

“It was an evenly fought contest from which we deserved a point. We were only lacking a goal.

“But we’re still second in the group and with a point against Liverpool we’ll go through.

“From that perspective, nothing has changed.”

Basel boss Paulo Sousa also felt it only right that Basel still have their Champions League destiny in their own hands after standing their ground against a Madrid side that has now won 15 games in a row in all competitions.

“I’m proud of the players, the team and the fans,” the Portuguese coach enthused. “We deserved more.

“The players are increasingly taking on board my ideas. You can see that we can compete better and better with big teams.

“The team’s belief in our ideas is growing; you could see that in the second half.”

Basel sit second in Group B, two points clear of third-placed Liverpool and basement boys Ludogorets ahead of their December 9 trip to Anfield.

The Italian says Paulo Sousa’s men are in better shape than the Reds and feels the Swiss will get the result they need at Anfield to make the Champions League knockout stage

Real Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti has tipped Basel to progress to the last 16 of the Champions League at Liverpool’s expense.

Los Blancos clinched top spot in Group B by beating the Swiss champions 1-0 at St. Jakob-Park on Wednesday night, with Cristiano Ronaldo scoring the only goal of the game as the European Cup holders racked up a club-record 15th successive win in all competitions.

Basel now need to avoid defeat at Liverpool in the final round of fixtures in order to pip the Reds to the second automatic qualification spot and Ancelotti fancies Paulo Sousa’s men to get a positive result at Anfield.

“I think Basel are currently better than Liverpool,” the Italian +told reporters. “I see a small advantage for Basel for the last round.”

Indeed, Ancelotti admitted that Basel had posed Madrid plenty of problems with their high-intensity game.

“We did not play as we usually do,” the former Chelsea boss conceded. “We defended well, we concentrated well and the most important thing was the victory.

“But Basel played with a lot of heart. They showed an intense game and were able to put us under pressure in the second half.”

Liverpool will host Basel at Anfield on December 9, while Madrid are tackling Ludogorets at the Santiago Bernabeu at the same time.

The Reds led their Bulgarian opponents for most of the Champions League encounter before a late concession but would have needed to beat Basel in their final game either way

Brendan Rodgers says Liverpool’s last-gasp slip to a draw with Ludogorets in the Champions League is “irrelevant”, insisting he is satisfied with their performance overall.

A last-gasp Georgi Terziev leveller meant that the Reds suffered the ignominy of being held by their low-ranked opponents in the Group B contest.

Yet Rodgers, who saw goals from Rickie Lambert and Jordan Henderson put the visitors ahead after Dani Abalo had capitalised on Simon Mignolet’s error to give Ludogorets a third-minute lead, was unperturbed.

The setback did not change the fact that Liverpool can reach the last 16 by overcoming Basel at home in matchday six – something from which he took heart.

Rodgers told Sky Sports: “To go a goal behind in this competition so early, you need a team that is together and has spirit.

“We are disappointed with the goal at the end but it’s irrelevant now. We need to win against Basel anyway and we looked at that game at the start of the tournament as the crucial one.”

Liverpool headed into the match on the back of a four-game losing run and, far from being frustrated by seeing his side fail to win again, Rodgers praised their fighting spirit.

He added: “I was worried when we went behind and it was a poor goal to give away but we showed wonderful resilience and kept our focus.”

Rodgers withdrew Raheem Sterling, who had just missed a glorious chance to make it 3-1, late in the game, explaining that it was due to illness.

“He had a bad stomach and was buckled over in pain for six or seven minutes,” the Northern Irishman revealed.