Schalke 04's hopes of reaching the Champions League knockout phase have been hampered after they were held to a 1-1 draw by Maribor of Slovenia.

The Bundesliga outfit began at a fierce pace, with Huntelaar, Kevin-Prince Boateng and Julian Draxler all having chances to net an early goal for the Royal Blues, but they were unable to break the deadlock.

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Boateng, Draxler and Huntelaar were again at the centre of the Bundesliga side's attacking threat and squandered chances to score in a blazing opening quarter, which saw Maribor largely contained to shots from distance.

The Slovenians then went close to forging a surprise lead through Damjan Bohar before the forward finally broke through after converting Mitja Viler's cross on 37 minutes.

Schalke appeared to be shaken into life as Dennis Aogo saw an early second-half shot blocked.

The hosts finally breached the Maribor defence as Huntelaar found just enough room to shoot before firing an effort just inside Jasmin Handanovic's left-hand post.

Midway through the second half, the Dutch frontman came close to giving the home side the lead after firing a shot across the face of goal.

On 73 minutes, Schalke saw their best chance to seal victory come and go as Chinedu Obasi found Draxler and the German playmaker was denied by Handanovic.

The midfielder then wasted another opportunity as Christian Fuchs found him with a good delivery, but his strike was blocked by the spirited Maribor defence.

In the end, Schalke were forced to settle for a draw and find themselves level with Maribor on two points, while Chelsea top Group G after beating Sporting Lisbon.