BERLIN (AFP) - Bundesliga outfit Schalke 04 are the sole German side to make the Champions League's first knock-out round as they sealed an impressive 3-1 win over Norway's Rosenborg in Gelsenkirchen on Tuesday.

With Werder Bremen and VfB Stuttgart going out after the pool stages, Schalke join Group B winners Chelsea in the last sixteen by taking the winner-takes-all showdown with the victors progressing in the competition while the losers head for the UEFA Cup.

The 1997 UEFA Cup winners were never troubled as first-half goals by strikers Gerald Asamoah and Kevin Kuranyi, as well as Brazilian defender Rafinha saw the Royal Blues through.

"This is a great win for us as a club and for German football in general," said beaming goal-scorer Kuranyi, who picked up a yellow card for his over-enthusiastic goal celebrations.

The win leaves Schalke on eight point while Rosenborg are on seven, but the single point was golden for delighted coach Mirko Slomka.

"It is fantastic what we have achieved," he said.

"This is a great success for the team and the whole club.

"We made life hard for ourselves by having to win the last game, but none of it matters now we are in the next round.

"You have to remember we played on Saturday, but the team produced a great performance, we have to enjoy the moment tonight and get back to training tomorrow."

Schalke had got off to a bad start before kick off when Slomka suspended international pair Mladen Krstajic and Ivan Rakitic after they were photographed in a night-club in the early hours of Saturday.

Rather than resting, Serbian defender Krstajic and Croatian midfielder Rakitic were caught with glasses of vodka and cigarettes in hand which saw them suspended for the game and they stand to be punished further.

And Uruguayan international midfielder Carlos Grossmueller was banned for five Bundesliga matches on Monday after his bizarre sending off at the weekend. The 24-year-old was a substitute for Saturday's 2-2 draw with Eintracht Frankfurt on Saturday, but charged off the bench to argue with Frankfurt's Michael Thurk, pushing him to the floor to earn himself a red card.

He was also fined 10,000 euros while Schalke said they would not appeal the decision and would dock him part of his wages.

But he redeemed himself against Trondheim with a 12th minute free-kick and striker Gerald Asamoah hit a shot which took a deflection before passing goalkeeper Lars Hirschfeld into the net.

The home side went 2-0 up on 19 minutes when Asamoah's forward partner Kevin Kuranyi laid the ball off to Brazilian Rafinha who slotted home.

The Norwegians gave themselves a glimmer of hope when Yssouf Kone was left unmarked on the edge of the area and he rifled his shot past Schalke goalkeeper Manuel Neuer on 23 minutes.

But Schalke made sure of their place in the first knock-out stage next year on 36 minutes when Kuranyi took a pass from Fabian Ernst and swept the ball low past Hirschfeld to make it 3-1 at half-time.

The home side closed their guests down in the second-half, restricting the Norwegian champions to 11 shots on goal compared to the Germans' 23.

And there were great scenes of celebration from the Germans at the final whistle while Rosenborg have only the consolation of the UEFA Cup.