Stuttgart ties Schalke in Bundesliga opener

Stuttgart, Germany (Sports Network) - Substitute Ivan Rakitic scored in the 76th minute as Schalke tied Stuttgart, 2-2, in the Bundesliga season opener Friday.
Schalke took the early lead on a goal from Levan Kobiashvili midway through the opening half, but the defending Bundesliga champions stormed back in the second half.
Sami Khedira scored in the 63rd minute for Stuttgart, and Pavel Pardo scored on a penalty kick less than five minutes later.
Rakitic, who signed with Schalke on the offseason, entered the game just six minutes before he delivered the equalizer. He made a nice run from well out of the box, side-stepped a defender and placed a low shot to the left corner.
Schalke goalie Manuel Neuer made five saves. Stuttgart goalie Raphael Schafer had three stops.
Stuttgart captured its first Bundesliga title since 1991-92 last season with a 2-1 comeback win over Energie on the final day of the season. Stuttgart ended the season with a two-point edge over Schalke.
The rest of the league starts the 2007-08 campaign this weekend.
On Saturday, Bayern Munich hosts Rostock, Eintracht hosts Hertha Berlin, Wolfsburg hosts Arminia Bielefeld, Bayer Leverkusen hosts Energie, Bochum hosts Werder Bremen and Hannover hosts Hamburg.
On Sunday, Borussia Dortmund hosts Duisburg and Nurnberg hosts Karlsruher.