Tag: UEFA Champions League

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LEWANDOWSKI SUPER GOAL HELP COVID-INFESTED BAYERN EDGE DYNAMO KIEV

Bayern Munich, missing half a dozen players to COVID-19 quarantine, edged past Dynamo Kiev 2-1 on Tuesday to secure top spot in Champions League Group E with a game to spare.

First-half goals from striker Robert Lewandowski, who struck with a spectacular 14th-minute overhead kick, and Kingsley Coman three minutes from halftime and amid heavy snowfall, put the German champions in front.

Dynamo, who are now eliminated from the competition, cut the deficit with their maiden group-stage goal through Denys Garmash in the 70th minute.

They then forced Bayern keeper Manuel Neuer to make a fine save in the 75th and hit the post in stoppage time as they looked for an equaliser with a strong finish.

The Bavarians, desperate to bounce back from Friday’s shock 2-1 loss to Augsburg in the Bundesliga, top the group on 15 points with five wins from five games. They are also unbeaten in a record-extending 21 consecutive Champions League away games.

Barcelona, who face Benfica later, are in second place on six points and the Portuguese side are third on four, with Dynamo bottom on one point.

“It was maybe not our best performance but overall we are satisfied with the Champions League so far with five wins for five games and 15 points,” Neuer said.

“It was important to focus on the task today and put all the other issues aside,” he added, referring to an ongoing debate over the vaccination of players.

“But that is not that easy when you have a different squad with players who would normally not start.”

Bayern coach Julian Nagelsmann’s options were extremely limited with only four outfield players on the bench but Lewandowski, who has now scored in each of his last nine Champions League appearances, struck with the first chance of the game.

A cross into the box bounced awkwardly off a Dynamo defender, and the Polish striker connected with an acrobatic bicycle kick.

The hosts almost scored an equaliser when Neuer attempted to clear a ball in the box but miskicked, sending it bouncing onto the post and wide.

Instead, Coman doubled their lead three minutes before halftime, drilling in from a Corentin Tolisso cross that Lewandowski let slip through his legs.

Neuer made amends for his earlier mistake with a double save to stop Mykola Shaparenko two minutes after the restart to protect their two-goal lead, but he was beaten when Garmash slotted the ball through the keeper’s legs for 2-1. Dynamo were the stronger side in the closing minutes and kept Neuer busy before Viktor Tsygankov struck the post with a long range effort in stoppage time.

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CHELSEA RUN RIOT AGAINST JUVENTUS TO TAKE CONTROL OF UCL GROUP

Trevoh Chalobah, Reece James, Callum Hudson-Odoi and Timo Werner struck to sink Juventus 4-0 and march an imperious Chelsea into the Champions League’s last 16.

The defending champions battered the outclassed Italians, Chelsea booking their place in the knockout stages but also overhauling their Serie A rivals at the top of Group H.

Match or better Juve’s result in the final set of round-robin fixtures in early December and the Blues will top the group.

Chelsea’s sole concerns on a raucous west London night proved injury scares for N’Golo Kante and Ben Chilwell, who both hobbled out of action well ahead of time.

England wing-back James became Chelsea’s outright top scorer for the season so far. The unassuming 21-year-old now boasts five goals and five assists for the term and continued his revelatory form with a sublime finish against The Old Lady.

Fast-improving young defender Chalobah lashed Chelsea into an early lead, palming his hands together in celebratory prayer. An outmanoeuvred Juventus side would quickly be left to wish for divine intervention, such was the scale of Chelsea’s stifling dominance.

Thomas Tuchel has long since vowed to make Chelsea horrible to play against, and on this evidence that mission is complete.

James struck and Hudson-Odoi finished a sumptuous team goal before replacement Werner rounded off the rout at the death.

Chelsea ripped straight into opponents seemingly entirely unprepared for the Blues’ gameplan.

The sluggish visitors were pulled apart time and again by an increasingly slick Chelsea side and once the hosts coupled that tight attacking approach with the ability to recover the ball almost immediately, a bleak night unfurled in front of the stunned Juve players.

Chalobah could have opened the scoring in mere minutes with a squarer connection to Ziyech’s corner, before Matthijs De Ligt had to deflect Chilwell’s low cross to safety.

James almost caught Wojciech Szczesny napping from a free-kick on the wing after the out-of-sorts Juan Cuadrado had been booked for hauling down Hudson-Odoi.

Chalobah finally provided the inevitable Chelsea lead, lashing into the net after a deflected corner.

Juventus’ woeful first-half showing descended into protesting an obviously issue-free goal, the visiting defence clutching at straws in claiming any kind of Chelsea handball.

Adrien Rabiot’s faltering clearing header deflected off Antonio Rudiger’s arm at point-blank range, with the Chelsea defender looking entirely in the opposite direction. Chalobah swept home as Juve protested pointlessly, with the Blues’ goal rightly standing.

Juve rallied to the point of Morata lobbing Mendy on the break, only for the ageless Thiago Silva to conjure a stunning goal-line clearance.

James chested down Hudson-Odoi’s crossfield ball to fire in a sweet strike on goal that forced Szczesny to tip around the post.

Rudiger nodded wide from another teasing Ziyech corner and Bonucci had to mop up just as Hudson-Odoi looked to pull the trigger having nipped in behind on Jorginho’s lofted pass.

Silva flicked a header on target to open the second half before Ziyech and Hudson-Odoi should have combined for a goal, but neither could quite find space for a shot.

James’ bullet finish doubled the home lead however, as the England wing-back chested down before delivering the killer blow.

Juventus never recovered, and conceded again in a flash.

Rudiger raked a ball out to James and he chopped inside in one touch then laid off to Ziyech, who slipped a first-time pass into Ruben Loftus-Cheek.

The resurgent former England midfielder skipped over two challenges in the area and cut through to Hudson-Odoi, who did the rest with a fine finish.

Just when Juventus thought their ignominy was at an end, James pinged a crossfield pass to Ziyech and his low ball invited Werner to tap into the empty net.

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BARCA IN UCL KNOCKOUT ROUND JEOPARDY AFTER DRAW WITH BENFICA

Barcelona and Benfica played out a thrilling goalless draw in the Champions League in Xavi Hernandez’s second match in charge on a rainy night at the Camp Nou.

The match was Xavi’s first in charge of a Champions League match for Barca after leading the team to a 1-0 win against Espanyol in his LaLiga opener since taking the reins for the Catalans.

The result leaves Barca still not assured of a spot in the knockout rounds of the Champions League pending results from the final matchday when they face Bayern Munich away in Group E.

Barcelona had the better of the play in the first half — executing crisp passing in the final third and hitting on the counter when the chance arose — but the end product was missing.

Benfica’s Roman Yaremchuk had a close-range header turned away by Marc-Andre ter Stegen and Yusuf Demir hit the post with a lovely curling shot soon after as the opening 45 minutes ended scoreless.

Benfica’s Nicolas Otamendi intervened with a sliding tackle just before the hour mark to deny Memphis Depay an excellent goalscoring chance from close range as the score stayed 0-0.

Ronald Araújo looked to have scored a classy winner shortly before the end of the match, but the goal was ruled out for offside and both teams settled for a point on the night.

Barca are two points ahead of Benfica with one game still to play, but they face a daunting task in the last group when they travel to Germany to take on Bayern, who have a perfect winning record so far. Benfica, meanwhile, host winless Dinamo Kiev at home in Lisbon in their final game.

While new manager Xavi appeared to have quickly fixed many issues like the team’s intensity, rhythm, ball control and collective effort, scoring remains a problem.

Barca had 61% of the ball but created only a few chances, including a shot across goal from Demir in the first half, a header from Frenkie de Jong after the break, and a volley from Araujo that went in only to be disallowed because he was in an offside position.

Haris Seferovic failed to score what looked like the winner on one of the last kicks of the game when through on goal in a stoppage-time counter-attack, leaving his coach infuriated.

“In my 30 years as a coach, I have never seen a player miss an opportunity like this. Unfortunately, it happened to us,” Jorge Jesus told reporters.

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UCL: RONALDO, SANCHO ON TARGET AS UNITED START LIFE AFTER SOLSKJAER WITH A WIN AT VILLAREAL

Cristiano Ronaldo delivered yet another critical late Champions League goal before Jadon Sancho got his first in a Manchester United shirt to give caretaker manager Michael Carrick a 2-0 victory over Villarreal.

United were far from convincing against a side 12th in LaLiga, but where there is Ronaldo there is a way and his sixth Champions League goal of the season, 12 minutes from time, set them on course for victory.

The Portuguese then helped start a move capped by Sancho in the last minute of the 90, with the England forward crashing a shot off the underside of the bar to confirm United’s place in the knockout stages and ending the three-match winless run that cost Ole Gunnar Solskjaer his job.

Elsewhere United’s managerial search continued – Ernesto Valverde the latest candidate linked with the interim role as Mauricio Pochettino played down his interest in swapping Paris St Germain for Old Trafford – but here the focus was on Carrick.

The 40-year-old, who was integral to Solskjaer’s set-up and had said in Tuesday’s press conference that his ideas were similar to the Norwegian’s, made a major statement on the teamsheet with Donny van de Beek, starting only his third match of the season, selected ahead of Bruno Fernandes.

That was one of four changes – Alex Telles came in for Luke Shaw in an enforced move, while Anthony Martial and Fred came in for Nemanja Matic and Marcus Rashford.

United fans, high above the goal in Villarreal’s El Madrigal, sang Solskjaer’s name during a seven-minute delay to kick-off due to problems with the officials’ radio sets.

When play did get under way, Martial partnered Ronaldo in attack with Van de Beek at the tip of a diamond midfield, though United struggled to make much of an impression going forward.

Scott McTominay had an early chance from a free-kick, heading into the side-netting, but it was a familiar story of United looking too passive in midfield, and giving away possession too easily to offer Villarreal chances.

The best of them came in the 27th minute when Pino pulled the ball inside for Manu Trigueros, whose first-time shot was kept out by a strong hand from David De Gea.

Carrick, prowling the technical area, watched on as Ronaldo headed straight at Geronimo Rulli before firing a free-kick into the wall from a dangerous position.

But the better openings were at the other end. Arnaut Danjuma, an injury doubt before the match, fired wide after Aaron Wan- Bissaka lost possession.

It was De Gea to the rescue again just before the hour mark, with the goalkeeper denying Trigueros with a strong right hand after Danjuma’s shot was deflected into the midfielder’s path.

United were living dangerously, with Danjuma firing over after Wan-Bissaka allowed him too much space.

But Carrick’s double substitution of Van de Beek and Martial for Fernandes and Rashford changed the game, with United on the front foot thereafter.

Sancho brought a fine save from Rulli after cutting in from the right and exchanging passes with Ronaldo.

Moments later, United led, and this time Rulli needed to hold his hands up. The goalkeeper’s short pass played Etienne Capoue into trouble. Fred got a toe to the ball and Ronaldo did the rest with a lob over Rulli.

The Portuguese almost had another five minutes later, a short header back from Juan Foyth allowing him to nip in but he poked his shot just wide.

Villarreal were run ragged – Rashford shot straight at Rulli before Fernandes’ effort was deflected wide, and United inflicted the killer blow at the death.

Ronaldo started the counter in which Rashford and Fernandes switched play to the right, where Sancho fired home to leave the traveling fans chanting Carrick’s name.

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Manchester United and Chelsea eye knockout qualification

NYON, SWITZERLAND - July 22: A general view of the trophy ahead of the UEFA Champions League 2019/20 Third Qualifying Round draw at the UEFA headquarters, The House of European Football on July 22, 2019 in Nyon, Switzerland. (Photo by Harold Cunningham - UEFA/UEFA via Getty Images)

Chelsea and Manchester United fly the English flag on Tuesday with both clubs knowing victories will ensure progression.

Life after Ole Gunnar Solskjaer begins for United with a difficult trip to Villarreal in Group F.

The duo are level at the top but know that Atalanta will look to take advantage of whichever team drops points.

Donny van de Beek is one player who may find himself given a real chance at Old Trafford after Solskjaer’s reluctance to play him.

Our match preview focuses on the Dutchman and considers what he can bring to the Red Devils in the short term.

Chelsea can secure their spot in the knockout stages with victory over Group H leaders Juventus at Stamford Bridge.

Juve’s 100% record means they are assured of a spot in the last 16 but the Blues will want three points and the chance to top the group.

Christian Pulisic returned from his injury troubles with a goal at Leicester on Saturday and may be given a chance to shine against the Italian giants.

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UCL: LIVERPOOL INTO LAST 16 WITH WIN OVER ATLETICO MADRID

Liverpool marched into the knockout stages of the Champions League with two games to spare after a convincing 2-0 victory over 10-man Atletico Madrid at Anfield on Wednesday guaranteed them top spot in Group B.

Diogo Jota put Juergen Klopp’s side ahead in the 13th minute, nodding home at the back post after a great cross from the right by Trent Alexander-Arnold.

Alexander-Arnold was again the provider for the second eight minutes later when his low ball into the box was brilliantly met by Sadio Mane who fired past Jan Oblak.

The Spanish side’s troubles intensified after Felipe was sent off in the 36th minute for a deliberate trip on Mane that earned him a harsh straight red.

Jota thought he had his second and Liverpool’s third, shortly after the interval, but the goal was ruled out for offside after a VAR review.
Former Liverpool striker Luis Suarez also had a deflected effort which beat Alisson Becker ruled out by VAR for offside.

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UCL: MANCHESTER CITY EASE PAST BRUGGE AFTER SLOW START

Manchester City got back to winning ways with a 4-1 victory over Brugge to move to within sight of the Champions League knockout rounds although it was not a trouble-free night for Pep Guardiola’s side on Wednesday.

In the end, goals by Phil Foden, Riyad Mahrez, Raheem Sterling and Gabriel Jesus earned a comfortable enough victory to leave City in second place with nine points from four games in Group A.

But there were periods after a John Stones own goal gave Brugge an early equaliser in which City looked uncomfortable.

The Belgians had several decent opportunities before Mahrez headed Pep Guardiola’s side back in front in the 54th minute. Sterling gave City breathing space with a tap-in after 72 minutes and the hosts were able to coast home.

Substitute Jesus gave the scoreline an emphatic look as he added the fourth with the last kick of the game.

City, who suffered a surprise Premier League defeat by Crystal Palace at the weekend, need only one point from their remaining two games to secure their last-16 place. Brugge are in third spot with four points.

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Lewandowski hat-trick sends Germans through

Robert Lewandowski marked his 100th appearance in the Champions League with his 79th, 80th and 81st goals in the competition as Bayern Munich sealed their place in the knockout stages of the Champions League by beating Benfica 5-2 at the Allianz Arena.

Further goals from Serge Gnabry and Leroy Sane secured the win and confirmed Bayern as winners of Group E with two games still remaining.

The victory, in what was Bayern’s 500th game across all European competitions, means Julian Nagelsmann’s men have won all four of their group games, and it is now between Benfica, Barcelona and Dynamo Kiev to fight it out for the remaining qualifying spot.

Benfica started brightly, with Pizzi forcing a save from Manuel Neuer in the first minute, before the visitors had a goal disallowed for offside against the same man in the 15th minute.

Lewandowski headed in a floated cross from Kingsley Coman at the back post to give Bayern the lead on 25 minutes on his milestone evening, and Gnabry doubled the lead six minutes later with a neat flick after a delightful ball over the top from Joshua Kimmich was pulled back by Lewandowski for the former Arsenal man to finish.

Morato headed in an Alex Grimaldo cross on 38 minutes to halve the deficit, before Lewandowski saw a tame penalty saved by Odysseas Vlachodimos just before half-time.

The Bundesliga champions restored their two-goal cushion early in the second half as Sane lashed in after Alphonso Davies headed the ball down to him, before Lewandowski bagged his second and third goals of the night either side of Darwin Nunez’s consolation for the visitors.

It was yet another evening in the Champions League when the rest of Europe will have been sweating over the imperious form of the Bavarians.

In their four Group E games, Bayern have scored 17 goals, conceding just twice. That is on top of the 38 goals they have bagged in just 10 outings in the Bundesliga this season.

Lewandowski became the sixth player to mark his 100th game in the competition with a goal, after Thierry Henry, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Cristiano Ronaldo, Andrea Pirlo and Toni Kroos.

However, the former Borussia Dortmund striker also missed his first Champions League penalty after 14 successful attempts, and became the first player to score, assist and miss a penalty in a Champions League game since Diego Costa in November 2013 (Atletico Madrid v Austria Vienna).

The Portuguese outfit have failed to beat Bayern in any of their 12 meetings in European competition, with nine of those ending in victories for the German side (D3).

Benfica have also conceded 35 goals in those 12 games while only scoring nine themselves.

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Ronaldo rescues Red Devils again

Cristiano Ronaldo once again proved Manchester United’s Champions League hero by scoring late on to rescue a crucial 2-2 draw at Atalanta on Tuesday.

The Portugal international completed United’s 3-2 comeback win against the same opponents from two goals down two weeks ago and also struck late on in September’s 2-1 recovery win against Villarreal.

Ronaldo’s latest rescue act arrived in the 91st minute at Gewiss Stadium when volleying in a sublime equaliser, having earlier struck to cancel out Josip Ilicic’s opener before Duvan Zapata put Atalanta back in front.

The draw keeps Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side top of Group F, level on points with Villarreal and two better off than Atalanta with two group games remaining, meaning their last-16 fate remains in their own hands.

After United had hit the post through a deflected Scott McTominay drive, Atalanta took the lead when Zapata pulled the ball back for Ilicic, whose shot squirmed under David de Gea – the goal allowed to stand after a VAR check for a possible Mario Pasalic offside infringement.

United lost Raphael Varane to injury before half-time, but the introduction of Mason Greenwood paid immediate dividends as he linked up with Bruno Fernandes, who in turn flicked the ball into the path of Ronaldo to fire home his first of the game.

Atalanta restored their lead when Zapata got in behind down United’s right, evaded a sliding challenge from Harry Maguire and finished past De Gea. The goal was initially ruled out for offside, but VAR rightly overturned that decision after a two-minute check to determine Zapata was indeed onside.

That left United on the brink of a fourth successive away defeat in the European Cup for the first time ever, only for Ronaldo to once again bail out his side by firing a first-time shot into the bottom-left corner after a loose ball popped up into his path with time almost up.

With Villarreal on their way to a 2-0 win over Young Boys, United found themselves third in Group F with seconds remaining in Bergamo and yet more questions inevitably being asked of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.

While Ronaldo’s brace does not entirely lift the pressure off Solskjaer’s shoulders, it does at least mean United remain top of their group with two games – away to Villarreal and at home to Young Boys – left to play.

Solskjaer could have had few complaints had his side fallen to just a second defeat in their past 12 games against Italian opposition in the Champions League – Atalanta had an expected goals value of 1.55 compared to United’s 1.04 – but with Ronaldo on the field anything is possible.

Ronaldo became the first player to score in four successive Champions League appearances for United since Ruud van Nistelrooy in April 2003 with his opener, which was a well-worked team goal involving Greenwood and Fernandes.

The five-time Ballon d’Or winner added an even better second from range and in the process overtook manager Solskjaer’s tally of goals in all competitions for United with his 126th for the club, doing so in 63 fewer appearances.

United were once again shaky in defence and midfield, with the likes Maguire, De Gea and Paul Pogba in particular having off-days – the latter being replaced 20 minutes from time with his side chasing a goal.

The Red Devils have now failed to keep a clean sheet in 14 of their past 15 Champions League matches and have conceded in 13 of their 15 matches in all competitions this term.

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UCL: LAST-GASP CRISTIANO RONALDO HEADER COMPLETES STUNNING MANCHESTER UNITED COMEBACK

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s comeback kings did it again as Cristiano Ronaldo secured Manchester United a thrilling 3-2 victory in a breathless Champions League clash with Atalanta.

There was intense scrutiny on the 1999 treble hero and his players heading into the Group F encounter after Saturday’s embarrassing loss at Leicester compounded recent poor performances.

United were staring down the barrel of a fifth loss in eight matches and were booed by some fans as they trudged off at half-time trailing by two goals, only for Solskjaer’s side to storm back memorably at Old Trafford.

Marcus Rashford struck on his first start since the Europa League final and Harry Maguire lashed home a leveller, setting up a box-office finish that Ronaldo delivered with a powerful header from Luke Shaw’s cross.

The victory provided a much-needed shot in the arm for United, who moved top of the group and welcome rivals Liverpool to Old Trafford in the Premier League on Sunday afternoon.

The stirring second-half comeback displayed the best of Solskjaer’s side but they have plenty of room for improvement, notably at the back after Mario Pasalic and Merih Demiral capitalised on poor defending in the first half.