Tag: Champions League

LEIPZIG: RB Leipzig centre-back Josko Gvardiol scored a second-half header, cancelling out Riyad Mahrez’s strike to earn a 1-1 with Manchester City in their Champions League last 16 clash on Wednesday.

One of the breakout stars of the Qatar World Cup as the cornerstone of Croatia’s miserly defence, Gvardiol showed his attacking flair, launching himself above the City defence to head in the equaliser in the 70th minute.

City took the lead after 27 minutes through Mahrez and looked on course for a comfortable away win but their fluency deserted them after the interval in the first leg tie.

The home side, who have only lost once in their past 20 games, found their zip in the second half and looked the team most likely to head to the Etihad for the return leg with a victory under their belt.

City’s star striker Erling Haaland suffered for a lack of service, with the Norwegian clearly missing ill midfielder Kevin de Bruyne.

City dominated possession in trademark fashion for the first quarter of the match, but failed to carve out any opportunities against a well-drilled and structured home side.

“At the end, we were a little nervous, the coach told us to calm down, there are 90 minutes left to play,” said Mahrez.

Leipzig coach Marco Rose added: “Two very, very different halves. We just didn’t happen in the first half, just chased the ball, were very bad when we had it. The second was quite different, we were better with the ball, won it back better and played how we had envisioned to play.”

The breakthrough came in the 27th minute, when City midfielder Jack Grealish took advantage of a sloppy pass from Xaver Schlager, pouncing with threading a vertical ball goalwards.

City captain Ilkay Gundogan attracted the attention of the Leipzig defence but let the ball run through his legs into the path of Mahrez, who cut a shot past the fingertips of ‘keeper Janis Blaswich and into the net.

Rodri went close to doubling City’s lead just three minutes later but put his header just wide.

Former Chelsea striker Timo Werner had half a chance in first-half injury time, but waited too long to unleash a shot and his deflected effort was easily claimed by Ederson.

Leipzig swapped out wing backs Lukas Klostermann and Benjamin Henrichs at halftime looking for additional penetration.

The new man went close to scoring an equaliser twice in the space of two minutes early in the second half, first through a looping header and second when he shanked a close-range attempt when one-on-one with Ederson.

The introduction of Christopher Nkunku in the 66th minute came during the home side’s best period of the game and gave them an immediate boost, striker Andre Silva forcing a rushed save from Ederson a minute later.

Gvardiol snuffed out an Haaland counter attack and got the home side on the scoreboard soon after, climbing a metre higher than the City defence to head in the equaliser from a Marcel Halstenberg corner.

Man City held on as Leipzig searched for a winner, meaning both teams head to Manchester on an equal footing ahead of the return fixture on March 14.

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PARIS: Kingsley Coman scored the only goal of the game as Bayern Munich beat Paris Saint-Germain 1-0 in the first leg of their Champions League last-16 tie on Tuesday, with substitute Kylian Mbappe denied a late equaliser by a marginal offside call.

The unmarked Coman swept in an Alphonso Davies cross eight minutes into the second half at the Parc des Princes, just as Mbappe was preparing to enter the fray on his return from injury after PSG had appeared devoid of ideas without their top scorer.

Mbappe, and the entire stadium, thought he had equalised with eight minutes remaining when he turned in a Nuno Mendes cutback, but the goal was ruled out because the Portuguese full-back was just ahead of the last defender at the start of the move.

Bayern finished the game with 10 men after Benjamin Pavard was sent off, but it was a frustrating ending for PSG.

The French giants looked much better in the latter stages with Mbappe on the field but also needed fine saves by Gianluigi Donnarumma to prevent a bigger deficit.

PSG must hope they can turn the tie around in the second leg in Munich on March 8.

“We are at a disadvantage but we saw that we were capable of causing them problems and now we just need to make sure all our players are in good health and we will go there to try to qualify,” Mbappe, who had another goal ruled out for a clear offside, said.

Coman, who started his career in Paris, did not celebrate his goal but it was a case of history repeating itself — he had been the matchwinner when Bayern beat the Qatar-owned club in the 2020 final in Lisbon to become European champions for the sixth time.

“It was a bit strange. I grew up at this club, in this city, I was born here, so it was difficult to celebrate but at the end we are really pleased with the victory,” Coman said.

Mbappe’s fitness had dominated the build-up to the game, with the France superstar initially ruled out because of a thigh injury before making a faster-than-expected return to training and being named in the squad.

He was named among the substitutes, while Warren Zaire-Emery, at 16 years and 343 days old, became the youngest player ever to start a Champions League knockout game.

But Bayern had little to be afraid of in the first half as Mbappe –- scorer of seven goals in six games in the group stage –- watched on, with Lionel Messi and Neymar badly missing his presence.

Messi, Neymar struggle

Instead Bayern, playing with a three-man central defence, controlled the game and restricted PSG to just one attempt in the first half.

Yet the Bundesliga leaders, still without Sadio Mane as he recovers from injury, did little to trouble Donnarumma apart from a Joshua Kimmich shot that was easily saved.

Bayern coach Julian Nagelsmann took off Joao Cancelo at half-time and replaced him with Canadian international Davies, a change that saw Coman move from the left flank to the right.

PSG also made a change, replacing Achraf Hakimi with France centre-back Presnel Kimpembe, but the biggest cheer of the night had been reserved for Mbappe when he came out to warm up during the break.

The 24-year-old was preparing to come on when Bayern opened the scoring as Davies crossed from the left to the far post where the unmarked Coman finished.

Mbappe promptly replaced Carlos Soler but the French champions needed Donnarumma to keep them in the game, and perhaps the tie, as he produced a fingertip save to touch an Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting effort onto the woodwork.

From the corner that followed, Donnarumma saved from Pavard’s header.

PSG needed to get the ball to Mbappe and they eventually did in the 73rd minute, a Fabian Ruiz ball over the top sending the forward bounding towards goal.

Bayern goalkeeper Yann Sommer rushed out to block Mbappe’s shot with his face before Neymar was denied from the follow-up.

Then Mbappe did put the ball in the net, only for the celebrations to be cut short, and Bayern held on even after Pavard was shown a second yellow for scything down Messi.

“It is clear that Kylian Mbappe can change any game,” said Nagelsmann. “This was a very important result but it is just the first step.”

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PARIS: Liverpool will have the chance to avenge last season’s Champions League final defeat at the hands of Real Madrid after Jurgen Klopp’s side were drawn on Monday to face the holders again in the last 16.

Meanwhile, the other standout tie saw Paris Saint-Germain drawn to play Bayern Munich in a repeat of the 2020 final which was won by the German club.

Liverpool won five of their six group games but missed out on top spot to Napoli after losing 4-1 when the sides met in Italy.

The Anfield club also lost the 2018 Champions League final to Real, who won their group ahead of RB Leipzig.

“They are two historic teams and the tie is going to be electric, fascinating for the fans,” said Emilio Butragueno, a great former Real player who is now the director of institutional relations for the 14-time European champions.

Current domestic form suggests Real should be favourites, with Carlo Ancelotti’s side unbeaten in La Liga while Liverpool are eighth in the Premier League despite winning away to Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday.

However, both clubs will lose key players to the World Cup and Butragueno acknowledged much can change in the three months before the Champions League returns.

“The World Cup is going to condition the whole season. We will see how the players are when they return,” he said.

PSG only missed out on topping their group because Benfica scored more away goals across all matches after the sides remarkably finished level on points, goal difference, goals scored and head to head.

That left the Qatar-owned club exposed to a tough draw, a year on from their painful exit in the first knockout round at the hands of Real.

In terms of form they could not have got tougher than Bayern, who were the only side to win all six group matches, despite being in a section with Barcelona and Inter Milan.

The 2020 final was played behind closed doors in Lisbon at the height of the pandemic, with Bayern triumphing 1-0. PSG gained revenge the following season by beating the Bavarians in the quarter-finals.

Like PSG, Manchester City have never won the trophy but are also one of the leading contenders to do so this season.

Pep Guardiola’s side will be expected to dispose of Leipzig, who they faced in the group stage a year ago and beat 6-3 at home before a 2-1 defeat in Germany, by which time they had already secured first place in the section.

Chelsea, who defeated City in the 2021 Champions League final, also drew German opposition in the shape of Borussia Dortmund, with the clubs set to meet for the very first time in a competitive game in the first leg at the Signal Iduna Park.

After topping their group thanks to a last-gasp winner away to Marseille last week, Tottenham Hotspur were given a tough draw against Italian champions AC Milan.

They have met at this stage of the competition before, with Spurs winning 1-0 on aggregate in 2010/11 thanks to a solitary goal at San Siro by Peter Crouch.

Inter will play Porto and last season’s Europa League winners Eintracht Frankfurt take on Napoli, while Benfica’s reward for winning their group was a tie against tournament outsiders Club Brugge of Belgium.

The first legs of all last-16 ties will be played in February with the return matches in March.

The final of this season’s Champions League will be held in Istanbul on June 10 next year.

The Turkish city was supposed to host the final in 2020 and again 2021, only for the game to be moved on each occasion to Portugal due to the pandemic.

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GLASGOW: Jurgen Klopp said the mood around Liverpool had been lifted after Mohamed Salah came off the bench to score the fastest hat-trick in Champions League history in a 7-1 demolition of Rangers at Ibrox on Wednesday.

The Reds had won just four of their first 11 games of the season and fell behind for the eighth time this campaign when Scott Arfield fired the Glasgow giants into an early lead.

But Rangers are being schooled on their return to the Champions League for the first time in 12 years as they crumbled to a record-equalling European defeat in the second half.

The Glasgow giants remain without a point and have conceded 16 goals in four games.

“The first half and the last half an hour was night and day,” said Van Bronckhorst. “I cannot explain it.

“The performance was not the way we want to represent this club.”

Roberto Firmino’s double on either side of half-time turned the game around before the Brazilian teed up Darwin Nunez to kill off the contest.

Klopp had left Salah, Thiago Alcantara and Diogo Jota on the bench with one eye on Sunday’s clash against Manchester City in the Premier League.

But they were brought on in the final quarter and Salah did not miss the chance to cash in against a beleaguered Rangers defence.

The Egyptian’s treble arrived in just six minutes and 12 seconds to beat the previous record held by Bafetimbi Gomis in Lyon’s 7-1 win over Dinamo Zagreb in 2011.

“It changes the mood definitely, and that’s good,” said Klopp. “We all know who is coming on Sunday. That will be different, but it’s better to go in with the feeling from tonight.

“When we play to our potential we’re a pretty good football team. That’s what we showed tonight.”

Harvey Elliott rounded off the scoring on a sobering night for a Rangers side that only months ago reached the Europa League final.

A draw in Amsterdam will suffice for Liverpool to reach the last 16 when they face Ajax in two weeks’ time.

But Napoli remain out in front in Group A after a 4-2 win over Ajax sealed their place in the knockout stages.

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WARSAW: Real Madrid reached the Champions League last 16 with a last-gasp 1-1 draw against Shakhtar Donetsk in Warsaw on Tuesday.

Antonio Rudiger scored a brave header deep in stoppage time to equalise and earn the reigning champions passage to the knock-out rounds.

The Ukrainian side, playing their home matches in Poland because of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, impressed and took the lead through Oleksandr Zubkov early in the second half.

It seemed like Madrid were poised to lose their first match of the season across all competitions, but Rudiger headed home from Toni Kroos’s cross in the fifth minute of five added-on, colliding heads with goalkeeper Anatoliy Trubin in the process.

Rudiger left the pitch covered in blood, and the Shakhtar goalkeeper had to see out the final seconds with a bandage wrapped round his head.

“He’s got quite a long cut on his forehead, there’s a lot of blood, but he’s doing well,” coach Carlo Ancelotti told Movistar. “He wanted to go back on to the pitch, but we realised he was injured. I don’t think it’s too serious.

“We did not play well, but this team never gives up. We are in the last 16, on a night that looked bad. That’s a good thing. (But) as a team it was not an ideal night.”

Madrid now lead Group F on 10 points, ahead of RB Leipzig on six, after they beat Celtic 2-0 in Scotland, while Shakhtar are third on five.

Ancelotti had rested Vinicius Junior, among others, keeping an eye on Sunday’s Clasico against bitter rivals Barcelona at the Santiago Bernabeu.

However, Madrid talisman Benzema started the game after missing the 1-0 win over Getafe on Saturday, and was the first to test Trubin with a blast straight at the goalkeeper.

The Ukrainian made several brilliant saves at the Santiago Bernabeu in a 2-1 defeat last week, but had a much quieter opening half on this occasion.

Trubin made another stop to deny Benzema from a tight angle, but had little else to do as Los Blancos rarely clicked in attack. Belgian playmaker Hazard, given a rare start in attacking midfield, was invisible.

“Eden, like Karim, had difficulties, the lines were hard to break through, they didn’t have much chance to get between them,” Ancelotti told a press conference.

“We played very badly today, but even when things don’t go well, we don’t give up and we fight to the end. And we qualified for the next round, because only those who are in the next round can win the Champions League.”

Ancelotti reacted to the Shakhtar goal by taking off Hazard and Aurelien Tchouameni and threw on Vinicius and Luka Modric.

Still, the Ukrainian side, filled with youth players after many senior squad members departed because of the war, were tireless.

Pouring forward, Zubkov played in Lassina Traore, who was first denied by Madrid goalkeeper Andriy Lunin, and then the crossbar, coming inches from the second goal.

Lunin was forced into another save by the electric Zubkov from distance and Ancelotti threw on more stars from the bench, with David Alaba, Eduardo Camavinga and Marco Asensio entering the fray.

Vinicius should have equalised with three minutes remaining but headed well over the crossbar from close range, perhaps put off by defender Valeriy Bondar flinging himself in front to try and block the Brazilian.

It was also another frustrating night in front of goal for Benzema, who has not netted in three appearances since returning from a thigh injury and drifted out of the game, despite staying on for the full 90 minutes.

With the clock ticking down it looked like Madrid’s unbeaten streak was up, but Rudiger’s bravery at the last meant they have not tasted defeat in 13 matches, and will be in the last 16 of the Champions League, come February 2023.

“Like always, we kept going until the last minute and I think we deserved it,” said Toni Kroos. “We weren’t as good as last week, we gave away the ball a lot. That makes it a hard game, especially in the Champions League. It’s a very important point, if you look at the group table.

“We know how strong Antonio is in the box. I saw (his injury), I’ve seen nicer things in my life — I hope he’s better as soon as possible.”

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PARIS: Leroy Sane scored twice as Bayern Munich continued their flawless run in the Champions League on Tuesday with a 5-0 win over outclassed Group C rivals Viktoria Plzen.

But Group D leaders Sporting Lisbon paid for goalkeeping errors in a 4-1 defeat at Marseille which gave the French team their first win of the campaign.

Convincing in Milan against Inter and at home against Barcelona, Bayern shrugged off the absence of Joshua Kimmich and Thomas Mueller, who tested positive for Covid-19 on Saturday.

With nine points, Julian Nagelsmann’s side have almost booked their ticket to the knockout phase, with rivals Inter Milan and Barcelona facing off on Tuesday and next week.

“We were calm, we dominated and we were in total control,” said Bayern captain and Manuel Neuer.

“When everything is going well, we’re almost unstoppable.

“It feels good when you get into a game well, when you score quickly. For the opponent it’s difficult to turn the game around or create chances.

“It was important after the good game against Leverkusen, to keep the momentum going,” continued Neuer of Bayern’s 4-0 Bundesliga win over Bayern Leverkusen last Friday.

“We gave them almost no chance. It will be important against the Dortmund attack who awaits us on Saturday.”

German international Sane struck from a distance after seven minutes past a passive Czech defense, adding a second five minutes after the break.

Between Sane’s two goals, Serge Gnabry added a second on 13 minutes following a counter-attack led by Alphonso Davies, Jamal Musiala and Leon Goretzka, before Sadio Mane scored Bayern’s third goal after 21 minutes.

It was a first Champions League goal for ex-Liverpool forward Mane with the German giants.

Mane then set up Sane for his brace to move top of the Champions League scorers chart with four goals, just ahead of Erling Haaland, Kylian Mbappe and Robert Lewandowski, who have three each.

Substitute Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting came off the bench at half time and added the fifth just before the hour mark.

Six-time European champions Bayern made Champions League history by going 31 consecutive group games unbeaten.

In Marseille, Igor Tudor’s men got their first win in Europe this season and just the second of the last 18 meetings in the competition.

Playing behind closed doors in the Velodrome stadium after incidents against Eintracht Frankfurt, Marseille fell behind after just 51 seconds following a quick-fire Francisco Trincao goal.

Tudor was furious, having already shown his displeasure at the delayed kickoff of 20 minutes after the Sporting players’ bus got caught in traffic, and Jonathan Clauss going off injured.

But the Croat quickly forgot the nightmare start, with errors from Sporting’s veteran Spanish goalkeeper Antonio Adan, gifting the hosts two goals.

Adnan first completely missed two clearances, allowing Alexis Sanchez (13th) and Amine Harit (16th) to score. He then received a red card for an incomprehensible hand outside his area (23rd).

His replacement Franco Israel did no better, missing his exit on a corner, offering a goal to Leonardo Balerdi (28th), before conceding to Chancel Mbemba (85th).

The Uruguayan goalkeeper now has the pressure to replacing the automatically suspended Adan in the return match on October 12.

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LAUSANNE: UEFA apologized for the first time over the distressful and chaotic events outside the Stade de France stadium on the day of the Champions League Final- a much-celebrated European football event of the year- between Real Madrid and Liverpool.

The European Football’s governing body in a statement issued on Friday offered an apology for the ‘frightening’ and ‘distressing’ events on the UCL final as thousands of spectators were denied entry into the stadium and witnessed the use of tear gas by the police.

“UEFA wishes to sincerely apologise to all spectators who had to experience or witness frightening and distressing events in the build-up to the UEFA Champions League final at the Stade de France on 28 May 2022 in Paris,” said UEFA in its published statement.

UEFA also published the terms of reference of the commission which it had announced immediately after the event for the independent review of the incident.

“UEFA commissioned an Independent Review to identify shortcomings and responsibilities of all entities involved in the organisation of the final, and has today published the Terms of Reference for this review.” further added in its statement.

The independent review announced by the UEFA will be led by Dr. Tiago Brandao Rodrigues from Portugal to determine what happened leading up to the final and what lessons should be learned to guarantee the acts and events of that day are not repeated.

The review will go through the planning, ticketing, and security of the final while also looking at fan meeting points.

It will engage with UEFA, fan groups, including the Liverpool and Real Madrid, the French Football Federation (FFF), the police, the stadium operator, and other public authorities.

“Further information on how relevant parties can submit their testimonies (via a dedicated email address or an online questionnaire) will be communicated shortly,” added UEFA in its statement.

The body also confirmed that the review would start immediately and would be concluded within the shortest possible time frame.

Once completed, the Report will be published on UEFA’s website.

It is pertinent to mention here that Real Madrid has defeated Liverpool 1-0 in the Champion League final on May 29.

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MADRID: Real Madrid overcome a 3-4 deficit in the first leg of the semi-final to stun Manchester City and booked the Champions League final against Liverpool.

In a high-octane clash between the two sides, the first half of the match featured some heavy striking and a lot of drama but yet no team could make the strike with City, still leading the scoreboard in terms of the aggregate.

City, which already had the aggregate in their favour, looked even more favourite to advance into the final when Riyad Mahrez made the first strike for the side in the 73rd and extended the lead to 5-3.

Madrid’s Rodrygo Silva de Goes made a timely 90th-minute strike to force the match into the extra time. The Brazilain footballer then scored his second goal within a minute to level the aggregate score.

In the 95th minute, Benzema rushed to a loose ball in the box but City’s defender Ruben Dias brought him down. He then opted to take the penalty by himself and converted it as the match-winning strike and a ticket to the Champions League final for his side.

Madrid will contest the second major final in the ongoing month as the La Liga 2022 champions will take on Liverpool on May 29 at Stade de France.

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LIVERPOOL: The home side Liverpool inched closer to the Champions League final following a comprehensive 2-0 victory over Villarreal in the first leg of the semi-final at the Anfield Stadium here on Thursday.

Two goals in two minutes undid Villarreal boss Unai Emery’s defensive game plan as Pervis Estupinan deflected Jordan Henderson’s cross into his own net before Sadio Mane slotted in a second.

The Reds remain on course for an unprecedented quadruple of Champions League, Premier League, FA Cup and League Cup.

And barring a huge upset when the sides meet again in southern Spain in six days’ time, Liverpool’s season will finish with a third Champions League final in five seasons in Paris on May 28.

In stark contrast to the free-flowing thrills of Manchester City’s 4-3 win over Real Madrid in the other semi-final, on Tuesday, Emery’s men followed the same tactic that saw them past Juventus and Bayern Munich by retreating behind the ball.

However, the Yellow Submarine could barely lay a glove on Klopp’s men as Liverpool just had to bide their time to make their dominance count.

The two sides will come face to face again in the second leg of the semi-final on May 5, with Liverpool having the advantage of a better aggregate of 2-0.

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MANCHESTER: Pep Guardiola said he had to reiterate to his players they had beaten Real Madrid 4-3 in a Champions League classic on Tuesday despite the disappointment of not killing off their semi-final tie at the Etihad.

Kevin De Bruyne, Gabriel Jesus, Phil Foden and Bernardo Silva were on target for Guardiola’s men, who held a two-goal lead three times.

But Karim Benzema’s double and a brilliant individual effort from Vinicius Junior gave Madrid hope of another famous Champions League fightback at the Santiago Bernabeu on May 4.

Guardiola lamented letting Liverpool escape “alive” in the Premier League title race after a 2-2 draw at the Etihad nine days ago and will have similar regrets after a blistering opening that could have seen City go 4-0 up inside half an hour.

Madrid, the record 13-time European champions, were playing in their 30th semi-final to City’s third, but the English champions lived up to their tag as pre-tie favourites early on.

Only 92 seconds had passed before the Madrid rearguard was breached by Riyad Mahrez’s quick feet and perfect cross for De Bruyne to stoop and head past Thibaut Courtois.

Jesus pounced to make it 2-0 after just 10 minutes when David Alaba failed to deal with De Bruyne’s cross.

The Spanish champions-elect were without Casemiro and his absence showed as City cut through midfield on the counter-attack at will.

Guardiola was furious with Mahrez after he selfishly smashed into the side-netting with Foden awaiting the cross for a tap-in.

Moments later it was Foden who was guilty of wasting a glorious chance when he dragged wide another pinpoint De Bruyne through the ball.

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