Tag: Champions League

Kylian Mbappe struck twice against his former side Monaco as Real Madrid romped to an emphatic 6-1 Champions League victory on Tuesday to ease tensions around the club.

Vinicius Junior, who was jeered by his own fans during a home win over Levante last weekend, also shone and scored a brilliant goal as Madrid strengthened their bid to claim a top-eight finish in the league phase.

New coach Alvaro Arbeloa secured a second win at the helm after replacing Xabi Alonso last week, with his team producing a dazzling attacking display to help fans forget recent disappointments.

Jude Bellingham and Franco Mastantuono were also on target for Los Blancos, and Thilo Kehrer bundled a Vinicius cross into his own net as Madrid delivered perhaps their best performance of the season.

“The players won this game, with their effort and their quality,” Arbeloa told Movistar, after the record 15-time champions moved provisionally second in the league phase table.

“I loved their attitude and their quality, this mentality and ambition are what all Madrid fans want to see.”

There were still a few boos for Vinicius at the start, but they dried as he reminded Madrid’s fans how good he can be.

“The last few days have been very complicated, for all of us, but above all for me because of the whistles, and everyone speaking about me,” said Vinicius.

“I try to give everything for this shirt and for the club who have given me so much.”

Mbappe has been in superb form even as Madrid have struggled and stretched his lead at the top of the European goalscoring charts with his 10th and 11th goals to give his team a commanding lead.

After missing the Copa del Rey humiliation by Albacete in Arbeloa’s disastrous first game, Mbappe has netted in the next two matches.

It took just five minutes for the French superstar to open the scoring, slotting home from just inside the area after Fede Valverde knocked on Mastantuono’s cut-back.

After celebrating with his team-mates, Mbappe apologised to the visiting supporters, having first emerged into the world’s spotlight while at Monaco.

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Ansu Fati, on loan at Monaco from Madrid’s rivals Barcelona, came close before Arbeloa’s side struck again.

They launched a devastating counter-attack, with Eduardo Camavinga’s clever flick to Arda Guler sparking the move. Guler found Vinicius, who span the ball across for Mbappe, just onside, to tuck home.

Despite being shredded defensively, Monaco offered some attacking threat, and Jordan Teze hit the crossbar with a well-guided long-range effort.

Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois also made a couple of solid saves before the break, with Madrid’s third coming shortly after the action resumed.

Vinicius, heavily involved, unselfishly teed up former River Plate playmaker Mastantuono, who swept home.

After 55 minutes, Madrid had four, with Kehrer turning Vinicius’s raking low cross into his own net as Monaco crumbled.

Arbeloa has only had words of praise for Vinicius since taking over, and the forward rewarded his coach with a hug after ramming in the fifth.

Vinicius fired into the top corner past helpless goalkeeper Philipp Kohn for only his second goal in his last 19 matches for the club.

“This is my Vinicius,” said Real midfielder Aurelien Tchouameni. “When we play well, the people who come here are very happy. Today was a very good night here in the Bernabeu.”

Teze pulled one back for Monaco after a mistake by Dani Ceballos, before Madrid struck again to round off the rout.

Bellingham rounded the goalkeeper to net in the 80th minute after Dean Huijsen cleverly dummied Valverde’s pass.

The England international celebrated by chugging several imaginary drinks, an apparent riposte to claims he is fond of the nightlife in Spain, while Madrid’s heavy win offered their own response to the turbulent period they are in.

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Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca said he was “completely relaxed” about his side’s dip in form as he seeks greater consistency ahead of Saturday’s home match against Everton.

The Blues thumped Barcelona 3-0 in the Champions League on November 25 and earned an impressive 1-1 draw against Premier League leaders Arsenal days later.

But they have not won since, losing at Leeds and Atalanta and drawing with Bournemouth.

Chelsea boss Maresca was Friday named Premier League manager of the month for November, in recognition of his side’s unbeaten record.

“We are in December now,” he said, laughing, at his press conference.

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“This kind of thing is because you do the right things in terms of performance and results,” he added.

“For us, November was fantastic. December, we didn’t start in the way we would like, even if it’s just one week ago, we played Leeds (a 3-1 defeat on December 3).

“So it’s just three games in a row in one week that we didn’t get the results that we expect but we are now focused on the next one.”

Chelsea, who won the UEFA Conference League and Club World Cup last season, are fifth in the Premier League, eight points behind Arsenal.

Maresca said he was relaxed about Chelsea’s mini-slump.

“It’s football, it’s completely normal,” he said. “I understand most of the time we are always looking for problems or things we need to solve.

“The Leeds game was last Wednesday, eight or nine days ago. We are not going to change our season because we didn’t get the points that we expect.

“But I’m completely relaxed, I’m completely OK because I’m sure that at the end of the season we’re going to be where we have to be.”

The Italian admitted that improving consistency was the next step for his young squad.

“In terms of human beings, it’s impossible to be all season at the same level but for sure probably we need to learn things and to avoid that in the the future,” he said.

Maresca said forward Cole Palmer should be available to face Everton after missing Tuesday’s 2-1 defeat by Atalanta.

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Erling Haaland scored his 34th goal for club and country this season to give Manchester City a 2-1 win at Real Madrid on Wednesday as Arsenal maintained their perfect group stage record with a 3-0 victory at Club Brugge.

It was a second successive home defeat for Real following their 2-0 reverse against Celta Vigo at the weekend, and heaped more pressure on coach Xabi Alonso, whose side have won just two of their last eight in all competitions.

For Haaland, though, this was a 21st goal in 21 City games this season and a 51st in 50 Champions League starts, while Nico O’Reilly scored his first goal in the competition.

Rodrygo gave Real, who were missing Kylian Mbappe, the lead just before the half-hour mark with a crisp shot across Gianluigi Donnarumma into the far corner.

But academy product O’Reilly equalised just seven minutes later, reacting quickest to prod home the loose ball from inside the six-yard box after Thibaut Courtois had saved Josko Gvardiol’s header.

And Haaland was able to fire City in front from the penalty spot on 43 minutes after VAR intervened to punish Antonio Rudiger for wrestling the Norwegian forward to the ground to prevent him reaching a cross.

It could have been worse for Real, but Courtois redeemed himself somewhat for flapping at Gvardiol’s header with a crucial double save to deny Haaland and Rayan Cherki in quick succession as the half drew to a close.

It was a breathless end-to-end second half, and Jude Bellingham could have done better than chip over the bar with only Donnarumma to beat, while Courtois made a fingertip save to deny Jeremy Doku.

Vinicius Jr. had a late chance to equalise but skied his volley after Donnarumma had come for and missed an inswinging corner.

Substitute Endrick also clipped the top of the bar with a header as Real pushed for a late equaliser.

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Noni Madueke’s double helped Arsenal win a sixth straight Champions League match this season and close in on the last 16.

The Premier League leaders already have more points (18) than was needed last season to secure a top-eight spot and direct qualification for the last 16, and they have two matches still to come.

Madueke’s two goals could not have been more different. The first was a wonder goal in which he beat two players and scored with a long-range strike.

For the second, he was teed up by Martin Zubimendi for a simple finish.

Brugge had put the Gunners under fierce first-half pressure, but they crumbled after the second goal as Gabriel Martinelli added to their misery, bending the ball around the goalkeeper from outside the box.

Elsewhere, reigning champions Paris Saint-Germain were held to a 0-0 draw at Athletic Bilbao but stayed third, behind only Arsenal and Bayern Munich, with City fourth.

Weston McKennie and Jonathan David scored the goals as Juventus overcame Pafos 2-0, while Bayer Leverkusen and Newcastle shared a 2-2 draw, as did Borussia Dortmund and Bodo/Glimt.

Goals from Richard Rios and Leandro Barreiro gave Jose Mourinho’s Benfica a 2-0 win over Antonio Conte’s Napoli in a battle of the former Chelsea bosses.

Oscar Gloukh scored a brace as Ajax hit three late goals to claim a 4-2 win at Qarabag to finally open their account in the competition this season.

Victory took them off the bottom of the table and kept alive their slim hopes of making the play-offs, while Villarreal slumped to last position after a 3-2 home defeat to FC Copenhagen.

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Mohamed Salah has been dropped from Liverpool squad for their Champions League tie away to Inter Milan following incendiary remarks about his relationship with manager Arne Slot and his treatment by the Premier League club.

The Egyptian forward was not included in the squad announced by Liverpool on Monday, despite training earlier in the day with the first team.

Salah said on Saturday he felt like he had been “thrown under the bus” by Liverpool and that he no longer had a relationship with Slot after he was left on the bench for the third consecutive game in a 3-3 draw at Leeds and not even introduced as a substitute.

But several British media reports said Salah’s omission for Tuesday’s game in Italy was not for disciplinary reasons but rather a selection decision.

The BBC said his removal from the squad was taken with the full support of Slot.

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It said that it is in the best interest of all parties involved for Salah to have a brief period away from selection, given the nature and timing of the player’s public comments.

The BBC added “it is understood this is a decision which relates solely to squad selection and there will be no formal disciplinary action taken by the club”.

After next weekend’s home match against Brighton, Salah is set to depart for the Africa Cup of Nations.

The 33-year-old is Liverpool’s third-highest goalscorer of all time with 250 goals in 420 appearances for the club.

But Salah has been a shadow of his former self during Liverpool’s struggles this season — the Premier League champions are now ninth in the table — with a mere four goals in 13 top-flight appearances.

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LONDON: Arsenal thumped Bayern Munich 3-1 in a clash of the English and German league leaders on Wednesday at Emirates Stadium to maintain their perfect record in the Champions League this season.

The Gunners dominated the second half after Bayern’s 17-year-old midfielder Lennart Karl cancelled out Jurrien Timber’s opener in the opening period.

Noni Madueke opened his goalscoring account for the Premier League frontrunners to restore their lead, and fellow substitute Gabriel Martinelli took advantage of a huge blunder from goalkeeper Manuel Neuer.

England captain Harry Kane, a former Tottenham player, had a miserable return to London, largely a peripheral figure despite his astonishing goalscoring record for the six-time European champions.

“Look at Bayern Munich this season, they have been the best team in Europe,” Arsenal midfielder Declan Rice told TNT Sports.

“This was probably the toughest game tactically we have played this season. The way they work it is so, so good.”

The England man said this season feels different from the previous campaign, when Arsenal again came up short, finishing second in the Premier League for a third straight season.

“There are so many leaders in the team,” Rice added. “We are just taking it one game at a time. There is a hunger and desire to win every game. There is a long way to go — let’s not get carried away.”

Bayern started the match at the Emirates top of the Champions League table, just above the Gunners, with both teams having won four games out of four.

The game took time to come alive, but the Gunners went ahead in the 22nd minute when Timber headed home a Bukayo Saka corner, with a flailing Neuer unable to intercept.

The goal underlined Arsenal’s relentless brilliance from set-pieces.

Eberechi Eze, who scored a hat-trick in Sunday’s 4-1 win against Tottenham, had a glorious chance to double the Gunners’ lead but scuffed his shot wide.

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Arsenal had looked relatively comfortable, but Bayern were back in the game in the blink of an eye in the 32nd minute, courtesy of Karl’s goal.

Joshua Kimmich played a superb diagonal ball that was laid off first time by former Arsenal player Serge Gnabry, and Karl finished confidently past David Raya.

Arsenal were quickly on the front foot in the second half, with Neuer pushing a fierce Saka shot over the bar.

Karl then surged down the right and into the home side’s penalty box, but his weak shot was easily collected by Raya.

As the intensity built, Arsenal’s Mikel Merino failed to connect properly with another dangerous corner before Neuer saved a Cristhian Mosquera header from point-blank range.

Now it was all Arsenal.

Neuer was called into action again, saving with his legs as Rice bore down on him, with Saka unable to turn in the loose ball.

But the pressure finally paid off with just over 20 minutes to go, when Bayern defender Dayot Upamecano played a stray ball that was picked up by substitute Riccardo Calafiori on the left.

He crossed, and fellow substitute Madueke turned the ball home.

There was worse to come for Bayern when Eze sent a long ball over the top, with Neuer well outside his area.

Martinelli’s first touch took him past the stranded goalkeeper, and he had a free run at goal, maintaining his nerve to slot home.

The delirious Arsenal fans taunted Kane with a chant of “Harry, Harry, what’s the score” as they revelled in his misery.

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PIREAS: Kylian Mbappe scored all four goals as Real Madrid hung on to beat Olympiacos 4-3 in their Champions League clash at Karaiskakis Stadium on Wednesday and end a three-match winless run in all competitions.

Chiquinho fired home from 20 yards to finish off a neat move as Olympiacos took an early lead in Greece, but Mbappe stole the show and took over as the competition’s leading scorer this season.

“It was very important to get back to winning ways, we know that three matches without that is a lot for us,” Mbappe told Movistar.

“(The team) looks good to me, of course, there are things to improve. At a club like Real Madrid (it’s normal) that people talk.”

The France captain drilled through the legs of Olympiacos goalkeeper Kostas Tzolakis to bring Madrid level on 22 minutes after racing onto a sublime ball in behind the defence from Vinicius Junior.

Mbappe struck again two minutes later when he planted a header low into the corner from an Arda Guler cross.

The forward completed the second fastest Champions League hat-trick ever as he ran clear and steered beyond Tzolakis again, his three goals coming in the space of six minutes and 42 seconds.

Only Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah, against Rangers in 2022, has scored a quicker hat-trick in the competition.

Substitute Mehdi Taremi, who replaced the injured Chiquinho in the first half, hauled Olympiacos back into the match with an emphatic header past stand-in Madrid goalkeeper Andriy Lunin on 52 minutes.

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The Ukraine international was filling in for Thibaut Courtois, who missed the trip due to illness. Madrid were also without Dean Huijsen, his absence adding to those of Dani Carvajal, Eder Militao and Antonio Rudiger in an injury-ravaged defence.

Madrid had never won away to Greek opponents on seven previous visits but Mbappe ensured the Spanish giants put an end to that sequence, turning in his fourth of the night after excellent work by Vinicius down the left.

That took Mbappe to nine goals in five Champions League matches this term, sending him three clear of Victor Osimhen at the top of the scoring charts.

“I’m very happy, it’s always a pleasure to score goals. My teammates are giving me quality passes. I’m very lucky to play in this team, with these teammates,” said Mbappe.

Ayoub El Kaabi halved the deficit with nine minutes left, but Madrid clung on to earn their fourth win in five Champions League matches, bouncing back from a loss at Liverpool in their last European outing.

“The important thing today was to break up, a little bit, the dynamic we were coming from, and to get back that (winning) feeling,” said Madrid coach Xabi Alonso.

The record 15-time European champions moved up to fifth in the standings with games still to come against Manchester City, Monaco and Benfica.

“We need everyone, and it’s clear that today Kylian stands out with the goals, but today it was very important to change the dynamic… and that’s why the players were celebrating,” said Alonso.

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Chelsea head coach Enzo Maresca tried to keep his youthful side’s stunning 3-0 win at home to 10-man Barcelona in perspective by insisting “nothing has changed” for the Blues.

Tuesday’s Champions League triumph at Stamford Bridge kept the London club on course to reach the last 16 of the competition following a superb display of attacking football featuring a brilliant goal from teenage winger Estevao.

The 18-year-old Brazilian slipped inside defender Pau Cubarsi, then glided across Alejandro Balde before letting fly with an unstoppable shot.

Estevao’s strike came after Jules Kounde’s own-goal had put Chelsea ahead, with Barcelona captain Ronald Araujo sent off in the first half for a second bookable offence.

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Liam Delap scored Chelsea’s third goal, his first goal since their pre-season Club World Cup triumph, to send the Blues into Sunday’s clash with Premier League leaders and London rivals Arsenal in a confident mood.

“It’s a big win, especially because it was Barcelona, but nothing’s changed in terms of what team we are and what we can achieve,” said Maresca, whose side will cut Arsenal’s lead at the summit to three points with another victory at Stamford Bridge.

He added: “Now we focus on the next one. The feeling was very good. At home with our fans, it’s way nice to share this kind of moment. Now, next 48 hours completely switch off, have a rest, recover energy.

“We need to keep the momentum. It’s much easier to recover energy when you win games.”

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Estevao scored a breathtaking solo Champions League goal to win the battle of the teenage prodigies against Lamine Yamal on Tuesday as Chelsea humbled 10-man Barcelona 3-0.

The two 18-year-olds were the focus of attention in the build-up to the game at Stamford Bridge, with Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca urging his player to ignore the comparisons.

Estevao’s moment of magic came 10 minutes after half-time, when he received the ball on the right, beat two defenders, and lashed it into the roof of Joan Garcia’s net.

It was the 10th goal of the season for club and country for the winger, just months into his first campaign at Chelsea.

The Brazilian said it was the best moment of his career so far, in front of his watching family.

“I don’t really have any words to sum up how I’m feeling right now,” he told Amazon Prime. “It really was the perfect night. I’m just grateful to God for everything that has happened to me. Onwards and upwards from here.”

Speaking about his spectacular goal, he said: “It all happened very quickly for me, it sort of happened before I knew it.

“I just found some space, wiggled my way through and then scored that goal. It was such a special moment for me in my career. I hope to score many more.”

Estevao’s goal gave Barcelona, already trailing 1-0 and down to 10 men, a mountain to climb and substitute Liam Delap put the game to bed in the 73rd minute, sidefooting home from close range.

The lopsided scoreline was just reward for two-time European champions Chelsea, who were superior from the first whistle against a pallid Barcelona team.

The game had started at a frantic pace.

Enzo Fernandez bundled the ball into the net in the fourth minute, only for the goal to be ruled out due to a handball by Wesley Fofana.

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Two minutes later, Ferran Torres seemed certain to score at the other end when clean through with only Robert Sanchez to beat, but he skewed wide.

The game then drifted before Chelsea again upped the tempo.

Fernandez again had the ball in the net, but this time it was disallowed for an offside and moments later Pedro Neto blazed over the bar.

But the home side’s pressure finally paid off in the 27th minute following a short-corner routine.

The ball was eventually whipped into the box, and Barcelona tied themselves in knots, Jules Kounde poking the ball into his own net.

The game took a decisive turn moments before half-time when Barcelona captain Ronald Araujo received a second yellow card for a poor challenge on Marc Cucurella.

Chelsea maintained their intensity in the second half and were richly rewarded with the goals from Estevao and Delap, while five-time Champions League winners Barcelona offered little.

The Stamford Bridge fans taunted the ineffective Yamal after Estevao scored and jeered when he was substituted late in the game.

Maresca’s men, back in the Champions League after two years away, have now won three of their first five games to give themselves a fighting chance of finishing in the top eight.

That would mean automatic qualification for the last 16.

The club are also picking up momentum in the Premier League, sitting second in the table ahead of Sunday’s home match against leaders Arsenal.

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UEFA has given Barcelona the go-ahead to play Champions League matches at their partially rebuilt Camp Nou stadium, the La Liga giants said on Wednesday.

The news comes just a couple of days after Barcelona announced their long-awaited return to league action at the stadium, which had been beset by construction chaos, after more than two years in exile.

The Spanish champions will host Eintracht Frankfurt at the Camp Nou on December 9, just over two weeks after reinaugurating the stadium against Athletic Bilbao in domestic action on November 22.

Barcelona said in a statement that “UEFA accepted the request, considering that all the necessary requirements have been met.”

The Camp Nou return will end a messy saga in which Barcelona repeatedly had to postpone their announced reopening of the stadium as construction delays and a failure to secure safety licences curtailed their plans.

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The Catalans were humiliatingly forced to play two matches at their 6,000-capacity Johan Cruyff training ground stadium in the first weeks of the season after failing to get the permit they needed for Camp Nou, because of safety reasons.

They have since then been playing in the 55,000-seater Olympic stadium on Montjuic hill.

Barcelona will open the Camp Nou against Bilbao with a temporary capacity of 45,401 spectators, with space for 105,000 when the top tier is eventually completed.

They opened the stadium up for 23,000 fans to watch a training session earlier in November as a test event in the reopening process.

The delay in the work represents a huge financial loss for the club, which needs the revenue generated by its stadium to regain stability.

Financially troubled Barcelona are estimated to be spending 1.5 billion euros ($1.74bn) on the rebuild.

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Newcastle secured a third successive Champions League win as Dan Burn’s thunderous header inspired a cathartic 2-0 victory against Athletic Bilbao on Wednesday.

Burn struck in eye-catching style in the first half at St James’ Park, and Joelinton netted after the interval to wrap up Newcastle’s fifth successive home win in all competitions.

Newcastle’s dismal 3-1 defeat at lowly West Ham on Sunday left the Magpies languishing in 13th place in the Premier League and prompted a painful bout of soul-searching on Tyneside.

But although they have struggled domestically, Eddie Howe’s side have three wins from four games in the Champions League this season, with their only loss coming in the opening match against Barcelona.

Ahead of trips to Marseille and Bayer Leverkusen in their next two league phase fixtures, sixth-placed Newcastle are firmly in the hunt to secure the top-eight place that guarantees automatic qualification for the last 16.

Howe will hope Newcastle’s European success serves as a springboard for a winning run in the Premier League, starting at Brentford on Sunday.

“Really pleased with today. It was an important response to West Ham. I don’t think it was us at our best, but we’re in a good position now in this competition,” Howe said.

“It’s been good to have a game off the back of West Ham. We’ve put that away now. But it’s a bigger test when you return to the Premier League.”

Saluting Burn’s goal, Howe said it reminded him of the defender’s header in last season’s League Cup final win against Liverpool.

“It was very reminiscent of the cup final. It was from a distance. It was a training ground move, so well done to all the coaches involved in that,” he said.

“Across the board, it’s about consistency in our performance wherever we play. Now we go away in the Champions League. Marseille will be incredibly difficult.”

Newcastle’s lacklustre loss at West Ham had sparked accusations that Howe’s team are developing a habit of playing down to the level of their opponents.

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Burn added to that perception this week when he said, “everybody knows we will turn up” against Bilbao.

The England centre-back was true to his word as he put Newcastle ahead in the 11th minute.

Kieran Trippier’s free-kick picked out Burn in space in the penalty area, and he punished Bilbao’s slack marking with a superb header that curled into the far corner from 10 yards.

Even legendary Newcastle striker Alan Shearer, watching with a broad grin in the stands, would have been proud of such a sublime finish.

Bilbao briefly mounted a determined response to that blow and twice came close to drawing level as sloppy Newcastle conceded possession too easily.

Unai Gomez raced clear of the flat-footed Newcastle defence and fired against the near post.

With Newcastle on the ropes, Adama Boiro lashed a ferocious strike off the woodwork from 18 yards.

Howe’s men squandered a chance to increase their lead when Nick Woltemade climbed highest for a header that whistled wide from Harvey Barnes’ cross.

Newcastle suffered a blow when England winger Anthony Gordon limped off with a recurrence of a hip injury late in the first half.

But they ignored that setback to double their advantage in the 49th minute.

Barnes cleverly worked space on the left side of the Bilbao area and lofted a cross into the six-yard box, where Joelinton thumped his header past Unai Simon for his first goal in nine games.

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