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  • Wednesday’s UEFA Champions League Results

    Wednesday’s UEFA Champions League Results

    • Liverpool 3-0 Maribor
    • Sevilla 2 – 1 Spartak Moscow
    • SSC Napoli 2 – 4 Manchester City
    • Shakhtar Donetsk 3 – 1 Feyenoord
    • Besiktas 1 – 1 Monaco
    • FC Porto 3 – 1 RasenBallsport Leipzig
    • Borussia Dortmund 1 – 1 APOEL Nicosia
    • Tottenham Hotspur 3 – 1 Real Madrid

    WHAT a 45 minutes. The first half games at Wembley and in Naples have been absolutely breakneck.

    1. Spurs 1-0 Real Madrid – Alli from close range, Alderweireld limps off
    2. Napoli 1-1 Man City – Insigne strike, before Otamendi header
    3. Spurs and Manchester City can qualify tonight
    4. Liverpool 0-0 Maribor – Wijnaldum limps off, Firmino hits woodwork
    5. PSG & Bayern only sides already through

    Tottenham 1-0 Real Madrid (Dele Alli)

    Wembley is bouncing now. Great noise inside the arena with Spurs going through if it stays like this. Spurs have been the better side, no doubt. That goal had its genesis in Harry Kane chasing a lost cause and forcing Nacho to clear his lines. Great persistence.

    Real turn it up a notch now and Casemiro has a shot saved.

    Napoli 1-1Manchester City

    Manchester City haven’t lost a game since the FA Cup semi-final in April. Extraordinary run. They are up against it here but have plenty of quality themselves to still turn this around.

    Shakhtar Donetsk 2-1 Feyenoord

    It’s a very short-lived joy for Feyenoord in Ukraine as Shakhtar Donetsk score two goals in three minutes through Facundo Ferreyra and Bonfim Marlos.

    Sevilla 1-0 Spartak Moscow
    Liverpool 0-0 Maribor
    Besiktas 1-1 Monaco
    Borussia Dortmund 1-0 APOEL Nicosia
    FC Porto 1-0 RasenBallsport Leipzig

    Wednesday UEFA champions League matches are underway.

    Manchester City, Beşiktaş, Tottenham Hotspur and Real Madrid begin Wednesday’s games with a chance of joining Paris Saint-Germain and Bayern München in the round of 16

    WEDNESDAY

    Group E: Liverpool (5) v Maribor (1), Sevilla (4) v Spartak Moskva (5)

    • Maribor will be unable to finish in the top two if they lose and Spartak win.

    Group F: Napoli (3) v Manchester City (9), Shakhtar Donetsk (6) v Feyenoord (0)

    • Man. City will qualify if they avoid defeat.
    • Feyenoord will be unable to finish in the top two if they do not win.

    Group G: Beşiktaş (10) 1-1 Monaco (2), Porto (3) v RB Leipzig (4)

    • Following their draw with Monaco in the early kick-off, Beşiktaş are through if Leipzig win.

    Group H: Tottenham Hotspur (7) v Real Madrid (7), Borussia Dortmund (1) v APOEL (1)

    • Tottenham will qualify if they win.
    • Madrid will qualify if they win.
    • Dortmund will be unable to finish in the top two if they lose and the other match is drawn.
    • APOEL will be unable to finish in the top two if they lose and the other match is drawn.

    Standings are provisional until all matches have been played.

    WEDNESDAY 22 NOVEMBER

    Group A: CSKA Moskva (6 points) v Benfica (0)*, Basel (6) v Manchester United (12)

    • Man. United will qualify (as group winners) with a draw. Their progress will be confirmed if CSKA do not win.
    • Basel will be through if they win and CSKA lose due to better head-to-head.
    • Benfica must win and hope Basel lose to stay in contention for a top-two place. If they fail to win they will be confirmed in fourth.

    Group B: Paris Saint-Germain (12) v Celtic (3), Anderlecht (0) v Bayern München (9)

    • Paris are through and will clinch first place if they win and Bayern do not, or if Paris draw and Bayern lose.
    • Bayern are through.
    • Celtic cannot finish in the top two but will seal third place if they win and Anderlecht do not, or if Celtic draw and Anderlecht lose.
    • Anderlecht cannot finish in the top two.

    Group C: Qarabağ (2) v Chelsea (7)*, Atlético Madrid (3) v Roma (8)

    • Roma are through with a draw. They can clinch first place if they win and Chelsea do not.
    • Chelsea are through with a win, or a draw if Atlético do not win.
    • Atlético will remain in contention with a win, or with a draw if Chelsea lose. They will seal at least third place if they win and Qarabağ lose.
    • Qarabağ must win to stay in contention for a top-two finish. They will be confirmed in fourth if they lose and Atlético win.

    Group D: Juventus (7) v Barcelona (10), Sporting CP (4) v Olympiacos (1)

    • Barcelona will be through, as group winners with a draw. They will also qualify even if they lose should Sporting not win.
    • Juventus are through if they avoid defeat should Sporting do not win.
    • Sporting will remain in contention if they win but will be unable to be finish in the top two if they lose, or if they draw and Juve do not lose. A draw clinches at least third place.
    • Olympiacos must win and hope Juventus lose to stay in contention for a top-two finish. If Olympiacos do not win they will finish fourth.
  • Report: Tuesday’s UEFA Champions League

    Report: Tuesday’s UEFA Champions League

    A total of 20 goals were scored from the eight matches played in the UEFA Champions League matches on Tuesday.

    While Chelsea were well Beaten in Rome by Basel (El Shaarawy (2) and Perotti) Man Utd Beat Benfica as Luckless keeper Svilar scored own goal, before Blind penalty.

    Layvin Kurzawa scored hatrick in PSG‘s 5-0 win at home to Anderlecht, Neymar and Marco Verratti were also on the score sheet.

    Roma 3- 0 Chelsea. El Shaawawy scored his second goal in the 36th minute. Recall he scored the first goal in the first minute into the match, before Diego Perotti made it three in the 64th minutes.
    This is how Roma scored their first goal, Aleksandar Kolarov bombed down the left, found former Manchester City team-mate Edin Dzeko and he flicked it down to Stephan El Shaarawy for an absolute Halloween screamer.
    Sporting CP 1-1 Juventus
    Bruno Cesar gave the home team a lead at the 20th minute before Gonzalo Higuain equalised in the 69th minutes.

    Celtic 1-2 Bayern Munich

    Kingsley Coman scored for Bayern muinich. He scored in the 22nd minutes. Callum McGregor scored Celtic only goal before Javier Martinez made it two for the visiting side.

    Olympiakos 0-0 Barcelona
    Very unusual result for Barcelona as they played goaless with Olympiacos who used the match to secure a point still sitting at the bottom of their group.
    Atlético Madrid 1-1 Qarabag
    Qarabag got their lead as Michel scored in the 40th minute before Atletico Madrid equalised by Thomas in the second half.
    Basel 1 -2 CSKA Mosco
    Manchester United 2-0 Benfica

    Jose Mourinho side missed a begging chance of getting their first goal in the match few minutes ago as young goalkeeper Mile Svilar dives to his right and saves Anthony Martial’s penalty!

    Just before Manchester United were awarded a penalty the visitors felt they should have had one, Pizzi barged over by Eric Bailly. Anywhere else on the pitch…

    Diogo Goncalves then hits a stunning strike from 20 yards which David de Gea pushes away.

    Follow up for goal updates in the second half

    Who will qualify to the knock out stage as actions resume tonight in the UEFA Champions League?

    Eight football matches will be played tonight and all the matches will start by 8;45 Pm.

    See match fixtures below and Analysis

    • FC Basel vs CSKA Moscow
    • Man United vs  Benfica
    • Celtic1 vs Bayern Munich
    • Paris Saint Germain vs RSC Anderlecht
    • Atlético Madrid vs FK Qarabag
    • Roma vs Chelsea
    • Olympiakos vs Barcelona
    • Sporting Lisbon vs Juventus
      Manchester United v Benfica:

      It wasn’t a thriller a fortnight ago but it was ‘job done’ by Manchester United. Benfica were a very poor side though.

      I know their results have since picked up and Jose Mourinho continues to say they are a better side than the other teams in the group, but they certainly weren’t from what we saw the other night.

      Mourinho did say he won’t be thinking of the Chelsea game (in the Premier League.) In his mind, he wants to get the win tonight and qualify for the next round.

      Ahead of the match, Jose mourinho has come out in defence of his striker Romelu Lukaku after he was criticised by fans following his inability to keep his scoring spree for the club.
      The £75m summer signing from Everton, 24, scored 11 goals in his first 10 games – but none in his last five.But, Mourinho explained that “What he (Lukaku) does for the team is fantastic and to play football for a striker is not just about scoring goals.””I think Romelu is one of the players who should be untouchable in terms of respect from everyone.”The Belgium forward, sold by Mourinho while he was Chelsea manager, drew his fifth blank in a row against Tottenham on Saturday – but did set up Anthony Martial’s winner.

      Roma v Chelsea

      For Chelsea tonight the equation is simple. Win in Rome and they qualify for the knockout stage of the Champions League.

      Chelsea make only one change from the side who beat Bournemouth 1-0 on Saturday. Captain Gary Cahill replaces Davide Zappacosta, who drops to the bench. Eden Hazard starts again. N’Golo Kante doesn’t return from the hamstring injury which has kept him out for a month.

      Roma make three switches from Saturday’s 1-0 win over Bologna. Former Manchester City defender Aleksandar Kolarov, star midfielder Radja Nainggolan and Diego Perotti all come in. Edin Dzeko, who scored twice at Stamford Bridge, starts.

      Olympiakos v Barcelona

      Barcelona will qualify from Group D if they beat Olympiakos and Juventus don’t lose to Sporting Lisbon. A Barca draw will be enough if Juventus win.

      Juve are through if they win and Barca don’t lose.

      In a similar vein, Paris St-Germain and Bayern Munich can both help to send each other through tonight. PSG will qualify if they beat Anderlecht, and Bayern don’t lose to Celtic. A draw would do PSG if Bayern win.

      Bayern will progress from Group B if they win and PSG don’t lose.

      In Group A, Basel are through if they beat CSKA Moscow at home and Manchester United avoid defeat at home to Benfica.

      Ernesto Valverde’s Barca side will qualify for the last 16 if they better the result of Sporting Lisbon, who are at home to Juventus.

      Valverde managed Olympiakos in two spells between 2008 and 2012.

      “It’s emotional to come here to Athens, to this stadium, for what it has meant to me and for what is at stake,” said Valverde, 53.

      “Even though they (Olympiakos fans) will give me a good reception, I’m sure they will be right behind their team.”

      Olympiakos, who are still without a point in Group D, will see their slim hopes of qualification end if they lose and Juventus avoid defeat away at Sporting Lisbon.

      Celtic v Bayern Munich

      Bayern missing some big guns

      We already knew that in-form Poland striker Robert Lewandowski, injured on Saturday against Leipzig, and strike partner Thomas Muller would be missing for Bayern.

      Head coach Jupp Heynckes has made four other changes from that Bundesliga win, with the German media suggesting he has one eye on this weekend’s big league clash with main rivals Borussia Dortmund.

      Germany defenders Joshua Kimmich and Mats Hummels drop to the bench along with midfielders Thiago and Sebantian Rudy.

      Niklas Sule and Rafinha come into the defence, while Arturo Vidal, Cortentina Tolisso and Kingsley Coman coming into midfield, the latter having shaken off an injury.

      Could those changes give Celtic a window of opportunity?

       

  • Harry Kane trains ahead of Madrid Clash

    Harry Kane trains ahead of Madrid Clash

     

    Harry Kane has returned to training ahead of Tottenham’s Champions League clash against Real Madrid on Wednesday.

    The England forward missed Saturday’s loss to Manchester United with a hamstring injury he picked up during the 4-1 defeat of Liverpool at Wembley.

    However, he may return against Real, although he will need to be assessed ahead of the match.

    Spurs boss Mauricio Pochettino said over the weekend that he was quite hopeful the prolific 24-year would get the green light to face the Spanish giants.

    “With the doctors and the player, we will take the best decision for everyone,” said Pochettino.

    “We will assess him and then we will make the best decision.

    “My feeling is good. But it’s not my feeling, it’s Harry Kane’s feeling.”

    The return of Kane would be very welcome for Spurs, who have followed the emphatic defeat of Liverpool with a Carabao Cup defeat to West Ham and the 1-0 loss at Old Trafford.

    Spurs are ahead of Real Madrid on goal difference at the top of Champions League Group H, both sides having won two and drawn one of their matches.

    Their first meeting at the Bernabeu finished in a 1-1 draw a fortnight ago.

  • Champions League: second half Underway

    Champions League: second half Underway

    Actions have resumed for the second half of the EUFA champions Leagues matches.

    A total of eleven goals were scored in across the matches in the first half.

    See Table for Goal Updates below.

    Champions League – Group A
    Benfica
    0 – 0
    Manchester United
    CSKA Moscow
    0 – 1
    Basel
    Champions League – Group B
    Anderlecht
    0 – 2
    Paris Saint Germain
    Bayern Munich
    2 – 0
    Celtic
    Champions League – Group C
    Qarabag FK
    0 – 0
    Atletico Madrid
    Chelsea
    2 – 1
    Roma
    Champions League – Group D
    Barcelona
    1- 0
    Olympiacos
    Juventus
    1 – 1
    Sporting CP
  • UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE RESULTS

    UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE RESULTS

    Check results of the group matches played in the UEFA Champions League on Wednesday below.
    Champions League – Group A
    Basel (Lang, Oberlin, Wolfswinkel, Oberlin, Riveros)
    5 – 0
    Benfica
    CSKA Moscow(Kuchaev)
    1 – 4
    Manchester United ( Lukaku, Martial, Lukaku, Mkhitaryan )
    Champions League – Group B
    Anderlecht
    0-3
    Celtic (Griffiths, Kara; Own-goal, Sinclair )
    Paris Saint Germain (Alves, Cavan, Neymar )
    3- 0
    Bayern Munich
    Champions League – Group C
    FT
    Qarabag FK
    1 – 2
    Roma
    Atletico Madrid (Griezmann(Penalty))
    1 – 2
    Chelsea (Morata, Batuayi)
    Champions League – Group D
    Juventus (Higuain, Mandzukic)
    2 – 0
    Olympiacos
    Sporting CP
    0– I
    Barcelona(Sebastian;Own-goal)
  • SCORES FOR TUESDAY UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE MATCHES

    SCORES FOR TUESDAY UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE MATCHES

    23-goals were scored in the Tuesday EUFA Champions League matches.
    See the scores for the eight matches that were played on Tuesday below.
    Champions League – Group E
    Sevilla
    3- 0
    Maribor
    Spartak Moscow
    1 – 1
    Liverpool
    Champions League – Group F
    Manchester City
    2 – 0
    Shakhtar Donetsk
    SSC Napoli
    3- 1
    Feyenoord
    Champions League – Group G
    Besiktas
    2 – 0
    RasenBallsport Leipzig
    Monaco
    0 – 3
    FC Porto
    Champions League – Group H
    APOEL Nicosia
    0 – 3
    Tottenham Hotspur
    Borussia Dortmund
    1 – 3
    Real Madrid
  • Expected line-up if Liverpool must defeat Spartak Moscow

    Expected line-up if Liverpool must defeat Spartak Moscow

    Liverpool plays Spartak Moscow in Russia tonight (Kickoff time is 7:45pm – West Africa Standard Time) to put their qualification back on track after playing a 2-2 draw with Sevilla at Anfield.

    Recall that Liverpool’s last five games have seen them play beautiful football but with no good result to show for it after they were thrashed by Man City 5 goals to nothing.

    In other disappointing games, they drew with Sevilla (2-2), drew 1-1 with Burnley, eliminated by Leicester in the Carabao cup before getting back to winning ways against Leicester in the English Premier League (EPL) with the hard-fought match on Saturday.

    Russia is a difficult place to go and get results for English teams as it has proved to be in the past.

    Liverpool has played with Spartak Moscow on four occasions in European competitions, winning two and losing the other two.

    If Liverpool must win against Spartak Moscow, they must on top of their game, which means their attack must put on their goalscoring boot; the midfielders must create enough for the Strikers and complement the defenders, who will be tasked with keeping the counter-attacking Spartak Moscow team at bay.

    Here is Liverpool full squad for the Spartak Moscow game:

    Keepers: Karius, Mignolet, Ward

    Defenders: Matip, Lovren, Moreno, Robertson, Alexander Arnold, Flanagan, Klavan

    Midfielders: Henderson (captain), Wijnaldum, Milner, Can, Coutinho, Oxlade-Chamberlain.

    Forwards:  Mane, Salah, Sturridge, Solanke, Firmino.

    This is the line-up football analysts will expect for the game if Liverpool is to win the game in Russia. The club operates a 4-3-3 formation. that has been Liverpool’s formation since last season and it could be difficult to imagine Klopp changing it anytime from now.

    Expected Line-Up:

    Goalkeeper: Loris Karius.

    Reason – Mignolet should be rested after his “hero and villain” performance against Leicester.  Ward should remain on the bench and Karius be given the nod to take charge of the goal post.

    Defenders: Flanagan, Matip, Lovren, Moreno.

    Reason – Flanagan strength and power will be needed since Gomez is suspended for this game and the young Alexander-Arnold will be bullied on the ball.

    Matip and Lovren should be at the heart of defence due to Klavan’s lack of pace and power.

    Moreno should be given the nod ahead of Robertson due Moreno’s pace, his contribution to the attack and directness.

    Midfielders: Henderson, Can, Coutinho

    Reason – Henderson will be expected to lead the team out on the field of play after a good all-round game on Saturday.

    Wijnaldum or Can?  This is a big task for me to do. Either of the two can do the job but I will go for Can because of his versatility and his big body presence. Wijnaldum away performance is against him as he does not use to perform when he plays away from home. Coutinho automatically slots into creating and dictating the play from midfield.

    Forwards: Mane, Sturridge, Salah

    Mane is ready for selection after not playing for his club’s last three games serving a suspension.

    According to kloop, Mane is in the right frame of mind to start this game, so there is nothing stopping him from starting this game.

    Mo Salah should start the game from the right side of the pitch, is pace and goal scoring ability will be needed if Liverpool is to win.

    People will be expecting me to start Firmino for this match, but I will go for Sturridge. Many eyebrows will be raise as to this selection. In this match, Liverpool will need a natural number 9 to do the finishing which Sturridge has proven to be over the past years.

    And moreover, Firmino needs rest as he has underperformed in the last two games and Sturridge showed what he is capable of doing in his brief cameo against Leicester.     

    With this strong line-up, I see Liverpool dismantling Spartak Moscow in Russia with a bit of luck.

  • Tough EUFA Champions League Fixtures on Tuesday

    Tough EUFA Champions League Fixtures on Tuesday

    Action will resume on Tuesday in the EUFA Champions League.
    Find below the total of eight matches that will be played in group E to H on Tuesday.
    Champions League – Group E
    September 26
    19:45
    Sevilla
    ? – ?
    Maribor
    19:45
    Spartak Moscow
    ? – ?
    Liverpool
    Champions League – Group F
    September 26
    19:45
    Manchester City
    ? – ?
    Shakhtar Donetsk
    19:45
    SSC Napoli
    ? – ?
    Feyenoord
    Champions League – Group G
    September 26
    19:45
    Besiktas
    ? – ?
    RasenBallsport Leipzig
    19:45
    Monaco
    ? – ?
    FC Porto
    Champions League – Group H
    September 26
    19:45
    APOEL Nicosia
    ? – ?
    Tottenham Hotspur
    19:45
    Borussia Dortmund
    ? – ?
    Real Madrid
  • Champions League Ends with 28-Goal Thrillers

    Champions League Ends with 28-Goal Thrillers

    A total of 28 goals were scored in the eight Champions League matches played on Tuesday.
    Chelsea scored the highest number of goals in the Tuesday matches as the blues wallop Qarabag FK 6-0.
    It was a real harvest of goal for the blues as the trio of Pedro Rodrigue, Davide Zappacosta and Cesar Azpilicueta scored the treble that ended the first half of the matxch, while Tiemoue Bakayoko, Michy Batshuayi and an owned goal from Maksim Medvedev made it a six goal thriller at the 90 minutes.

    In the Barcelona versus Juventus match, two goals from Lionel Messi and one from Ivan Rakitic gave the home side a 3-0 lead at full time.

    Bayern Munich also thrashed  Anderlecht by 3-0. The goals in the match were scored by Robert Lewandowski,  Thiago Alcantara and Joshua Kimmich.

    Benfica loss their first match inspite of their lead goal from Haris Seferovic in the first half before CSKA came from behind to score two goals. The goals were scored by Vitinho and  Timur Zhamaletdinov in the second half.
    It was a five goal  thriller in the PSG match against Celtic. Neymar has a goal to his name on the score sheet, Kylian Mbappe also scored, the third goal was from Edinson Cavani, the fourth was an own goal from Mikael Lustig and the fifth was from Edinson Cavani again at the 85th minutes.

    Jose Mourinho boys did not only dominate the possession but also have two goals from

    Romelu Lukaku and a goal from Marouane Fellaini to complete their 3-0 win against Basel.

    Sporting CP had three goals lead at the end of the first half with goals from Seydou Doumbia, Gelson Martins and Jacques Alaixys Romao before Felipe Pard scored two late goals for Olympiacos at the 89th and 90th minute to end the match.

     
     Roma and  Atletico ended goalless.
  • Messi sends emotional goodbye to Neymar

    Messi sends emotional goodbye to Neymar

     

    Lionel Messi has penned an emotional goodbye to his friend and Barcelona team-mate Neymar ahead of the Brazilian’s impending world-record move to PSG.

    Neymar spent 43 minutes at Barcelona’s training ground on Wednesday bidding farewell to his team-mates, and he will soon complete a £198million move to Ligue 1.

    Posting a video to Instagram on Wednesday afternoon, Messi wrote: ‘It was an enormous pleasure to have shared all these years with you friend @neymarjr I wish you luck in this new stage of your life. See you. I love you.’

    Within minutes, Neymar had replied to the video on Instagram, writing: ‘Thanks brother. I will miss you uncle.’

    Neymar joined Messi at Barcelona in 2013, and the pair have since played hundreds of games together, under the stewardship of Gerardo Martino and Luis Enrique.

    Together, the South American pair won everything there is to win, with La Liga, Champions League and Copa del Rey successes along the way.

    Wednesday saw Neymar effectively end his Barcelona career as he prepares to join Paris Saint-Germain for a mind-boggling fee this summer.

    He had a meeting alongside his father, his representatives and club officials, in which he expressed his desire to leave the Nou Camp.

    It is now expected that Neymar will head to Paris to continue negotiations, ahead of completing his money-spinning move to Ligue 1.

    He had only arrived back in Spain on Tuesday evening following a trip to the Middle East, and after a short rest was on his way to the training ground.

    He arrived at the club’s Joan Gamper facilities at 9am local time with two friends, wearing sunglasses in his blue Audi sports car.

    Neymar’s arrival came half an hour before a scheduled training session, but the forward did not take part.