The Nation Newspaper

Tag: UEFA Champions League

  • UEFA: Iheanacho eyes final berth with Man City

    UEFA: Iheanacho eyes final berth with Man City

    There is no doubt that the 4-2 loss to Southampton may have deflated the confidence of Manchester City, but Nigeria’s Kelechi Iheanacho believes if given chance he could inspire the team to the final of the UEFA Champions League.

    Iheanacho’s brace could not save Man City from losing at St Mary’s on Sunday, but the former Golden Eaglets star is optimistic that they have the wherewithal to turn the table against Real Madrid at the Bernabeu on Monday.

    “This game is not good preparation for us,” he said. “But we will keep it behind us, focus and train, and go to the Bernabeu and hope we qualify. Unfortunately for me, we lost so the goals didn’t mean anything but I will keep working hard to get some more. If I play, I need to work hard for the team and help them qualify for the final if we get the goals,” he told The Manchester Evening News.

    He added: “I am in with a shot of being involved in Madrid, so I will keep working hard. Nothing is enough in football. I will keep working hard to convince the team that I need to be here. It doesn’t matter where you find yourself, you have to focus and concentrate and work for the team. When the ball falls to you, you have to put it in. It’s going to be a big challenge for us but we will keep our heads down and keep working hard to get there.”

    Coach Manuel Pellegrini will ring changes after resting his top players for the trip to the south coast, but Iheanacho said: “It is a dream come true for me and I am happy if I go there. I hope we do well there and there is a great atmosphere. I haven’t been before, but I am happy to go there to get a win.”

  • Barca maul Atletico 2-1

    Barca maul Atletico 2-1

    La Liga Giants, Barcelona FC, on Tuesday thrashed bitter rivals Atletico Madrid 2-1 in the first leg of the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals.

     

    Atletico Madrid took the lead in the 25th minutes of first half, courtesy of Fernando Torres following an assist from Koke

     

    Torres was sent off on the 35th minutes of the game following a second booking but the 10-men of Diego Simeone could not hold for too long as the pressure gets tougher.

     

    Hence,  Barcelona took advantage of Atletico Madrid’s 10-men with an opener from Luis Suarez in the 63rd minute.

     

    Suarez later converted a cross from Dani Alves on the 74th minutes of the game as Barca dominated and took control of the match in the second half.

     

    The second leg is set to take place next week Wednesday.

     

  • Arsenal vs Barca: Can the Gunners stop the Spanish aristocrats?

    Arsenal vs Barca: Can the Gunners stop the Spanish aristocrats?

          

    Ahead of Tuesday night’s Champions League Round of 16 tie between Spanish giants Barcelona and English Premier League (EPL) side Arsenal, below are some highlights of previous encounters between the two sides.

    In 2006, Barcelona defeated Arsenal 2-1 in the final of UEFA Champions League played at the Stade de Saint Denis, Paris, France, courtesy of two late goals by Samuel Eto’o and Brazilian Belletti.

    It was Barcelona’s fifth appearance in the final, having won the competition once in 1992, and lost the other three finals.

    Meanwhile, Arsenal was appearing in the final for the first time and in doing so became the first club from London to feature in the final.

    That victory was Barcelona’s second victory in UEFA Champions League, 14 years after the Catalans first won the tournament in 1992.

    On March 31, 2010, Arsenal held Barcelona to a 2 – 2 draw in the round of 16 tie played at the Emirates Stadium in London.

    Cesc Fàbregas’s late penalty sealed an unlikely recovery as the English side recovered from two goals down play 2-2 with the defending champions.

    In the return leg played on April 6, 2010 at the Spanish side’s Nou Camp cauldron, Barcelona trashed Arsenal  4-1 to progress to the quarter final on 6 – 3 aggregate.

    Argentina’s super star, Lionel Messi, scored all Barcelona’s goal on that night.

    The two sides met again at the same stage 11 months later, precisely on February 16, 2011 and Arsenal defeated Barcelona 2 – 1 in the first leg played in London.

    Barcelona trashed Arsenal 3-1 in the second leg played two weeks later at Nou Camp and qualified for the quarter final on 4-3 aggregate.

    Going by records of previous meetings between both sides, the odds are firmly staked against the English side in Tuesday’s encounter.

    Will the Arsene Wenger managed Londoners shock soccer pundits by stopping the Spanish juggernauts in their stride?

    The match will kick off at 8.45pm on Tonight.

    Barca vs. Arsenal: Can the Gunners stop the Spanish aristocrats?
    Create a poll like this
    0%
    Create a poll like this

  • Chelsea to meet PSG again

    Chelsea to meet PSG again

    … Real Madrid get Roma test

    … Arsenal face Barcelona

    For the third consecutive season, English Premier League side, Chelsea, will play French champions, Paris Saint Germaine (PSG), in the first knock out stage of the UEFA Champions League.

    The two sides were pitched together in Monday’s draw held in Nyon, Switzerland.

    In other pairings, 10-time European champions, Real Madrid will meet Italian Seria A side, AS Roma, while Arsenal will confront reigning champions Barcelona.

    The matches will be played in February and March next year.

     The full draw:

    Real Madrid –          Roma

    Atletico Madrid      –    PSV

    Chelsea           –             PSG

    Man City          –         Dynamo Kiev

    Barcelona         –          Arsenal

    Bayern              –           Juventus

    Wolfsburg         –          KAA Gent

    Zenit                  –            Benfica

  • Arsenal seek redemption against rampaging Bayern

    Arsenal seek redemption against rampaging Bayern

    Arsenal will host high flying German side Bayern Munich in a match day three of the UEFA Champions League on Tuesday night.

    Arsenal, who had lost its two opening fixtures in this competition, needs a positive result against the Bundesliga leaders to return to contention for a place in the knockout stages.

    Arsene Wenger men have won four of their last five games, including a 3-0 rout of Manchester United, a game in which the Gunners scored all three goals in the first 20 minutes of the game.

    Bayern on the other hand had won all its 11 games this season, scoring 37 goals in the process. The German side has scored eight goals without conceding in the opening two games of this season’s UEFA Champions League.

    Arsenal will welcome back Gabriel Paulista squad after he missed the Gunners last match against Watford with a minor injury.

    David Ospina who had started in each of Arsenal’s two previous Champions League games is out due to a shoulder injury he picked up while on international duty for Colombia.

    Arsenal will still be without forward Danny Welbeck and midfielders Jack Wilshere and Tomas Rosicky.

    Bayern will be without Arjen Robben and Franck Ribery, and are expected to be replaced by Douglas Costa and Kingsley Coman in the starting XI.

    Mehdi Benatia, Mario Götze, Sebastian Rode and Holger Badstuber are also unavailable.

    In form striker Robert Lewandowksi, who picked up a knock in the recent Bundesliga win over Werder Bremen, is fit to start. The Polish striker has scored 15 goals in his last seven appearances in all competition.

     

     

     

  • Musa targets flying start in Champions League

    Musa targets flying start in Champions League

    Super Eagles winger, Ahmed Musa, has said he is looking forward to CSKA Moscow starting its campaign in the group stage of UEFA Champions League on a good note.

    The Russian team will on Tuesday evening face Wolfsburg in Germany.

    Manchester United and PSV Eindhoven are the other teams in the group.

    “We’re battle ready and just waiting for the game. We are here in Germany with high hopes and good spirit,” Musa told africanFootball.com

    “We want to start the group stage on a good note. Our aim is to win here against Wolfsburg. Wolfsburg club is a good side too, but we have a target and we are working towards it. I will do my best to make that happen.”

    Musa has scored four goals in the Champions League including the goal that qualified for Russian army to the mini-league stage of the competition.

  • Champions League: Arsenal to play Bayern Munich

    Champions League: Arsenal to play Bayern Munich

    … Man United meet PSV Eindhoven

    Arsenal will face Bayern Munich in the Champions League for the third time in four seasons after being drawn against the German club in the draws conducted on Thursday.

    Manchester United will play PSV Eindhoven on its return to the competition, with striker Memphis Depay to face to his old club.

    Chelsea will play Porto, with whom Jose Mourinho won the competition in 2004, the BBC reports.

    Manchester City will confront Serie A’s Juventus, Europa League winners Sevilla and Borussia Monchengladbach.

    Arsene Wenger’s Gunners side is also in the same group as Olympiakos of Greece for the fourth time in seven seasons, with Dinamo Zagreb of Croatia completing the four.

    In addition to PSV, United was drawn with Russian club CSKA Moscow and last year’s German Bundesliga runners-up Wolfsburg.

    Chelsea will also face Ukrainian champions Dinamo Kiev and Maccabi Tel Aviv of Israel.

    Defending champions Barcelona of Spain will play Bayer Leverkusen, Roma and BATE Borisov while Astana – the first club from Kazakhstan to play in the Champions League proper – ended up in a group comprising Benfica, Atletico Madrid and Galatasaray.

    Valencia, who beat Monaco in a play-off to secure its place as Spain’s fifth representative in this year’s group stage – a record in the competition – will face Russian champions Zenit St Petersburg, French club Lyon and Gent of Belgium.

    Paris St Germain’s striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic will face his old club Malmo for the first time, with Real Madrid and Ukraine’s Shakhtar Donetsk completing the group.

     

    The groups:

    Group A:  Paris St-Germain, Real Madrid, Shakhtar Donetsk, Malmo

    Group B:  PSV Eindhoven, Manchester United, CSKA Moscow, Wolfsburg

    Group C:  Benfica, Atletico Madrid, Galatasaray, Astana,

    Group D:  Juventus, Manchester City, Sevilla, Borussia Monchengladbach

    Group E:  Barcelona, Bayer Leverkusen, Roma, BATE Borisov

    Group F:  Bayern Munich, Arsenal,  Olympiakos, Dinamo Zagreb

    Group G:   Chelsea, Porto, Dynamo Kiev, Maccabi Tel-Aviv

    Group H:  Zenit Saint Petersburg, Valencia, Lyon, Gent

  • Musa, Fatai to clash in Champions League

    Musa, Fatai to clash in Champions League

    Nigeria’s Ahmed Musa and Kehinde Fatai will come face-to-face in the UEFA Champions League third qualifying round after their clubs were drawn against each other on Friday, africanFootball.com reports.

    Both players were born in Jos, Plateau State and started their professional football career with defunct JUTH FC of Jos.

    Musa will lead the attack line of CSKA Moscow against Sparta Prague, whose attack will be spearheaded by Fatai.

    CSKA Moscow will host the first leg in the weekend of 28/29 July, while the second leg  takes place in Prague in the weekend of 4/5 August.

    In other Champions League pairings, Abduljeleel Ajagun’s Panathinaikos Of Greece will slug it out with Belgium’s Club Brugge.

    Elderson Echiejile and his Monaco teammates will battle Young Boys of Switzerland.

    Efe Ambrose and his Celtic mates are expected to go past Stjarnan after 2-0 win in the first leg to face winners of Qarabağ/FK Rudar Pljevlja clash.

    Ex-Flying Eagles star Harmony Ikande’s FK Sarajevo will look to upturn a 2-0 deficit against Lech Poznań to set up a clash with Swiss team Basel.

    Kingsley Madu and Rabiu Ibrahim will hope their Slovak club AC Trenčín beat Staeua Bucureşti to set up a clash with winners of the game between FK Partizan and FC Dila Gori.

    Ridwan Hasan and Paul Onuachu of Danish club FC Midtjylland battle Lincoln FC to face either APOEL FC (CYP) or FK Vardar (MKD).

    Nosa Igiebor will lead Maccabi Tel Aviv against Hibernians FC for the ticket to face FC Viktoria Plzeň.

  • Simon rejects Dortmund, Fenerbache

    Simon rejects Dortmund, Fenerbache

    Nigeria international, Moses Simon has told africanFootball.com he turned down several European clubs including Borussia Dortmund, Fenerbache and Liverpool in the English Premier League to stay put at Belgian champions Gent.

    Simon, who is currently at the FIFA U-20 World Cup in New Zealand with Nigeria, said he wishes to stay at least another season at Gent before he would decide his next destination.

    The player makes history with Belgian champions Gent

    “Fenerbache, Dortmund and Liverpool were among the clubs who were interested in signing me, but I wish to stay at least another season at Gent before I decide what is next for me,” he told africanFootball.com.

    “I still have three more years left of my contract with Gent, but the league in Germany or England would interest me at some point.”

    Simon’s immediate target will be next season’s UEFA Champions League.

    “We are all looking forward to featuring in the Champions League after against all odds we won our first Belgian championship in 115 years,” he added.

    “It’s a big stage for all of us and we wish to make the most of it.”

    The left winger scored seven goals after he joined up with Gent in January. It was a performance that saw him finished as the second best African player in the Belgian top-flight league this past season.

  • Fun, excitement as Heineken fetes football lovers

    Fun, excitement as Heineken fetes football lovers

    Guests at the world famous Heineken House Lagos have enjoyed an exhilarating mix of football entertainment and a unique Heineken-based cocktail blend.

    Two giant clubs of European football clashed in the UEFA Champions League semi-final first leg match between FC Barcelona and Bayern Munich, producing moments of jaw-dropping brilliance from Lionel Messi, the acclaimed master of the game. Both clubs had toiled fruitlessly for 75 minutes before Messi broke the deadlock by scoring two exquisite goals within a space of three minutes. He then sealed the tie by assisting Neymar to the third goal, handing a 3-0 first leg advantage to Barcelona.

    For Heineken guests, as with most football commentators around the world, it wasn’t simply about Barcelona’s impressive scoreline against Germany’s league champions. It was all about the footballing masterclass as delivered by Messi, eliciting comments like “He’s out of this planet!”

    Heineken House Lagos was enraptured by the ease with which he swept past world class defenders en-route to his second goal, in particular. His trickery humiliated Bayern Munich’s Jerome Boateng, leaving him sprawled on the grass as Messi masterfully guided the ball into the net. “Messi did a marvelous job, one on one with Boateng. You can’t leave Messi one on one with anybody!” exclaimed Alao Akinbare, a Real Madrid fan.

    In this ninth consecutive year of Heineken’s sponsorship of the world’s best club football tournament, Heineken House Lagos is open to Heineken fans to watch matches on every UEFA match night. The splendid venue in high-brow Ikoyi regularly attracts Nigeria’s entertainment celebrities and the occasional global football superstar.

    The theme for this year’s campaign, ‘Champion the Match’ is born out of the insight that men know that UEFA Champions League match nights are worth a little more effort to make it memorable.

    For Ms. Bisi Olajude, an oil company business development executive, this is the ideal place to watch UEFA Champions League matches.  “It’s very secure, I love the beautiful ambience and the type of people that you interact and network with here.” And tonight, she’s enjoying the football action while sipping an exotic cocktail drink: secret ingredients have been blended with Heineken beer to produce something truly special. “I have to take this drink home with me. I never knew you could produce something like this with Heineken. I think I can taste kiwi in it. It’s very nice!”

    On Tuesday, Bayern Munich played host to Barcelona on the return leg of their semi-final tussle. They have expressed their determination to claw back the three-goal deficit, therefore setting up another dramatic encounter.

    Same with the Santiago Bernabeu duel where the defending champion, Real Madrid will have to up turn the 1-2 defeat to Italian champions, Juventus in the return leg of the competition. As this UEFA Champions League season approaches its climax, Heineken House guests have much more mouth-watering football action and Heineken drinks to look forward to. The very best combination that the world has to offer.