Photo: Stephen Gormley (Red Eye Photo Agency)
Newcastle United crash out of Europe after losing 2-1 at home to AC Milan
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Photo: Stephen Gormley (Red Eye Photo Agency)
Liverpool win comfortably 4-0 at home to Austrian side Lask in their fifth Europa League Group stage match
On a cold night in Liverpool, Lask brought 4,000 supporters all the way from Austria for what was really the biggest European adventure of this club’s history. With a squad worth around £25 million they were definitely the underdogs against Liverpool.
Liverpool made nine changes from the team that started against Man City but they still had a strong starting line up with Konate, Salah, Gakpo, Diaz and Nunez all among their top players starting.
Liverpool started off like they meant business after their slip up against Toulouse the last time out in Europe. It did not take them long to get into their stride. After only twelve minutes The Reds broke the deadlock. A great ball in from the right from Gomez was met by Diaz with a great diving header to make it 1-0 to the home side.
Three minutes later Salah was off down the right and sent in a beautiful ball over to Gakpo who could not miss from three yards out to make it 2-0 after 15 minutes.
Liverpool were well on their way to their tenth win in a row at home this season by two goals or more.
It looked like the flood gates were going to open but to be fair Lask got stuck in and stayed solid for the rest of the first half. They broke a few times too just to keep Liverpool back four on their toes.
At the start of the second half Gakpo was played through and the Lask goalkeeper came flying out at his feet, but did not get the ball and Liverpool were awarded a penalty. Mo Salah stepped up and hit his 199th goal for Liverpool to make it 3-0 on the night.
A few minutes later Salah’s night was over as he was subbed off for Nunez. Nunez looked like a man on a mission but as so often for him just when it looks like it is easier to score he hits a post or hits it off the keeper and tonight was no different.
It was left to Gakpo to finish the night off. He got the ball just inside the box and got it on to his right foot and smashed it into the back of the net to make it 4-0 on the night.
It was a little bit harsh on Lask and their sizeable traveling support who never stopped singing from start to finish.
With a draw in France for Toulouse in the other fixture it meant that Liverpool topped the group with a game to guarantees they will be playing in the last 16 in March.
The road to Dublin remains the dream for the final in May and who would bet against them being there in this form.
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Photo: Stephen Gormley (Red Eye Photo Agency)
Shakhtar Donetsk defeated Barcelona at “home” 1-0 in their fourth Champions League Group match
While the war continues on in Ukraine, Shakhtar Donetsk have made their home this season in Hamburg in northern Germany. Over 50,000 turned up to watch their match against Barcelona at the Volksparkstadion just outside Hamburg’s city centre. A lot of the crowd came to have a look at Xavi Hernandez’s edition of Barcelona but maybe also with the hope of seeing a European giant killing.
The match started how you would have expected with Barca dominating possession. Shakhtar however were very organised and were hitting Barcelona very hard on the break with their wingers Zubkov and Newerton keeping Alonso and Cancelo on their toes. Even though Barcelona had almost 70% of the ball it was Shakhtar in the first half that looked the more dangerous on the break.
Barcelona were hitting shots from outside the box just going wide and over the bar from Gavi and Lewandowski.
But on the 40th minute the Ukraine side broke down the right hand side and Gocholeishvili whipped in a beautiful cross which Danylo Sikan met with a looping header to beat Barcelona captain and keeper Ter Stegen to make it 1-0 on the night.
It made for a frantic second half. However for all of Barcelona’s possession they just could not get the equaliser. They had many attempts but only managed one on target with over 98 minutes played on the night.
It was an historical result for Shakhtar with the large crowd in the Volksparkstadion really appreciating the effort from the Ukrainian side on the night.
With two big games left for Shakhtar in the Champions League Group stage you would not bet against them making it to the last 16.
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Photo: Stephen Gormley (Red Eye Photo Agency)
In monsoon-like conditions both sides did well to play attractive attacking football throughout the match. In the opening minutes there were chances at both ends. Pope in goal for Newcastle made a good save, which was followed by a curling shot from Anthony Gordon that was palmed away from the BVB net.
Pope came to the rescue again for the home side in the ninth minute with two great reflex-saves in quick succession. Again Newcastle countered immediately and were very unlucky not to score when Gordon was clean through but couldn’t beat Kobel from close range.
Almirón was then very unlucky to not earn a penalty for United when he seemed to be tripped as he raced into the Dortmund box.
Despite just edging the possession during the first half (55% v 45%), United found themselves going in at half time a goal down. Felix Nmecha side-footed a cross first time from close to the penalty spot into the corner of the net passed a helpess Pope, who had no chance stopping it.
Ten minutes into the second half Callum Wilson was sure he had equalised. However the Englishman’s close-range shot was somehow saved by the knee of Kobel. Wilson again had his head in his hands in disbelief in the 86th minute when his header from a free kick crashed back out off the cross bar.
The cross bar came to the rescue again for Dortmund with just seconds remaining. With Pope up for the corner kick, the ball fell to second-half substitute Sandro Tonali who again saw his shot come back off the bar with Kobel left stranded.
United will feel they have crashed back down to earth after the high of their fabulous 4-1 home victory over group leaders PSG three weeks earlier. In arguably one of the strongest Champions League Groups in recent times, Newcastle are still reveling in their seat at the top table in Europe. At the half way stage they are still second, albeit joint second with BVB, but now having the challenge of two of their remaining matches being away from home. With four points on the board the dream is still alive for United but they will need to be more clinical in front of goal or their champions league dreams will hit the harsh reality come December.
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Photo: Stephen Gormley (Red Eye Photo Agency)
The European champions begin the defence of their title with a 3-1 home win over Red Star Belgrade.
City dominated the first half with slick inter play from Foden, Alvarez and Haaland causing lots of problems for the visitors’ defence. However last ditch defending from Red Star defenders throwing their bodies in front of the relentless shot attempts kept the Serbian side in the match.
In the 25th minute Foden floated a beautiful cross over to Haaland who rose high above the Red Star defence to header off the bar. It seemed just a matter of time before City would break the deadlock. However just before half time a break out of nowhere for Red Star saw Bukari put through on goal and he very calmly lashed the ball low and hard past Ederson to make it 1-0. There was a moment of doubt though as the linesman put his flag up for offside but a VAR check confirmed it was fine and the Serbs went in ahead at the break.
City came out for the second half like they meant business. In the 47th minute Haaland timed his reverse pass perfectly to send through Alvarez who put it in from an acute angle to make it 1-1.
Haaland continued to threaten and had a shot from inside the six yard box somehow saved from close range. City were relentless in the second half and got their reward for the dominant display when Alvarez scored his second goal of the evening in the 60th minute from a free kick. The shot deceived Red Star’s keeper Glazer who tried to punch the ball clear when it seemed more sensible just to catch it.
Soon after, City ended the contest with Rodri side footing a beautiful shot to the bottom of the goalkeeper’s left hand corner from 18 years out. Even the Red Star goalkeeper, who was magnificent all night, could not get down quick enough to save it.
Red Star gave it everything on the night but City were relentless and as Pep said after the match “it is easier to defend a title than win it for the first time”. It will take a very special team to stop City on the road to Wembley and their second European title in June next summer.
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Photo: Stephen Gormley (Red Eye Photo Agency)
Manchester City defeat Inter Milan 1-0 in Istanbul to secure their first Champions League trophy at the same time as completing an impressive treble following their Premiership and FA Cup successes.
City started off nervous with several players misplacing passes. It looked like the weight of the favourite tags were weighing on them. Inter were working hard to put City players under pressure with Matinez and 37 year-old Dzeko, playing in his first final, putting the pressure on from the front. A misplaced pass and a mix up between Akanji and the goalkeeper resulted in Martinez cutting in from the left but he could not get the ball past Ederson who stood up and gave the Inter striker no angle at all.
Midway through the first half Kevin De Bruyne went down injured and was replaced by Phil Foden. This was a huge loss to the City midfield and for the rest of the half it was very tight with Inter giving City no time on the ball. A burst of pace from Haaland near the end of the first half helped create a chance for City but his shot from an acute angle was well saved by Onana to keep it at 0-0 going into the break.
Into the second half and the final finally came to life in the 68th minute after a spell of City pressure in and around the Inter penalty box. Bernado Silva rolled the ball to Rodri who calmly side footed his shot around two Inter defenders from 16 yards out to make it 1-0.
Inter, however, did not lie down. Lukaku came on with 20 minutes to go and Inter went more direct. It was not long until he had a chance from six yards out but he headed it down and it somehow hit off Ederson’s leg and was headed clear. Inter continued to press and towards the end were unlucky when they hit the cross bar and Ederson made another great save to his left punching the ball clear with seconds to go.
City however hung on for a famous victory and their players and fans greeted the final whistle with a mixture of relief and joy. After an incredibly long season they have not only achieved their first Champions League win but managed a treble at the same time, the first in England since their red neighbours managed it back in 1999.
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Photo: Stephen Gormley (Red Eye Photo Agency)
Inter Milan secured a convincing 2-0 first leg “away” victory against neighbours AC Milan in the first leg of the Champions League Semi Final.
The atmosphere inside the famous Stadio Giuseppe Meazza (aka the San Sir) was red hot with 75,000 Milanese fans packed inside. The majority of the fans were dressed in the famous red and black from AC Milan, given their status as home team in the first leg.
However it was Inter who came flying out of the blocks. They went at AC and were ahead inside just eight minutes with the forgotten man Edin Džeko rolling back the years. The 37-year old popped up in the box to put Inter 1-0 up with a powerful side-foot volley following a corner kick.
Before AC had time to recover, Henrikh Mkhitaryan made it 2-0 for Inter inside 11 minutes. Inter broke forward at pace and ex Man United player side-footed into the net after breaking into the box and finding himself one on one with the keeper.
Just four minutes later it could have been all over as Hakan Calhanoglu hit a blistering 20-yard shot towards goal. Luckily however for Milan the shot smashed off the post. VAR then came to AC Milan’s aid after forcing the referee to reverse his decision to give Inter a penalty. AC Milan were very grateful to go into the break with no further damage done after a tortuous first half for them.
AC looked stronger in the second half and were unfortunate not to get a goal back after hitting the post. However Inter still had their chances to kill the contest with Džeko forcing a great save from the AC keeper after finding himself through one on one.
Inter look strong favourites to advance to their first Champions League Final since 2010 as they host their neighbours next week in the same stadium in the second leg with a commanding 2-0 lead in the tie.
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Photo: Stephen Gormley (Red Eye Photo Agency)
Photo: Stephen Gormley (Red Eye Photo Agency)
Liverpool had a very difficult task ahead of them in the second leg in Madrid after losing the first leg tie 5-2 at Anfield, despite leading that match by two goals after just 20 minutes. To achieve the Miracle in Madrid they would have to win by three goals on the night and then win a penalty shoot out.
In a fairly even first half in Madrid both teams had their chances. Toni Kroos had a shot from 20 yards that flew inches over the bar. Liverpool’s Brazilian keeper Allison made a great save from close range from Junior. Liverpool had their chances too with Nunes shooting straight at Courtois in goals for Madrid. Mo Salah was constantly looking sharp and clipped a beautiful ball into Jota who should have made it 1-0 to the English side.
In the second half Madrid kept the ball a lot more and as the minutes rolled by you could see the Liverpool players knew that their slim chance were disappearing. In the 78th minute Madrid sealed the tie on the night with Junior coming in on the left slide before passing the ball over to Benzema who could not miss from six yards out. If Madrid had their shooting boots on it they could have added more goals but they had full control of the game and cruised into the quarter finals with a 1-0 victory on the night and 6-2 over the two legs.
There was a nice touch from Madrid at the end of the match when they played “You’ll never walk alone” with the Madrid fans giving the Liverpool team a standing ovation. This was probably more in recognition that this once great Liverpool side have pushed Madrid all the way in finals in Paris and Kiev in the past five years.
Liverpool need to look to the future and may have to take a few steps back before they take steps forward. It will take all their fighting spirit to make top four this season in the Premier League and be in this great competition next season.
For Madrid the dream lives on for making it an incredible 15 European Cup wins and who would bet against them. The Spaniards reward for the win is a place in the quarter finals against another English side Chelsea who overcame Borussia Dortmund.
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Photo: Stephen Gormley (Red Eye Photo Agency)
This was a heavyweight European clash and it was never going to disappoint. The roof of the stadium nearly lifted off with the atmosphere at the start of the match. Liverpool started the game at a frantic pace and it looked like Madrid were going to get blown away.
It was wave of attacks down Madrid’s left hand side with Trent Alexander causing them lots of problems. It was a great ball over from Trent finished off with a beautiful flick from Nunez to make it 1-0 to Liverpool after just four minutes.
Liverpool were soon two up ten minutes later following an awful mistake from the Madrid goalkeeper. He miscontrolled a back pass and Salah was there ready to pounce to finish with the inside of his left foot.
Photo: Stephen Gormley (Red Eye Photo Agency)
However Madrid refused to lie down. Vinicius Junior struck the ball low and hard past Allison from a tight angle just inside the 18 yard box to get one back from the Champions in the 21st minute.
Another awful goalkeeping error saw the match level again ten minutes before half time. Gomez cleaned up a Madrid attack and gave the ball back to Allison who tried to clear it but was a little too clever and hit off the back of the on-rushing Junior who turned to see the rebound land in the back of the net. Liverpool had some chances in the first half to get back ahead but Salah was not able to finish them off.
The second half started with Gomez giving away a free kick which seemed very harsh. Modric swung in a beautiful ball to the on rushing Eder Militao who finished with a thundering header into the back of the net to make it 3-2 to Madrid.
Less than ten minutes later it was 4-2 with a miss hit shot from Karim Benzema deflecting off the boot of Gomez to leave Allison with no chance. A night that started so well for Liverpool was turning into a living football nightmare.
On the 67th minute Madrid caught Liverpool on the break. The ball was played through to Benzema who had too much space and time in the box before settling himself to smash the ball into the back of the net to make it 5-2 to the visitors.
The Liverpool fans stayed to the end and clapped the Madrid players off the famous Anfield pitch. It was the first time in Liverpool’s long European history that any team have managed to score five goals against them at Anfield.
Liverpool were sloppy in midfield and at the back and got convincingly punished for their mistakes by the European and World champions. Liverpool will need a footballing miracle in Madrid in three weeks’ time. For Madrid they keep on marching on in relentless fashion. It will take a special team to stop them lifting the title in Istanbul in June.
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Liverpool vs Real Madrid
With the finalists of last year’s Champions League both struggling for consistency, this tie may prove to be a changing point in both sides’ seasons. Liverpool are currently sat eighth in the Premier League table while Real Madrid are behind runaway leaders Barcelona in La Liga.
After coming out victorious in the Club World Cup, Real Madrid will be high on confidence. With Karim Benzema rested during Saturday’s victory over Osasuna, Carlo Anchelotti will hope the knockout specialist is fit and firing for Tuesday’s clash.
Liverppol have a boost of their own with Virgil Van Dijk back in the starting XI and are currently in a good run of form with back to back 2-0 victories. With Darwin Nunez and Cody Gakpo starting to hit their stride, Real Madrid will have to be on their top defensive game.
Youngster Stefan Bajectic will have his work cut out in the midfield battle where the ageless Real Madrid duo Toni Kroos and Luka Modic await. However Ancelotti is not scared to mix it up with recent experiments seeing Dani Ceballos and Eduardo Camavinga starting over their older counterparts.
If last year’s final clash was anything to go by then Liverpool will be the instigators while Real Madrid will rely on the excellent Vinicius JR to carry the ball forward on the break. However the Anfield faithful will be ready to push their team over the line.
Eintracht Frankfurt vs Napoli
With both sides flying high domestically and playing attacking brands of football, this fixture could be one of the most exciting. The first leg takes place on Tuesday the 21st of February in Germany.
Napoli will try to take advantage of the excellent attacking duo, Victor Oshimen and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia to spur the team forward. Frankfurt have their own dynamic duo in Randal Kolo Muani and Jesper Lindstrom who have been pivotal to Oliver Glasner’s side since the start of the season.
Both teams have recently come off 2-0 victories and will want to continue that defensive form. Frankfurt plays a 5-2-3 while Napoli’s 4-3-3 has worked perfectly for the players at Spaletti’s disposal. The tactical battle is more than likely to be won in the final third where both teams excel.
With Luciano Spaletti wanting to bring back both the Scudetto and the Champions League to Naples he will be taking no chances in his team selection. After bringing back the Europa League last term any result here would further enhance the reputation of Glanser and his impressive Frankfurt machine.
Inter Milan vs Porto
One of the most open round of 16 ties will take place at the San Siro as Inter Milan host Champions League regulars Porto on Wednesday.
Both of these sides prioritise a solid defence over a free flowing attack with Inter lining up in a 5-3-2 and Porto lining up in a 4-4-2 which has worked well under head coaches Sergio Conceicao and Simone Inzaghi.
One player to watch will be Romelu Lukaku who has had a stop start season due to various injury problems. He did however get on the scoresheet vs Udinese on Saturday evening and will hope to further bolster his scoring record.
Inter will have their work cut out to get past this stern Porto team who are defensively strong but are also capable of playing nice football on the floor. With Mehdi Taremi leading the line, Porto will always have a chance no matter who they come up against. This one is tight to call.
RB Leipzig vs Man. City
After a thrilling 6-3 encounter in last season’s group stage, Man.City face their German rivals once again. With Leipzig’s array of attacking talent with the likes of Andre Silva, Timo Werner and Christopher Nkunku just to name a few they will always have a chance against the bigger teams.
With Man.City and Pep Guardiola struggling for consistency this season this could be the best time to face the English outfit. Meanwhile Leipzig have been scoring freely since the winter restart with a 6-1 hammering of Schalke standing out.
Under Marco Rose, Leipzig continued to play a pressing style of football with a focus on the centre of the pitch hence the use of the rarely seen 4-2-2 formation. Although unorthodox this formation clearly plays to their strengths of midfield dominance.
Man.City could line up in an array of formations but one thing for certain is that Erling Haaland will start up top. The marksman has scored five in Europe so far this term and will be eager to add to that tally in his old stomping ground, Germany.
With a star studded squad Man.City will always be the favourites to not just win this tie but the whole competition. However as we saw last year with Leipzig rattling City with their pressing and coming out with a 2-1 victory, they can cause an upset this Wednesday evening.
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