Bayern Munich put last year's final defeat against Chelsea behind them by coming out of a tight fought contest to lift the 2012/2013 UEFA Champions League. After a goalless first half, Munich took the lead through Mario Mandzukic, only for that to be cancelled out by Ilkay Gundogan's penalty. Arjen Robben, who missed a penalty in extra time against Chelsea, was on hand though to win the game for Munich in the final minutes of normal time.
After a first half that Dortmund probably edged on points, especially in the opening exchanges, the sides went in goalless at the break. Keepers Manuel Neuer and Roman Weidenfeller were both called in to action during the half and did extremely well closing the angle down and blocking the likes of Robert Lewandowski and Arjen Robben. Neuer's best save came when Jakub Blaszczykowski swivelled and shot from short range, but Neuer managed to just tip it over. Weidenfeller's best effort came when he somehow managed to get fingertips to a Mario Mandzukic header which just turned it on to the crossbar and over. Weidenfeller was also called in to action late on in the half when Robben tried to lift the ball over the German in their latest one-on-one, but Robben could only find Weidenfeller's face and it remained 0-0.
The final then truly came alive on the hour mark when Bayern took the lead; Franck Ribery played Robben through once again and the Dutchman made it to the touchline before pulling the ball back for Mandzukic to roll the ball home in to the empty net.
But Munich's lead only lasted seven minutes courtesy of one of Dortmund's most effective players, Marco Reus. Reus managed to out-fox Dante as he ran in to the box and the Brazilian clumsily fouled the German. Gundogan stepped up and sent Neuer the wrong way to restore parity.
With extra time looming, Munich managed to break Dortmund hearts with just minutes to spare. Dortmund failed to get out from a free-kick and the ball would get floated back in. Ribery managed to take the ball down before threading it through a group of defenders with a back heel. Robben managed to poke his way through before ending up reverse rolling the ball past Weidenfeller to squeeze it home and give Bayern the trophy they so desperately wanted.
Showing posts with label UEFA Champions League 2012/2013. Show all posts
Showing posts with label UEFA Champions League 2012/2013. Show all posts
Sunday, 26 May 2013
Wednesday, 1 May 2013
First Ever All German Final
It may have been all but known after the first legs, but it's now official; the first ever all German Champions League final will take place in Wembley on May 28th to decide the winner of this season's campaign. Bayern Munich battered another sorry Barcelona to end with a 7-0 aggregate scoreline, the likes of which have never been seen before and it's also the first time Barcelona have lost both legs of a European tie since they did it against Dundee United in 1987. As for Borussia Dortmund, they survived a late onslaught from Real Madrid to win the tie 4-3 on aggregate.
Judging by the team sheet before a ball was kicked in Camp Nou, it looked as if Barcelona had already conceded defeat by leaving Lionel Messi on the bench. For the sixth game running, it was a very ordinary display from the Spanish giants and it has left some people wondering whether it may be the beginning of the end for this Barcelona era.
Neither side could produce any real magic in the first half and the sides went in goalless without either keeper really being tested. This now meant the test for Barcelona was four goals in 45-minutes. But the ante was increased to six just three minutes later when Arjen Robben was allowed to cut inside and curl a beautiful shot in to the far corner.
Barcelona did manage to get themselves on the scoresheet on 72-minutes but it was only to increase Bayern's lead; Franck Ribery crossed the ball in and Gerard Pique met it with a very gung-ho attempt at a clearance, only for the ball to come off his knee and fly past Victor Valdes.
Barcelona's humiliation was finally completed four minutes later when Ribery again caused mischief down the wing before finding another teasing cross where Thomas Muller was on hand to head home at the far post. After his two goals in the first leg, Muller has now actually levelled with Messi for this season. The 7-0 aggregate victory for Bayern also means that they still haven't conceded since Arsenal beat them in the Allianz in the round of 16. It's also likely that Bayern Munich will the be slight favourites to avenge last season's defeat and lift the trophy this season.
The first half between Real Madrid and Borussia Dortmund was also goalless, but only god knows how that happened. Both teams missed glorious chances and Madrid could have had the three goals they needed to go through in the opening five minutes. Gonzalo Higuain and Angel Di Maria both missed a chance before Cristiano Ronaldo's turn and volley was straight at Roman Weidenfeller from seven yards. At the other end, Robert Lewandowski would like to know how he didn't add to his four goals in the first leg after his effort rattled off the crossbar before bouncing on the line and somehow stayed out.
The second half was much calmer compared to the first and Real Madrid's first half urgency seemed to fade. That was until the substitution of Karim Benzema for Higuain as the Frenchman seemed to give the Spaniards a new lease of life, albeit too little too late.
But Benzema did start the unlikely fight back with eight minutes remaining on the clock; Mesut Ozil's cross being finished off by the Frenchman from close range. With two minutes remaining, Real found a second of their three goals when an undefended corner saw the ball come back in for Benzema to knock down and Sergio Ramos, who would miss the final if they pulled the miracle off, smashed it in to the roof of the net. Ramos had another half-chance in the depths of injury time with a header from a corner that ended up going harmlessly wide. But Dortmund managed to go on and Wembley will now see a fantastic all German final between the two sides that have been the most entertaining in Europe all season.
Judging by the team sheet before a ball was kicked in Camp Nou, it looked as if Barcelona had already conceded defeat by leaving Lionel Messi on the bench. For the sixth game running, it was a very ordinary display from the Spanish giants and it has left some people wondering whether it may be the beginning of the end for this Barcelona era.
Neither side could produce any real magic in the first half and the sides went in goalless without either keeper really being tested. This now meant the test for Barcelona was four goals in 45-minutes. But the ante was increased to six just three minutes later when Arjen Robben was allowed to cut inside and curl a beautiful shot in to the far corner.
Barcelona did manage to get themselves on the scoresheet on 72-minutes but it was only to increase Bayern's lead; Franck Ribery crossed the ball in and Gerard Pique met it with a very gung-ho attempt at a clearance, only for the ball to come off his knee and fly past Victor Valdes.
Barcelona's humiliation was finally completed four minutes later when Ribery again caused mischief down the wing before finding another teasing cross where Thomas Muller was on hand to head home at the far post. After his two goals in the first leg, Muller has now actually levelled with Messi for this season. The 7-0 aggregate victory for Bayern also means that they still haven't conceded since Arsenal beat them in the Allianz in the round of 16. It's also likely that Bayern Munich will the be slight favourites to avenge last season's defeat and lift the trophy this season.
The first half between Real Madrid and Borussia Dortmund was also goalless, but only god knows how that happened. Both teams missed glorious chances and Madrid could have had the three goals they needed to go through in the opening five minutes. Gonzalo Higuain and Angel Di Maria both missed a chance before Cristiano Ronaldo's turn and volley was straight at Roman Weidenfeller from seven yards. At the other end, Robert Lewandowski would like to know how he didn't add to his four goals in the first leg after his effort rattled off the crossbar before bouncing on the line and somehow stayed out.
The second half was much calmer compared to the first and Real Madrid's first half urgency seemed to fade. That was until the substitution of Karim Benzema for Higuain as the Frenchman seemed to give the Spaniards a new lease of life, albeit too little too late.
But Benzema did start the unlikely fight back with eight minutes remaining on the clock; Mesut Ozil's cross being finished off by the Frenchman from close range. With two minutes remaining, Real found a second of their three goals when an undefended corner saw the ball come back in for Benzema to knock down and Sergio Ramos, who would miss the final if they pulled the miracle off, smashed it in to the roof of the net. Ramos had another half-chance in the depths of injury time with a header from a corner that ended up going harmlessly wide. But Dortmund managed to go on and Wembley will now see a fantastic all German final between the two sides that have been the most entertaining in Europe all season.
Wednesday, 24 April 2013
Germany 8-1 Spain
When the semi-final draw was made, there was mare too much hype over a potential El Clasico final at Wembley. Well it's now going to take something special to happen in Spain for either Barcelona or Real Madrid to progress. Both Spanish giants travelled to Germany and they were both given a hiding that neither has had for a very long time.
Real Madrid travelled to Dortmund and walked in to a battering ram that was Robert Lewandowski. The Pole's first strike came after just eight minutes when he slid home Mario Gotze's cross, whose announcement of a move to Bayern Munich in the Summer will hurt Dortmund.
The thing that now differs between Madrid and Barcelona is that Real do have an away goal to shout about. It came two minutes before half-time when Mats Hummel's poor back pass was intercepted by Gonzalo Higuain. Higuain then laid the ball across for Cristiano Ronaldo, who else, to score his 12th goal of the competition. It was slightly controversial though as moments before the goal, Dortmund thought they should have had a penalty when Marco Reus under a Raphael Varane challenge.
Dortmund were back in front just five minutes in to the second half when Marco Reus' blocked shot came to Lewandowski, who Madrid claimed was in an offside position, and the striker had no problem converting his second of the night. The hat-trick came just five minutes later when Lewandowski received the ball from a Marcel Schmelzer cross, he produced some great skill to beat Pepe before firing a powerful shot in to the net.
The rout was completed on 67-minutes when Marco Reus was finally given the penalty he felt he deserved. This time, Reus was barged over in the box by Xabi Alonso and the referee had no other choice to point to the spot. Lewandowski stepped up to complete an unbelievable night and the Pole easily took his tally to ten for the competition.
In both legs of the quarter final and even their match, with a weakened team, against Levante, Barcelona have looked nothing more than ordinary and have been extremely lucky to be in this tie against Bayern Munich. The Spanish giants hadn't improved inside the Allianz with Lionel Messi having the fewest touches in any of his Champions League matches this season.
From the very start, only one team looked up for a battle and Bayern Munich took full advantage of the average performing Barcelona side, who did still see more of the ball. The deadlock was broken on 25-minutes when Arjen Robben's cross saw Dante head the ball, but instead of it going towards the goal, it ended up going back across goal where Thomas Muller reacted quickest to fire home.
The point of the extra officials was in question throughout the match as there a few penalty decisions that Bayern Munich arguably should have won. But none of the appeals were given even though the extra officials were in a fantastic place to tell the referee whether a foul of handball had been committed.
It was 2-0 four minutes in to the second half when Robben's corner was headed down by Muller for Mario Gomez to tap in from four yards, albeit from a seemingly offside position. Robben then scored a deserved third despite it being shrouded in more controversy and asking more questions over the pointless extra officials. It came on 73-minutes with Robben running at Jordi Alba, the Dutchman got a yard over the Spaniard and as he checked back inside, Muller shoulder barged Alba to the floor. It was a definite free-kick but nothing was given and Robben took a couple more paces towards the goal before unleashing his effort past Victor Valdes at his front post.
In the other goal, Manuel Neuer must have been surprised at how clean his gloves were come the final whistle. The German keeper was somehow tested very rarely and the game was completed eight minutes from the end when David Alaba's cross, after he, Bastian Schweinsteiger and Franck Ribery combined, was turned in by Muller for his second goal.
Neither of the semi-finals are definitely over, but it is looking more likely that Wembley will be invaded by the two German powerhouses rather than the El Clasico counterparts.
Real Madrid travelled to Dortmund and walked in to a battering ram that was Robert Lewandowski. The Pole's first strike came after just eight minutes when he slid home Mario Gotze's cross, whose announcement of a move to Bayern Munich in the Summer will hurt Dortmund.
The thing that now differs between Madrid and Barcelona is that Real do have an away goal to shout about. It came two minutes before half-time when Mats Hummel's poor back pass was intercepted by Gonzalo Higuain. Higuain then laid the ball across for Cristiano Ronaldo, who else, to score his 12th goal of the competition. It was slightly controversial though as moments before the goal, Dortmund thought they should have had a penalty when Marco Reus under a Raphael Varane challenge.
Dortmund were back in front just five minutes in to the second half when Marco Reus' blocked shot came to Lewandowski, who Madrid claimed was in an offside position, and the striker had no problem converting his second of the night. The hat-trick came just five minutes later when Lewandowski received the ball from a Marcel Schmelzer cross, he produced some great skill to beat Pepe before firing a powerful shot in to the net.
The rout was completed on 67-minutes when Marco Reus was finally given the penalty he felt he deserved. This time, Reus was barged over in the box by Xabi Alonso and the referee had no other choice to point to the spot. Lewandowski stepped up to complete an unbelievable night and the Pole easily took his tally to ten for the competition.
In both legs of the quarter final and even their match, with a weakened team, against Levante, Barcelona have looked nothing more than ordinary and have been extremely lucky to be in this tie against Bayern Munich. The Spanish giants hadn't improved inside the Allianz with Lionel Messi having the fewest touches in any of his Champions League matches this season.
From the very start, only one team looked up for a battle and Bayern Munich took full advantage of the average performing Barcelona side, who did still see more of the ball. The deadlock was broken on 25-minutes when Arjen Robben's cross saw Dante head the ball, but instead of it going towards the goal, it ended up going back across goal where Thomas Muller reacted quickest to fire home.
The point of the extra officials was in question throughout the match as there a few penalty decisions that Bayern Munich arguably should have won. But none of the appeals were given even though the extra officials were in a fantastic place to tell the referee whether a foul of handball had been committed.
It was 2-0 four minutes in to the second half when Robben's corner was headed down by Muller for Mario Gomez to tap in from four yards, albeit from a seemingly offside position. Robben then scored a deserved third despite it being shrouded in more controversy and asking more questions over the pointless extra officials. It came on 73-minutes with Robben running at Jordi Alba, the Dutchman got a yard over the Spaniard and as he checked back inside, Muller shoulder barged Alba to the floor. It was a definite free-kick but nothing was given and Robben took a couple more paces towards the goal before unleashing his effort past Victor Valdes at his front post.
In the other goal, Manuel Neuer must have been surprised at how clean his gloves were come the final whistle. The German keeper was somehow tested very rarely and the game was completed eight minutes from the end when David Alaba's cross, after he, Bastian Schweinsteiger and Franck Ribery combined, was turned in by Muller for his second goal.
Neither of the semi-finals are definitely over, but it is looking more likely that Wembley will be invaded by the two German powerhouses rather than the El Clasico counterparts.
Friday, 12 April 2013
2012/13 UEFA Champions League Semi-Final
FC Barcelona v Bayern Munich
Real Madrid v Borussia Dortmund
Real Madrid v Borussia Dortmund
Wednesday, 10 April 2013
Barca Need Away Goals While Bayern Don't Concede
Lionel Messi was required off the bench for Barcelona to progress through on away goals in Camp Nou after falling behind against PSG. Bayern Munich complete the semi-final line-up after beating Juventus 2-0 on the night and 4-0 on aggregate.
Without Messi, Barcelona didn't as much of a threat up front despite Xavi almost curling a free-kick in to the net in the opening minutes of the contest. Victor Valdes hands were warmed up by a shot from Ezequiel Lavezzi shortly after, but neither keeper was troubled in the early going.
Lucas Moura was the next to sting the hands of Valdes just before the quarter of an hour mark as both sides began creating chances. Pedro went close for Barca after his initial low cross was palmed back to him, but the Spaniard's second effort only found the side netting.
Just before the half hour mark, Moura again forced a good save from Valdes, seeing his header get pushed over the bar. Salvatore Sirigu continued to be the less worked keeper as David Villa and company failed to find the target. Adriano was given a yellow card for fouling Lucas three minutes before half-time which now rules him out of the semi-final first leg. The first half slightly petered out with many fewer goalscoring opportunities than many predicted.
Cesc Fabregas continued to be wasteful from long range at the beginning of the second half but the match was brought in to life just five minutes after the restart; Javier Pastore and Zlatan Ibrahimovic combined together before the Argentine was put through to score past Valdes, giving PSG an away goal but more importantly the lead.
The goal forced the seemingly non-100% Messi off the bench to warm up and stretch the damaged hamstring. PSG should have taken a 2-0 lead when Ibrahimovic and Pastore again linked up, but this time Pastore scuffed his shot and splayed it wide.
Messi was finally brought in to the fray on 63-minutes. But it was Andres Iniesta who tested Sirigu first on 65-minutes after playing a neat one-two with David Villa. The equaliser came on 71-minutes and Messi was at the heart of it; splitting PSG open with a pass to Villa. Villa then laid the ball back to Pedro to fire home. PSG didn't really create another chance which would have put them through. The goal actually lifted Barcelona who were a totally different side with Messi at the helm. Barca stayed in control for the remainder and progress via the away goal rule, which means an El Clasico final at Wembley is still on.
There's also a potential clash between the two top German sides with Borussia Dortmund and now Bayern Munich are also in the semi-finals. Last year's runners-up managed to progress without conceding a goal against Juventus over the 180-minutes. The Italians did start the better in front of their home fans without really forcing Manuel Neuer in to action.
Like Adriano, Bayern quickly learnt that Mario Mandzukic would miss the first leg of the semi-final after clashing with Giorgio Chiellini, although it did look as though no contact was made and the Germans may be right to feel aggrieved. Andrea Pirlo tested Neuer with a stunning free-kick, but the keeper managed to punch the ball over the bar. From there, neither keeper was troubled in any way, shape or form and the first half came to a nonchalant end.
Bayern gained more possession in the second half but both keepers were still enjoying a cup of tea on the pitch, occasionally taking the odd goal kick or picking the up a rolling ball. Gianluigi Buffon's real piece of the action finally came on 64-minutes when he had to pick the ball out of the net as Juventus all but kissed goodbye to a place in the semi-finals; Javi Martinez managed to get a leg to a good cross and Buffon couldn't hold on to it, Mandzukic gleefully rolled the ball home to make up for missing out on the first leg.
Thomas Muller came close to immediately making it 2-0, but his effort Arjen Robben's ball was blazed over the bar. The goal definitely deflated Juventus and the game once again slowly reached its climax. But icing on the cake came in the first minute of injury time after Bastian Schweinsteiger's great turn fed Claudio Pizarro to score past Buffon.
Without Messi, Barcelona didn't as much of a threat up front despite Xavi almost curling a free-kick in to the net in the opening minutes of the contest. Victor Valdes hands were warmed up by a shot from Ezequiel Lavezzi shortly after, but neither keeper was troubled in the early going.
Lucas Moura was the next to sting the hands of Valdes just before the quarter of an hour mark as both sides began creating chances. Pedro went close for Barca after his initial low cross was palmed back to him, but the Spaniard's second effort only found the side netting.
Just before the half hour mark, Moura again forced a good save from Valdes, seeing his header get pushed over the bar. Salvatore Sirigu continued to be the less worked keeper as David Villa and company failed to find the target. Adriano was given a yellow card for fouling Lucas three minutes before half-time which now rules him out of the semi-final first leg. The first half slightly petered out with many fewer goalscoring opportunities than many predicted.
Cesc Fabregas continued to be wasteful from long range at the beginning of the second half but the match was brought in to life just five minutes after the restart; Javier Pastore and Zlatan Ibrahimovic combined together before the Argentine was put through to score past Valdes, giving PSG an away goal but more importantly the lead.
The goal forced the seemingly non-100% Messi off the bench to warm up and stretch the damaged hamstring. PSG should have taken a 2-0 lead when Ibrahimovic and Pastore again linked up, but this time Pastore scuffed his shot and splayed it wide.
Messi was finally brought in to the fray on 63-minutes. But it was Andres Iniesta who tested Sirigu first on 65-minutes after playing a neat one-two with David Villa. The equaliser came on 71-minutes and Messi was at the heart of it; splitting PSG open with a pass to Villa. Villa then laid the ball back to Pedro to fire home. PSG didn't really create another chance which would have put them through. The goal actually lifted Barcelona who were a totally different side with Messi at the helm. Barca stayed in control for the remainder and progress via the away goal rule, which means an El Clasico final at Wembley is still on.
There's also a potential clash between the two top German sides with Borussia Dortmund and now Bayern Munich are also in the semi-finals. Last year's runners-up managed to progress without conceding a goal against Juventus over the 180-minutes. The Italians did start the better in front of their home fans without really forcing Manuel Neuer in to action.
Like Adriano, Bayern quickly learnt that Mario Mandzukic would miss the first leg of the semi-final after clashing with Giorgio Chiellini, although it did look as though no contact was made and the Germans may be right to feel aggrieved. Andrea Pirlo tested Neuer with a stunning free-kick, but the keeper managed to punch the ball over the bar. From there, neither keeper was troubled in any way, shape or form and the first half came to a nonchalant end.
Bayern gained more possession in the second half but both keepers were still enjoying a cup of tea on the pitch, occasionally taking the odd goal kick or picking the up a rolling ball. Gianluigi Buffon's real piece of the action finally came on 64-minutes when he had to pick the ball out of the net as Juventus all but kissed goodbye to a place in the semi-finals; Javi Martinez managed to get a leg to a good cross and Buffon couldn't hold on to it, Mandzukic gleefully rolled the ball home to make up for missing out on the first leg.
Thomas Muller came close to immediately making it 2-0, but his effort Arjen Robben's ball was blazed over the bar. The goal definitely deflated Juventus and the game once again slowly reached its climax. But icing on the cake came in the first minute of injury time after Bastian Schweinsteiger's great turn fed Claudio Pizarro to score past Buffon.
Tuesday, 9 April 2013
Ten Goals See Dortmund Through Via A Very Late Show & Madrid Hold On In Turkey
The first two semi-finalists in the Champions League have been confirmed after an amazing ten goals were scored. At 90-mins, Malaga were going to progress with an away win over Borussia Dortmund. But by 93-mins the Germans were celebrating a 3-2 victory that sees them make it in to the last four for the first time in 15-years. Real Madrid needed that three goal lead from the Bernabeu in order to see off a resilient Galatasaray 5-3 on aggregate.
Dortmund were the strong favourites to make it in to the semi-finals after a goalless first leg in Spain. The start was a slow one but Robert Lewandowski managed to get through, only to see his lobbed effort go over the bar just after 15-minutes.
Malaga's first real attack came on 25-minutes when Julio Baptista's header on ended up falling back to him. A quick interchange between Joaquin and Isco saw Joaquin take the ball to the edge the box and fire in to the bottom corner, giving Malaga the lead and, more importantly, the away goal. It was Joaquin's third of the tournament.
But Malaga couldn't hold on to the lead to half-time as Dortmund came back. Marco Reus' clever flick back in to the path of Lewandowski and the Pole take it around Willy Caballero before slotting it home five minutes before half-time, his sixth of the tournament. As it stood Malaga would still go through and they almost re-took the lead right before the whistle when Duda had a free header from a free-kick but it was easily saved by Roman Weidenfeller.
Lewandowski forced another save from Caballero early in the second half but Malaga again went close to taking the lead when Joaquin's header was smartly parried by Weidenfeller. The German keeper was again called in to action from Jeremy Toulalan's long range effort which was again punched away. Reus came closest to Dortmund taking the lead but his short range shot was somehow saved by the leg of Caballero. That same leg was then used to stop Mario Gotze from scoring after the German was exquisitely put through by Ilkay Gundogan.
With eight minutes to play, Malaga would retake the lead when Julio Baptista was played through one-on-one. The Brazilian then laid the ball across for Eliseu, who looked to be offside, to stroke home. But Dortmund fought back and when Felipe Santana's low cross was parried back to Reus to roll home on 91-minutes, the game was flung wide open.
A minute later, Reus was back in the box and this time smashing the ball across the six yard area. Santana's first effort ended up coming back to the keeper before Julian Schieber slid the ball back to Santana to poke in to the net, dramatically sending Malaga out and keeping their unbeaten status alive. However, there is controversy as Santana was ahead of Caballero when Schieber poked the ball back to him. So as there was only one defender between Santana and the goal, Santana was offside which was perhaps karma on Eliseu's part.
Galatasaray had it all to do in their second leg. They needed to somehow overturn a 3-0 deficit and do it against Real Madrid. The task of getting four goals without conceding, three to force extra time, and without Burak Yilmaz was quickly extended to five when Cristiano Ronaldo scored an away goal for Madrid after just seven minutes; the Portuguese tapping in Sami Khedira's low ball across the six yard box.
Real Madrid looked like scoring the second goal and only Fernando Muslera stopped Angel Di Maria curling an effort in to the net with the outside of his foot. Diego Lopez's first save of the net wasn't a particularly difficult one to make from a Wesley Sneijder shot from the edge of the box. But it was the beginning for Galatasaray to get in to the match.
Ronaldo should have made it 2-0 early in the second half when Angel Di Maria played him through on the six yard box. Ronaldo took a sloppy touch before then somehow scuffing it wide. The comeback then began 12-minutes in to the half when Sneijder's low ball across the box was smashed home by Emmanuel Eboue on the edge of the area with a momentous shot, a real way to score your first goal for Galatasaray.
Sneijder should have given the hosts the lead soon after but the Dutchman rolled his shot from ten yards hopelessly wide. There were calls for a penalty when Didier Drogba went down under a Pepe challenge, but the referee wasn't forthcoming. Sneijder then redeemed himself on 71-minutes, finishing after a great touch to put him through on goal. That became 3-1 just a minute later when Nordin Amrabat's ball was expertly flicked home by Drogba, giving Galatasaray the chance to dream and now just two goals away from a shock place in the semi-finals.
That third goal seemed to wake Madrid back up and Ronaldo went close to ending the tie, but his lobbed effort went just over bar. But time was running out for Galatasaray despite getting an injury time gift in the form of Alvaro Arbeloa getting himself sent off. The Spaniard got booked for a foul before then receiving a second yellow seconds later for dissent. But the last word came from, who else, Ronaldo by tapping in Karim Benzema's pull back for his 11th goal of the tournament, in ten matches.
Dortmund were the strong favourites to make it in to the semi-finals after a goalless first leg in Spain. The start was a slow one but Robert Lewandowski managed to get through, only to see his lobbed effort go over the bar just after 15-minutes.
Malaga's first real attack came on 25-minutes when Julio Baptista's header on ended up falling back to him. A quick interchange between Joaquin and Isco saw Joaquin take the ball to the edge the box and fire in to the bottom corner, giving Malaga the lead and, more importantly, the away goal. It was Joaquin's third of the tournament.
But Malaga couldn't hold on to the lead to half-time as Dortmund came back. Marco Reus' clever flick back in to the path of Lewandowski and the Pole take it around Willy Caballero before slotting it home five minutes before half-time, his sixth of the tournament. As it stood Malaga would still go through and they almost re-took the lead right before the whistle when Duda had a free header from a free-kick but it was easily saved by Roman Weidenfeller.
Lewandowski forced another save from Caballero early in the second half but Malaga again went close to taking the lead when Joaquin's header was smartly parried by Weidenfeller. The German keeper was again called in to action from Jeremy Toulalan's long range effort which was again punched away. Reus came closest to Dortmund taking the lead but his short range shot was somehow saved by the leg of Caballero. That same leg was then used to stop Mario Gotze from scoring after the German was exquisitely put through by Ilkay Gundogan.
With eight minutes to play, Malaga would retake the lead when Julio Baptista was played through one-on-one. The Brazilian then laid the ball across for Eliseu, who looked to be offside, to stroke home. But Dortmund fought back and when Felipe Santana's low cross was parried back to Reus to roll home on 91-minutes, the game was flung wide open.
A minute later, Reus was back in the box and this time smashing the ball across the six yard area. Santana's first effort ended up coming back to the keeper before Julian Schieber slid the ball back to Santana to poke in to the net, dramatically sending Malaga out and keeping their unbeaten status alive. However, there is controversy as Santana was ahead of Caballero when Schieber poked the ball back to him. So as there was only one defender between Santana and the goal, Santana was offside which was perhaps karma on Eliseu's part.
Galatasaray had it all to do in their second leg. They needed to somehow overturn a 3-0 deficit and do it against Real Madrid. The task of getting four goals without conceding, three to force extra time, and without Burak Yilmaz was quickly extended to five when Cristiano Ronaldo scored an away goal for Madrid after just seven minutes; the Portuguese tapping in Sami Khedira's low ball across the six yard box.
Real Madrid looked like scoring the second goal and only Fernando Muslera stopped Angel Di Maria curling an effort in to the net with the outside of his foot. Diego Lopez's first save of the net wasn't a particularly difficult one to make from a Wesley Sneijder shot from the edge of the box. But it was the beginning for Galatasaray to get in to the match.
Ronaldo should have made it 2-0 early in the second half when Angel Di Maria played him through on the six yard box. Ronaldo took a sloppy touch before then somehow scuffing it wide. The comeback then began 12-minutes in to the half when Sneijder's low ball across the box was smashed home by Emmanuel Eboue on the edge of the area with a momentous shot, a real way to score your first goal for Galatasaray.
Sneijder should have given the hosts the lead soon after but the Dutchman rolled his shot from ten yards hopelessly wide. There were calls for a penalty when Didier Drogba went down under a Pepe challenge, but the referee wasn't forthcoming. Sneijder then redeemed himself on 71-minutes, finishing after a great touch to put him through on goal. That became 3-1 just a minute later when Nordin Amrabat's ball was expertly flicked home by Drogba, giving Galatasaray the chance to dream and now just two goals away from a shock place in the semi-finals.
That third goal seemed to wake Madrid back up and Ronaldo went close to ending the tie, but his lobbed effort went just over bar. But time was running out for Galatasaray despite getting an injury time gift in the form of Alvaro Arbeloa getting himself sent off. The Spaniard got booked for a foul before then receiving a second yellow seconds later for dissent. But the last word came from, who else, Ronaldo by tapping in Karim Benzema's pull back for his 11th goal of the tournament, in ten matches.
Wednesday, 3 April 2013
Dortmund Held In Spain, Three & Easy For Madrid
Real Madrid look likely to be in the semi-finals after beating Galatasaray 3-0 in the Bernabeu. 533km away, Malaga will have it all to do when they travel to Germany after a goalless draw in the La Rosaleda. The only positive Malaga do have is that Dortmund failed to score an away goal which could potentially work in their favour if the get a goal in the Westfalenstadion.
It was perhaps more down to Dortmund missing their chances rather than Malaga holding them off but it won't be until the second leg where we'll find out if Dortmund will rue the misses. Mario Gotze was the first to miss a great chance after Robert Lewandowski put him through and then again after Ilkay Gundogan played the pass in to him.
The ball was in the net on 24-minutes when Kevin Grosskreutz tapped it home, but Lewandowski had been in an offside position during the move. Marco Reus also had a shot saved before Malaga finally had a five minute spell just before half time. Roman Weidenfeller did drop a Joaquin cross before Spaniard played in a corner which was met by Vitorino Antunes. Weidenfeller managed to parry the header away before Jeremy Toulalan's rebound was cleared off the line by Gotze.
Sebastian Kehl had an opportunity to put Dortmund ahead just before the whistle but it was expertly saved by Willy Caballero. Perhaps Dortmund's best chance of the match came just two minutes in to the second half but Lewandowski mis-kicked his effort from a deflected Gotze pull back before the young German missed another chance, pulling his shot just wide.
Malaga's best opportunity in the second half came to Isco but his shot was again parried by Weidenfeller before once again preventing Toulalan from scoring on the rebound. Despite not having an away goal, Dortmund should be the favourite in the second leg.
There's not a lot of doubt about who is going to win the tie in Turkey with Galatasaray needing to score three goals without conceding to force extra time. Jose Mourinho's record of never losing a Champions League quarter final looks set to continue and success began on nine minutes when Mesut Ozil played Cristiano Ronaldo through, the Portuguese exquisitely chipped Fernando Muslera to score his ninth goal of the competition.
Galatasaray weren't completely overturned by the Spanish giants but despite their attacking intent, Wesley Sneijder, Didier Drogba nor Burak Yilmaz really tested Diego Lopez. Drogba did produce a parry from the deputy keeper and Emmanuel Eboue ended smashing his effort straight at him.
Real Madrid made it 2-0 just before the half hour mark when Michael Essien's cross wasn't dealt with as it fell to Karim Benzema. The Frenchman had no difficulty in controlling the ball before putting in to the back of the net before Eboue or Semih Kaya realised what had happened.
Galatasaray went in to damage limitation mode for the second half by taking Sneijder off. The tactic did seem to work defensively, but their attacking nature dropped immensely. The result, for the first leg at least, was sealed on 73-minutes when Xabi Alonso's free-kick was headed home by Gonzalo Higuain.
The Turkish side did have a great shout for a penalty late on when Sergio Ramos looked to have fouled Yilmaz, but the striker was given a yellow card for simulation which was perhaps a little harsh. With the tie all but sewn up, Ramos later looked to get himself purposely booked in injury time for kicking the ball away. This means he'll miss the second leg but now there's no possibility of missing the first leg of the semi-final.
It was perhaps more down to Dortmund missing their chances rather than Malaga holding them off but it won't be until the second leg where we'll find out if Dortmund will rue the misses. Mario Gotze was the first to miss a great chance after Robert Lewandowski put him through and then again after Ilkay Gundogan played the pass in to him.
The ball was in the net on 24-minutes when Kevin Grosskreutz tapped it home, but Lewandowski had been in an offside position during the move. Marco Reus also had a shot saved before Malaga finally had a five minute spell just before half time. Roman Weidenfeller did drop a Joaquin cross before Spaniard played in a corner which was met by Vitorino Antunes. Weidenfeller managed to parry the header away before Jeremy Toulalan's rebound was cleared off the line by Gotze.
Sebastian Kehl had an opportunity to put Dortmund ahead just before the whistle but it was expertly saved by Willy Caballero. Perhaps Dortmund's best chance of the match came just two minutes in to the second half but Lewandowski mis-kicked his effort from a deflected Gotze pull back before the young German missed another chance, pulling his shot just wide.
Malaga's best opportunity in the second half came to Isco but his shot was again parried by Weidenfeller before once again preventing Toulalan from scoring on the rebound. Despite not having an away goal, Dortmund should be the favourite in the second leg.
There's not a lot of doubt about who is going to win the tie in Turkey with Galatasaray needing to score three goals without conceding to force extra time. Jose Mourinho's record of never losing a Champions League quarter final looks set to continue and success began on nine minutes when Mesut Ozil played Cristiano Ronaldo through, the Portuguese exquisitely chipped Fernando Muslera to score his ninth goal of the competition.
Galatasaray weren't completely overturned by the Spanish giants but despite their attacking intent, Wesley Sneijder, Didier Drogba nor Burak Yilmaz really tested Diego Lopez. Drogba did produce a parry from the deputy keeper and Emmanuel Eboue ended smashing his effort straight at him.
Real Madrid made it 2-0 just before the half hour mark when Michael Essien's cross wasn't dealt with as it fell to Karim Benzema. The Frenchman had no difficulty in controlling the ball before putting in to the back of the net before Eboue or Semih Kaya realised what had happened.
Galatasaray went in to damage limitation mode for the second half by taking Sneijder off. The tactic did seem to work defensively, but their attacking nature dropped immensely. The result, for the first leg at least, was sealed on 73-minutes when Xabi Alonso's free-kick was headed home by Gonzalo Higuain.
The Turkish side did have a great shout for a penalty late on when Sergio Ramos looked to have fouled Yilmaz, but the striker was given a yellow card for simulation which was perhaps a little harsh. With the tie all but sewn up, Ramos later looked to get himself purposely booked in injury time for kicking the ball away. This means he'll miss the second leg but now there's no possibility of missing the first leg of the semi-final.
Tuesday, 2 April 2013
Last Minute Equaliser Rescues PSG While Quick Firing Bayern Take Two Goal Lead To Italy
Bayern Munich look to be in control of booking a place in the semi-finals after a 2-0 victory over Juventus in the Allianz Arena. It's also advantage Barcelona in the second quarter final as they will bring two away goals back to Camp Nou and would have won the first leg if it wasn't for the last kick of the game.
PSG actually started the better against Barcelona and came mighty close to taking the lead after just five minutes when Ezequiel Lavezzi's lofted effort ended up hitting the post and stayed out. Victor Valdes was also called in to action, saving a low Zlatan Ibrahimovic free-kick when many hoped it was David Beckham who would have took it.
Barcelona grew in confidence throughout the half and began to take control of possession. PSG stood firm though and Salvatore Sirigu was only made to scramble from an Andres Iniesta curler that just went past the post. But a piece of world class football and a lapse of concentration in the PSG's defence allowed the deadlock to be broken seven minutes before half-time. Dani Alves played a great cross in with the outside of his foot and Lionel Messi, who made the run to break the offside trap, ghosted in and converted from an acute angle to score his eighth of the tournament. But Messi's match was cut short as he didn't return for the second half after suffering a hamstring twinge just before the whistle.
The drama from the second half didn't begin until 11-minutes from time when Thiago Silva's effort came off the post before Ibrahimovic smashed the ball home. But the Swede was miles offside when Thiago Silva headed the ball. But Barcelona looked have won the game in the final minute of normal time when Sirigu brought Alexis Sanchez down in the box. Xavi gleefully stepped up to take the penalty and sent Sirigu the wrong way to make it 2-1.
But the action wasn't over and PSG grabbed an equaliser with the final kick of the game. The ball broke loose to Blaise Matuidi and the Frenchman's powerful shot went through two defenders before going straight at Valdes. But the keeper seemed bamboozled, possibly by his lack of vision, and spilt the ball in to his net. The score draw definitely favours Barcelona but Javier Mascherano and Matuidi will be out of the second leg after picking up yellow cards in the Parc Des Princes.
Bayern Munich had the lead in Germany after just 25-seconds when David Alaba's effort took a deflection of Arturo Vidal before beating Gianluigi Buffon. Toni Kroos was forced off just after the quarter of an hour mark but the hosts dominated much of the game.
Munich were rewarded for their continued pressure in the second half when Thomas Muller tapped the ball home after Luiz Gustavo's effort was parried by Buffon. Juventus' best chance fell to Vidal but the Italians will be hoping for a better performance in the second leg.
PSG actually started the better against Barcelona and came mighty close to taking the lead after just five minutes when Ezequiel Lavezzi's lofted effort ended up hitting the post and stayed out. Victor Valdes was also called in to action, saving a low Zlatan Ibrahimovic free-kick when many hoped it was David Beckham who would have took it.
Barcelona grew in confidence throughout the half and began to take control of possession. PSG stood firm though and Salvatore Sirigu was only made to scramble from an Andres Iniesta curler that just went past the post. But a piece of world class football and a lapse of concentration in the PSG's defence allowed the deadlock to be broken seven minutes before half-time. Dani Alves played a great cross in with the outside of his foot and Lionel Messi, who made the run to break the offside trap, ghosted in and converted from an acute angle to score his eighth of the tournament. But Messi's match was cut short as he didn't return for the second half after suffering a hamstring twinge just before the whistle.
The drama from the second half didn't begin until 11-minutes from time when Thiago Silva's effort came off the post before Ibrahimovic smashed the ball home. But the Swede was miles offside when Thiago Silva headed the ball. But Barcelona looked have won the game in the final minute of normal time when Sirigu brought Alexis Sanchez down in the box. Xavi gleefully stepped up to take the penalty and sent Sirigu the wrong way to make it 2-1.
But the action wasn't over and PSG grabbed an equaliser with the final kick of the game. The ball broke loose to Blaise Matuidi and the Frenchman's powerful shot went through two defenders before going straight at Valdes. But the keeper seemed bamboozled, possibly by his lack of vision, and spilt the ball in to his net. The score draw definitely favours Barcelona but Javier Mascherano and Matuidi will be out of the second leg after picking up yellow cards in the Parc Des Princes.
Bayern Munich had the lead in Germany after just 25-seconds when David Alaba's effort took a deflection of Arturo Vidal before beating Gianluigi Buffon. Toni Kroos was forced off just after the quarter of an hour mark but the hosts dominated much of the game.
Munich were rewarded for their continued pressure in the second half when Thomas Muller tapped the ball home after Luiz Gustavo's effort was parried by Buffon. Juventus' best chance fell to Vidal but the Italians will be hoping for a better performance in the second leg.
Friday, 15 March 2013
2012/2013 Champions League Quarter Final Draw
Paris St.Germain v FC Barcelona
Bayern Munich v Juventus
Malaga CF v Borussia Dortmund
Real Madrid v Galatasaray SK
Bayern Munich v Juventus
Malaga CF v Borussia Dortmund
Real Madrid v Galatasaray SK
Wednesday, 13 March 2013
Arsenal Defiance Just Not Enough, Roque Sees Off 10-Man Porto
The quarter final line-up for this year's Champions League has been completed and, for the first time in 17-years, there's no British contingent. Arsenal were the final British to be knocked out of the competition, but they did show defiance to lose on away goals and preventing Bayern Munich from scoring for the first time in over 40-matches. So Bayern join Real Madrid, PSG, Borussia Dortmund, Barcelona, Galatasaray, Juventus and also Malaga who beat 10-man Porto in the night's other tie.
Arsenal's starting line-up did look like Arsene Wenger had already wrote the tie off. But those that thought this would be proved very wrong and Arsenal's attempt at coming back from a 3-1 aggregate deficit began after just three minutes when Olivier Giroud poked home a low ball across the six yard box from Theo Walcott after just three minutes.
The early goal almost caused a massive shift within the ground. The Allianz stadium was unusually quiet and Bayern weren't sure whether they should sit back and protect their lead or go out and add to it. This really caused the game the be at a rather slow pace for much of it and the ball was in the midfield an awful lot.
Despite Arsenal looking seemingly comfortable on the ball, Bayern actually had more possession and even more shots than the Gunners. Perhaps the most disappointing part of the match was the fact that neither Manuel Neuer nor Lukasz Fabianski were really tested at any point of the match. The hope for Arsenal came four minutes from time when Laurent Koscielny headed home from a corner to level the tie up. But a lot of time wasting and a lack of any more attacking intent meant Bayern would on and progress on away goals. But Arsenal produced a very spirited display despite the overall defeat, however they can also take with them the fact they are the first English side to beat Bayern in Munich since Norwich in the 1993 UEFA Cup.
Porto travelled to Spain with a 1-0 advantage over Malaga and the second leg was really all about Porto defending what they already had. They managed to hold on for 43-minutes until Isco hit a superb shot in to the top corner to level the tie up, a result which would bring extra time.
Porto's task of holding off Malaga became even harder just four minutes in to the second half when Steven Defour was shown a second yellow card for a late tackle. But the away side still resisted the Spanish inquisition until 77-minutes when substitute Roque Santa Cruz headed Malaga in to the quarter finals of a tournament they will not compete in for at least four years after this season due to the new financial restrictions that UEFA have imposed.
Arsenal's starting line-up did look like Arsene Wenger had already wrote the tie off. But those that thought this would be proved very wrong and Arsenal's attempt at coming back from a 3-1 aggregate deficit began after just three minutes when Olivier Giroud poked home a low ball across the six yard box from Theo Walcott after just three minutes.
The early goal almost caused a massive shift within the ground. The Allianz stadium was unusually quiet and Bayern weren't sure whether they should sit back and protect their lead or go out and add to it. This really caused the game the be at a rather slow pace for much of it and the ball was in the midfield an awful lot.
Despite Arsenal looking seemingly comfortable on the ball, Bayern actually had more possession and even more shots than the Gunners. Perhaps the most disappointing part of the match was the fact that neither Manuel Neuer nor Lukasz Fabianski were really tested at any point of the match. The hope for Arsenal came four minutes from time when Laurent Koscielny headed home from a corner to level the tie up. But a lot of time wasting and a lack of any more attacking intent meant Bayern would on and progress on away goals. But Arsenal produced a very spirited display despite the overall defeat, however they can also take with them the fact they are the first English side to beat Bayern in Munich since Norwich in the 1993 UEFA Cup.
Porto travelled to Spain with a 1-0 advantage over Malaga and the second leg was really all about Porto defending what they already had. They managed to hold on for 43-minutes until Isco hit a superb shot in to the top corner to level the tie up, a result which would bring extra time.
Porto's task of holding off Malaga became even harder just four minutes in to the second half when Steven Defour was shown a second yellow card for a late tackle. But the away side still resisted the Spanish inquisition until 77-minutes when substitute Roque Santa Cruz headed Malaga in to the quarter finals of a tournament they will not compete in for at least four years after this season due to the new financial restrictions that UEFA have imposed.
Tuesday, 12 March 2013
Barca Create History Again, Someone Other Than Yilmaz Scores For Gala
Barcelona became the first team in Champions League history to overturn a 2-0 first leg deficit and progress in to the next round. AC Milan couldn't produce the heroics from the first leg and Lionel Messi and co took full advantage to win 4-0. Barcelona will be joined by Galatasaray who edged a five goal second leg thriller in Germany, with Burak Yilmaz getting a little help in the scoring department. It is the first time in 12-years that Galatasaray will feature in a quarter final.
Barcelona's comeback began after just five minutes when a typical passing move saw the ball go to Messi. Despite being surrounded, the Argentine managed to curl the ball exquisitely in to the corner. It was a historical moment for Messi as it was his first goal in open play against an Italian side. Milan were a shadow of the side in the San Siro and Barcelona were smelling blood.
Milan survived a penalty scare when Ignazio Abate seemed to bundle Pedro to the floor following a Xavi ball. The Italians' only real outlet looked to be the pace of Stephan El Shaarawy. The one time the winger did break the offside trap, El Shaarawy scuffed his shot and it dribbled to Victor Valdes.
Life is full of ifs and buts and the biggest one Milan will think about in this match came six minutes before halt-time. Milan had again broke the offside trap and 18-year old M'Baye Niang was bearing down on goal. But the youngster agonisingly saw his shot expertly beat Valdes but hit the post. This could have turned the game as 68-seconds later Andres Iniesta had gained possession, fed the ball to Messi and Messi struck the ball home from 20-yards for his 53rd goal of the season, his seventh in this competition.
Milan hadn't improved much in the second half and Barcelona finally had the lead in the tie, just ten minutes after the restart. Xavi played the ball through to David Villa and striker curled the ball in to the top corner. It wasn't until the latter stage of the match that Milan, who still only needed a goal to progress, began to pepper the Barca box.
Unfortunately for Milan, their peppering didn't lead to Valdes ever really being worked as the likes of Jordi Alba, Gerard Pique and Javier Mascherano were all putting in goal saving tackles. Alba stopped substitute Robinho from a tap in in injury time. Moments later, Robinho decided to play a deep free-kick short instead of possibly finding a defender in the box. The sluggish play was intercepted and Barcelona sprung the counter attack. Messi was played out wide before he whipped the ball across the box where Alba was on course to stab the ball home and put the tie beyond all doubt.
If the Camp Nou had witnessed something special, there's probably not many words to describe what happened in Germany between Schalke and Galatasaray. Schalke had the advantage of an away goal following the 1-1 draw in Turkey. Unsurprisingly, it was Galatasaray on the front foot in search of eradicating that away goal.
But Schalke hit Galatasaray with the sucker punch on 17-minutes when an undefended corner fell to Roman Neustadter to poke home. But this didn't deter the Turkish side and they continued to attack the Schalke goal. Before tonight, Burak Yilmaz had scored seven of the eight goals for Galatasaray this season, Aydin Yilmaz with the other. But Galatasaray had their equaliser on 37-minutes when former Schalke player, Hamit Altintop smashed a long range effort past Timo Hildebrand.
Galatasaray then deservedly took the lead three minutes before half-time when a defensive mistake allowed Burak Yilmaz through to score past the marooned, on-rushing Hildebrand for his eighth goal in the competition.
With Schalke now in need of two goals to go through, it was they who were the more attacking in the second half. The Germans hit the woodwork before Fernando Muslera's mistake by failing to properly smother the ball saw it fall to Michel Bastos and the Brazilian smashed the ball home to equalise both on the night and on aggregate.
A game saving stop from Muslera in injury time allowed Galatasaray to go on the counter attack saw Umut Bulut go through on goal. The striker managed to play a one-two off of Hildebrand before stroking the ball home and ensuring Galatasaray's progression in to the last eight.
Barcelona's comeback began after just five minutes when a typical passing move saw the ball go to Messi. Despite being surrounded, the Argentine managed to curl the ball exquisitely in to the corner. It was a historical moment for Messi as it was his first goal in open play against an Italian side. Milan were a shadow of the side in the San Siro and Barcelona were smelling blood.
Milan survived a penalty scare when Ignazio Abate seemed to bundle Pedro to the floor following a Xavi ball. The Italians' only real outlet looked to be the pace of Stephan El Shaarawy. The one time the winger did break the offside trap, El Shaarawy scuffed his shot and it dribbled to Victor Valdes.
Life is full of ifs and buts and the biggest one Milan will think about in this match came six minutes before halt-time. Milan had again broke the offside trap and 18-year old M'Baye Niang was bearing down on goal. But the youngster agonisingly saw his shot expertly beat Valdes but hit the post. This could have turned the game as 68-seconds later Andres Iniesta had gained possession, fed the ball to Messi and Messi struck the ball home from 20-yards for his 53rd goal of the season, his seventh in this competition.
Milan hadn't improved much in the second half and Barcelona finally had the lead in the tie, just ten minutes after the restart. Xavi played the ball through to David Villa and striker curled the ball in to the top corner. It wasn't until the latter stage of the match that Milan, who still only needed a goal to progress, began to pepper the Barca box.
Unfortunately for Milan, their peppering didn't lead to Valdes ever really being worked as the likes of Jordi Alba, Gerard Pique and Javier Mascherano were all putting in goal saving tackles. Alba stopped substitute Robinho from a tap in in injury time. Moments later, Robinho decided to play a deep free-kick short instead of possibly finding a defender in the box. The sluggish play was intercepted and Barcelona sprung the counter attack. Messi was played out wide before he whipped the ball across the box where Alba was on course to stab the ball home and put the tie beyond all doubt.
If the Camp Nou had witnessed something special, there's probably not many words to describe what happened in Germany between Schalke and Galatasaray. Schalke had the advantage of an away goal following the 1-1 draw in Turkey. Unsurprisingly, it was Galatasaray on the front foot in search of eradicating that away goal.
But Schalke hit Galatasaray with the sucker punch on 17-minutes when an undefended corner fell to Roman Neustadter to poke home. But this didn't deter the Turkish side and they continued to attack the Schalke goal. Before tonight, Burak Yilmaz had scored seven of the eight goals for Galatasaray this season, Aydin Yilmaz with the other. But Galatasaray had their equaliser on 37-minutes when former Schalke player, Hamit Altintop smashed a long range effort past Timo Hildebrand.
Galatasaray then deservedly took the lead three minutes before half-time when a defensive mistake allowed Burak Yilmaz through to score past the marooned, on-rushing Hildebrand for his eighth goal in the competition.
With Schalke now in need of two goals to go through, it was they who were the more attacking in the second half. The Germans hit the woodwork before Fernando Muslera's mistake by failing to properly smother the ball saw it fall to Michel Bastos and the Brazilian smashed the ball home to equalise both on the night and on aggregate.
A game saving stop from Muslera in injury time allowed Galatasaray to go on the counter attack saw Umut Bulut go through on goal. The striker managed to play a one-two off of Hildebrand before stroking the ball home and ensuring Galatasaray's progression in to the last eight.
Thursday, 7 March 2013
No Miracle Comeback For Celtic, PSG Hold Off Valencia
Juventus and PSG have joined Real Madrid and Borussia Dortmund in the quarter finals, with half of the field now completed. There would be no miracle comeback for Celtic in Italy and a 5-0 aggregate scoreline is possibly a bit harsh form. Much like Shakhtar Donetsk, the Scots will be wondering how they didn't score in the second leg. There was no European début for David Beckham so he was made to sit watch his PSG side draw 1-1 at home to Valencia, a result that squeezes the French giants in to the next round by a 3-2 aggregate victory.
The only thing that missing from Celtic's performance inside the Delle Alpi was their finishing. Gianluigi Buffon was also in very good form to help prevent the likes of Gary Hooper and Georgios Samaras from reducing the deficit. Celtic's hearts were ultimately broken on 24-minutes when Juventus attacked following Joe Ledley's agonising miss across goal. Federico Peluso fed Fabio Quagliarella in but the striker's shot was parried away by Fraser Forster. Unfortunately the ball only went in front of the keeper and not very far away, Alessandro Matri was then on hand to poke the ball home and virtually seal Juve's progression after 24-minutes.
Despite being 4-0 down on aggregate, Celtic continued to fight and show their heart. Buffon was again called in to action. Celtic's best chance to level in the first half came ten minutes before the whistle when Samaras found space in the box. The Greek flashed the ball across the goal line and if Gary Hooper was a couple of inches taller, he would have slid the ball home.
The second half saw Kris Commons become the latest Bhoy to test Buffon but the Italian keeper just wasn't going to be beaten. On 65-minutes, the second leg was also out of Celtic's reach when Juventus showed their class and, more crucially, a killer finishing touch. Andrea Pirlo expertly found Matri in behind the defence, Matri then played the ball across for Quagliarella to tap home his fourth of the competition.
The passage in to the quarter finals wasn't as straightforward for PSG who were really made to sweat in the Parc Des Princes. The French side came in to the second leg with a 2-1 lead after beating Valencia in the Mestalla.
The nerves would have began ten minutes in to the second half when Jonas let rip from 25-yards and his effort beat Salvatore Sirugu in to the corner, his fifth of the competition. This did level the aggregate score, but it didn't actually chance the match as PSG would still progress at this stage on away goals.
But Valencia's lead would only last 11-minutes. Substitute Kevin Gameiro barged his way in to the box before the ball fell to Ezequiel Lavezzi. The Argentine's first effort was initially parried by the keeper, but Lavezzi made no mistake with the second attempt and did score his fifth goal of the tournament to definitely confirm PSG's first appearance in the quarter finals for 18-years.
The only thing that missing from Celtic's performance inside the Delle Alpi was their finishing. Gianluigi Buffon was also in very good form to help prevent the likes of Gary Hooper and Georgios Samaras from reducing the deficit. Celtic's hearts were ultimately broken on 24-minutes when Juventus attacked following Joe Ledley's agonising miss across goal. Federico Peluso fed Fabio Quagliarella in but the striker's shot was parried away by Fraser Forster. Unfortunately the ball only went in front of the keeper and not very far away, Alessandro Matri was then on hand to poke the ball home and virtually seal Juve's progression after 24-minutes.
Despite being 4-0 down on aggregate, Celtic continued to fight and show their heart. Buffon was again called in to action. Celtic's best chance to level in the first half came ten minutes before the whistle when Samaras found space in the box. The Greek flashed the ball across the goal line and if Gary Hooper was a couple of inches taller, he would have slid the ball home.
The second half saw Kris Commons become the latest Bhoy to test Buffon but the Italian keeper just wasn't going to be beaten. On 65-minutes, the second leg was also out of Celtic's reach when Juventus showed their class and, more crucially, a killer finishing touch. Andrea Pirlo expertly found Matri in behind the defence, Matri then played the ball across for Quagliarella to tap home his fourth of the competition.
The passage in to the quarter finals wasn't as straightforward for PSG who were really made to sweat in the Parc Des Princes. The French side came in to the second leg with a 2-1 lead after beating Valencia in the Mestalla.
The nerves would have began ten minutes in to the second half when Jonas let rip from 25-yards and his effort beat Salvatore Sirugu in to the corner, his fifth of the competition. This did level the aggregate score, but it didn't actually chance the match as PSG would still progress at this stage on away goals.
But Valencia's lead would only last 11-minutes. Substitute Kevin Gameiro barged his way in to the box before the ball fell to Ezequiel Lavezzi. The Argentine's first effort was initially parried by the keeper, but Lavezzi made no mistake with the second attempt and did score his fifth goal of the tournament to definitely confirm PSG's first appearance in the quarter finals for 18-years.
Tuesday, 5 March 2013
Ref Enables Ronaldo Winner For Real, Dortmund Crush Donetsk
The first two teams through to the quarter finals of this season's Champions League are Real Madrid and Borussia Dortmund, although the two progressed in very differing circumstances. Dortmund cruised past Shakhtar Donetsk 3-0 (5-2 agg) in Germany, although the Ukrainians did have a lot of good opportunities. But Real's progression was largely helped by a Turkish referee who changed the match at Old Trafford with a surprise red card.
The hype for the second leg at Old Trafford was second to none with all the side stories, Ryan Giggs' 1000th senior appearance for United, Cristiano Ronaldo's comeback to Old Trafford and then the battle between Sir Alex Ferguson and Jose Mourinho.
The first half saw Ronaldo get booed by the United fans and looked rather uninspiring. Giggs took centre stage on his momentous achievement by pulling out all the skills and putting in a great shift going forwards and back. Neither team could really get a stronghold in the half and after the first five to ten minutes, United were the more threatening and came closest to scoring with Nemanja Vidic's header from a corner cannoning off the post.
It was advantage United at half time as 0-0 would put the hosts through on the away goal and Real Madrid hadn't really troubled David De Gea. The dynamics would slightly change three minutes into the second half when Nani picked up a loose ball inside the left hand side of the box. He flashed the ball across the six yard box, Danny Welbeck got the slightest of touches which caught Sergio Ramos off guard. The ball poked off of Ramos' foot and past Diego Lopez.
This gave United the clear advantage but it didn't really alter anything as Real Madrid still only needed a goal to still be in the tie and take it in to extra time. The Spaniards were beginning to find an onslaught on the United goal with numerous corners coming in. But Real Madrid were then able to consolidate this pressure just 11-minutes in to the second half when Nani looked to try and control the ball with his foot in air but ended up colliding with Alvaro Arbeloa's abdomen. Both of the players ended up on the floor and in pain and everyone expected to see a Madrid free-kick and possibly a yellow card for the high foot. Once Nani had got up, a couple of minutes after the challenge, the referee, Cuneyt Cakir, shockingly brandished a red card and United were somehow down to ten men.
This changed the whole complexion of the game, even though Madrid had been in the ascendency United were looking equally as capable at clearing their lines. Substitute Luka Modric found some space twenty yards from goal and he smashed an effort which hit the post and found its way in to the net to give Madrid the equaliser just ten minutes after the red card, 66-minutes.
The tie had completely changed just three minutes later and United were crushed when Mesut Ozil and Gonzalo Higuain linked up well and the Argentine flashed the ball across goal where, who else, but Ronaldo would be on hand to slide the ball home and virtually knock his former, but beloved, side out. Respectfully, Ronaldo refused to celebrate his 40th goal of the season which put United out.
To their credit, United didn't completely buckle at 2-1 and with 20-minutes remaining. Substitute Wayne Rooney blazed a glorious opportunity over the bar from seven yards and Diego Lopez pulled off some fantastic saves from point blank range to keep United at bay. De Gea also produced a couple of fine saves from Ronaldo to keep the score at 2-1 but it is Real Madrid who go through, 3-2 on aggregate.
Dortmund's victory over Shakhtar was much less controversial but every bit just as action packed. The game was end to end throughout and the visitors will be bewildered at how they didn't score inside the Westfalen Stadium. The first leg finished 2-2 which gave Dortmund the advantage on the away goal ruling.
The deadlock was broken just after the half hour mark when Felipe Santana found a bullet header from a corner that beat the man on the post. The tie then looked all but over six minutes later when Robert Lewandowski's ball across goal was poked home by Mario Gotze for his second of the competition.
The icing on the cake came just before the hour mark when Ilkay Gundogan's powerful shot was spilt by Andriy Pyatov and Jakub Blaszczykowski jumped at the chance to round the keeper and tap home Dortmund's third to win the tie 5-2 on aggregate.
The hype for the second leg at Old Trafford was second to none with all the side stories, Ryan Giggs' 1000th senior appearance for United, Cristiano Ronaldo's comeback to Old Trafford and then the battle between Sir Alex Ferguson and Jose Mourinho.
The first half saw Ronaldo get booed by the United fans and looked rather uninspiring. Giggs took centre stage on his momentous achievement by pulling out all the skills and putting in a great shift going forwards and back. Neither team could really get a stronghold in the half and after the first five to ten minutes, United were the more threatening and came closest to scoring with Nemanja Vidic's header from a corner cannoning off the post.
It was advantage United at half time as 0-0 would put the hosts through on the away goal and Real Madrid hadn't really troubled David De Gea. The dynamics would slightly change three minutes into the second half when Nani picked up a loose ball inside the left hand side of the box. He flashed the ball across the six yard box, Danny Welbeck got the slightest of touches which caught Sergio Ramos off guard. The ball poked off of Ramos' foot and past Diego Lopez.
This gave United the clear advantage but it didn't really alter anything as Real Madrid still only needed a goal to still be in the tie and take it in to extra time. The Spaniards were beginning to find an onslaught on the United goal with numerous corners coming in. But Real Madrid were then able to consolidate this pressure just 11-minutes in to the second half when Nani looked to try and control the ball with his foot in air but ended up colliding with Alvaro Arbeloa's abdomen. Both of the players ended up on the floor and in pain and everyone expected to see a Madrid free-kick and possibly a yellow card for the high foot. Once Nani had got up, a couple of minutes after the challenge, the referee, Cuneyt Cakir, shockingly brandished a red card and United were somehow down to ten men.
This changed the whole complexion of the game, even though Madrid had been in the ascendency United were looking equally as capable at clearing their lines. Substitute Luka Modric found some space twenty yards from goal and he smashed an effort which hit the post and found its way in to the net to give Madrid the equaliser just ten minutes after the red card, 66-minutes.
The tie had completely changed just three minutes later and United were crushed when Mesut Ozil and Gonzalo Higuain linked up well and the Argentine flashed the ball across goal where, who else, but Ronaldo would be on hand to slide the ball home and virtually knock his former, but beloved, side out. Respectfully, Ronaldo refused to celebrate his 40th goal of the season which put United out.
To their credit, United didn't completely buckle at 2-1 and with 20-minutes remaining. Substitute Wayne Rooney blazed a glorious opportunity over the bar from seven yards and Diego Lopez pulled off some fantastic saves from point blank range to keep United at bay. De Gea also produced a couple of fine saves from Ronaldo to keep the score at 2-1 but it is Real Madrid who go through, 3-2 on aggregate.
Dortmund's victory over Shakhtar was much less controversial but every bit just as action packed. The game was end to end throughout and the visitors will be bewildered at how they didn't score inside the Westfalen Stadium. The first leg finished 2-2 which gave Dortmund the advantage on the away goal ruling.
The deadlock was broken just after the half hour mark when Felipe Santana found a bullet header from a corner that beat the man on the post. The tie then looked all but over six minutes later when Robert Lewandowski's ball across goal was poked home by Mario Gotze for his second of the competition.
The icing on the cake came just before the hour mark when Ilkay Gundogan's powerful shot was spilt by Andriy Pyatov and Jakub Blaszczykowski jumped at the chance to round the keeper and tap home Dortmund's third to win the tie 5-2 on aggregate.
Wednesday, 20 February 2013
Milan Silence Barca With Help From Pompey, Schalke Hold Gala In Turkey
The first legs of the Champions League second round have now all been completed and strong favourites, Barcelona, have it all to do in Camp Nou. They travelled to Milan and the red and blacks produced a masterclass in how to keep Barcelona at bay. The Italian giants managed to take the opening leg 2-0 with a bit of help from Portsmouth, their first win over the Spaniards since 2004. Galatasaray hosted Schalke in the other leg on the night and it becomes another gripping tie that has it all to play for going back to Germany. Schalke managed to crucially score an away goal in their 1-1 draw.
It was very unsurprising to see Barcelona have 66% possession during the match but the first half saw Milan look the more threatening without either keeper being tested. Milan were extremely quick throughout the natch to close down the Barca attackers and leave as little space as possible. Unlike other teams, Milan managed to stick to this task for most of the game which left Lionel Messi and the like look rather average and somewhat ineffective.
The first half was a very chess like affair but the second half saw Milan become more attacking with Stephan El Shaarawy looking extremely dangerous and Kevin-Prince Boateng being a nuisance as usual. Massimo Ambrosini and Sulley Muntari provided the guard in the midfield battle as well as the creative flair to begin counter attacks.
The deadlock was finally broken 12-minutes into the second half when a blocked free-kick ended up bouncing off a Milan head, which did initially look like a hand much to Barcelona's claims, before former Portsmouth player Boateng smashed his half-volley magnificently into the bottom corner.
Many felt that this goal against Barcelona would give the Spaniards the impetus to begin to attack more and actually make Christian Abbiati work. But this didn't happen despite the game becoming a little more open. The leg was virtually sealed nine minutes from time when Milan scored a fantastic team effort. It began with Ambrosini feeding in 18-year old substitute M'Baye Niang, who looked extremely dangerous from the minute he came on. Niang managed to recover from a heavy touch and play the ball across to El Shaarawy. El Shaarawy then chipped the ball over a defender for the on-running Muntari, also formerly of Portsmouth, to beautifully volley home for a goal that Barcelona would be more than proud of, also Muntari's first Champions League goal.
The tie is definitely nowhere near over as Barcelona could easily score three or at home. But, based on tonight's performance, Milan will definitely have chances to score and find an away goal. If Milan do put in a similar performance to this, we could well see a shock exit for Barcelona.
Didier Drogba and Wesley Sneijder made their European débuts for Galatasaray who have strengthened in the January transfer window. But it wasn't either who grabbed the headlines for the Turkish side. So far this season, only the Yilmaz brothers have scored in the Champions League. This pattern continued after 12-minutes when Selcuk Inan played the ball through for Burak to slot home his seventh goal of the competition, the first Turkish player in history to record such a feat in the Champions League.
The first half remained very open with Drogba and Yilmaz looking dangerous for Galatasaray and Jefferson Farfan providing the threat for Schalke. The Germans then hit the sucker punch at possibly the best time in the match for them, just before half-time. Farfan took advantage of a mistake and played the ball through for Jermaine Jones to slot home into the empty net.
Sneijder was taken off at half-time after failing to make any real impact on the game and the second half began a lot more cagier than the first. Neither could force an opening and the game remained at 1-1 which just about gives Schalke the advantage going into the second leg.
It was very unsurprising to see Barcelona have 66% possession during the match but the first half saw Milan look the more threatening without either keeper being tested. Milan were extremely quick throughout the natch to close down the Barca attackers and leave as little space as possible. Unlike other teams, Milan managed to stick to this task for most of the game which left Lionel Messi and the like look rather average and somewhat ineffective.
The first half was a very chess like affair but the second half saw Milan become more attacking with Stephan El Shaarawy looking extremely dangerous and Kevin-Prince Boateng being a nuisance as usual. Massimo Ambrosini and Sulley Muntari provided the guard in the midfield battle as well as the creative flair to begin counter attacks.
The deadlock was finally broken 12-minutes into the second half when a blocked free-kick ended up bouncing off a Milan head, which did initially look like a hand much to Barcelona's claims, before former Portsmouth player Boateng smashed his half-volley magnificently into the bottom corner.
Many felt that this goal against Barcelona would give the Spaniards the impetus to begin to attack more and actually make Christian Abbiati work. But this didn't happen despite the game becoming a little more open. The leg was virtually sealed nine minutes from time when Milan scored a fantastic team effort. It began with Ambrosini feeding in 18-year old substitute M'Baye Niang, who looked extremely dangerous from the minute he came on. Niang managed to recover from a heavy touch and play the ball across to El Shaarawy. El Shaarawy then chipped the ball over a defender for the on-running Muntari, also formerly of Portsmouth, to beautifully volley home for a goal that Barcelona would be more than proud of, also Muntari's first Champions League goal.
The tie is definitely nowhere near over as Barcelona could easily score three or at home. But, based on tonight's performance, Milan will definitely have chances to score and find an away goal. If Milan do put in a similar performance to this, we could well see a shock exit for Barcelona.
Didier Drogba and Wesley Sneijder made their European débuts for Galatasaray who have strengthened in the January transfer window. But it wasn't either who grabbed the headlines for the Turkish side. So far this season, only the Yilmaz brothers have scored in the Champions League. This pattern continued after 12-minutes when Selcuk Inan played the ball through for Burak to slot home his seventh goal of the competition, the first Turkish player in history to record such a feat in the Champions League.
The first half remained very open with Drogba and Yilmaz looking dangerous for Galatasaray and Jefferson Farfan providing the threat for Schalke. The Germans then hit the sucker punch at possibly the best time in the match for them, just before half-time. Farfan took advantage of a mistake and played the ball through for Jermaine Jones to slot home into the empty net.
Sneijder was taken off at half-time after failing to make any real impact on the game and the second half began a lot more cagier than the first. Neither could force an opening and the game remained at 1-1 which just about gives Schalke the advantage going into the second leg.
Tuesday, 19 February 2013
Defiant Wenger Soundly Beaten, Porto Take Slender Lead To Spain
After Arsene Wenger's defiant speech in the press room on Monday, his team failed to prove him right and lost 3-1 to Bayern Munich in the Emirates. Meanwhile in Portugal, Porto prevented Malaga from scoring a pivotal away goal and will go to Spain with a 1-0 lead.
Arsenal were very slow in the first half and found themselves behind after just seven minutes. Bayern broke down the wing and Thomas Muller found a pull back which was slightly mis-hit. This proved to be an advantage as none of the defenders could get to it and Toni Kroos smashed the ball off the ground and past Wojiech Szczesny from the edge of the box.
Despite being slow, Arsenal didn't look over-awed prior to the goal but it broke their spirit. Bayern smelt blood and poor defending allowed the Germans to grab a second away goal just after twenty minutes. Arsenal decided to mark zonally from a corner which allowed Daniel Van Buyten a free header at the near post. Szczesny managed to prevent it from going in but his block barely moved two yards and Muller was on hand to poke the ball home.
Arsenal were much improved in the second half and Arsenal had pulled a goal back ten minutes after the restart. Another corner proved to be the downfall as Manuel Neuer half came and then stopped dead when he knew he couldn't get to it. This allowed Lukas Podolski to head home from the far post into the empty net, scoring against his former employers and Bayern's first concession of 2013.
From that, Arsenal had the momentum and Jack Wilshere looked to be running the creative show in midfield. Wenger also responded by bringing off Podolski and Aaron Ramsey who both had yellow cards for Tomas Rosicky and Olivier Giroud, forcing Theo Walcott on to the wing. This almost paid instant dividends as Rosicky found a delightful lofted ball out wide to Walcott who then pulled it back for Giroud to smash straight at Neuer, anywhere else and he would have scored.
But Arsenal would be made to rue that guilt edged opportunity as Munich restored their two goal lead 13-minutes from the end. Substitute Arjen Robben fed the overlapping Philipp Lahm who played the ball across and a mixture of Bacary Sagna and Mario Mandzukic sent the ball into the air before dipping into the net. With a two goal advantage and three away goals, it's not impossible for Arsenal to turn this tie around but rather improbable. One positive is that Bastian Schweinsteiger will be suspended for the second leg in the Allianz Arena.
The other tie will be much more open in Spain between Malaga and Porto. It may be a case of missed opportunity for Porto as they dominated in front of their supporters but only have one goal to show for it. That goal came 11-minutes into the second half when Sandro played Joao Moutinho in with a great through ball for the striker to stab home.
Malaga may be disappointed with their underwhelming performance in this first leg but should be rather confident of now winning this match in their own back yard despite failing to score an away goal.
Arsenal were very slow in the first half and found themselves behind after just seven minutes. Bayern broke down the wing and Thomas Muller found a pull back which was slightly mis-hit. This proved to be an advantage as none of the defenders could get to it and Toni Kroos smashed the ball off the ground and past Wojiech Szczesny from the edge of the box.
Despite being slow, Arsenal didn't look over-awed prior to the goal but it broke their spirit. Bayern smelt blood and poor defending allowed the Germans to grab a second away goal just after twenty minutes. Arsenal decided to mark zonally from a corner which allowed Daniel Van Buyten a free header at the near post. Szczesny managed to prevent it from going in but his block barely moved two yards and Muller was on hand to poke the ball home.
Arsenal were much improved in the second half and Arsenal had pulled a goal back ten minutes after the restart. Another corner proved to be the downfall as Manuel Neuer half came and then stopped dead when he knew he couldn't get to it. This allowed Lukas Podolski to head home from the far post into the empty net, scoring against his former employers and Bayern's first concession of 2013.
From that, Arsenal had the momentum and Jack Wilshere looked to be running the creative show in midfield. Wenger also responded by bringing off Podolski and Aaron Ramsey who both had yellow cards for Tomas Rosicky and Olivier Giroud, forcing Theo Walcott on to the wing. This almost paid instant dividends as Rosicky found a delightful lofted ball out wide to Walcott who then pulled it back for Giroud to smash straight at Neuer, anywhere else and he would have scored.
But Arsenal would be made to rue that guilt edged opportunity as Munich restored their two goal lead 13-minutes from the end. Substitute Arjen Robben fed the overlapping Philipp Lahm who played the ball across and a mixture of Bacary Sagna and Mario Mandzukic sent the ball into the air before dipping into the net. With a two goal advantage and three away goals, it's not impossible for Arsenal to turn this tie around but rather improbable. One positive is that Bastian Schweinsteiger will be suspended for the second leg in the Allianz Arena.
The other tie will be much more open in Spain between Malaga and Porto. It may be a case of missed opportunity for Porto as they dominated in front of their supporters but only have one goal to show for it. That goal came 11-minutes into the second half when Sandro played Joao Moutinho in with a great through ball for the striker to stab home.
Malaga may be disappointed with their underwhelming performance in this first leg but should be rather confident of now winning this match in their own back yard despite failing to score an away goal.
Wednesday, 13 February 2013
Away Draws For United & Dortmund
Both Manchester United and Borussia Dortmund have come away from home in their first leg matches with away score draws. It's only the one away goal for United who travelled to the Bernabeu while Dortmund managed to get in the Ukraine against Shakhtar.
After David De Gea pulled off a couple of great saves, United took the lead after 20-minutes when a corner was smartly headed in by Danny Welbeck. But United knew that wouldn't keep a clean sheet against Real Madrid and their lead lasted for ten minutes. Angel Di Maria managing to beat Rafael before floating the ball in the air for, who else, Cristiano Ronaldo to brilliantly head home against his former team. The Portuguese was very respectful and refused to celebrate the equaliser and his seventh goal of the tournament.
United were more attacking in the second half but needed De Gea to continue to be at his brilliant best. Ronaldo almost brought the Bernabeu to life with an outrageous free-kick that just dipped on to the roof of the net. United's best chances to win the match fell to Robin Van Persie, but the Dutchman fluffed one attempted volley and Diego Lopez saved the others.
There was slightly more action in the other match in the Ukraine. The hosts took the lead just after the hour mark when Dario Srna's free-kick found the back of the net. But, just like United, Shakhtar's lead lasted for only ten minutes when Mario Gotze's ball found Robert Lewandowski who had no problem finishing from close range, his fifth goal of the tournament.
Shakhtar retook the lead on 68-minutes when poor defending allowed Douglas Costa to shoulder the ball before finishing well with a scissor's kick. But Dortmund managed to equalise once again, this time Mats Hummels escaped unmarked to head home a corner three minutes from time.
With both United and Dortmund getting away goals, it'd be easy to say that they now have the advantage. For Dortmund this may well be the case as Shakhtar are much better at home than they are away. But United's away goal will surely be cancelled out by Madrid at Old Trafford, leaving this tie tantalisingly open.
After David De Gea pulled off a couple of great saves, United took the lead after 20-minutes when a corner was smartly headed in by Danny Welbeck. But United knew that wouldn't keep a clean sheet against Real Madrid and their lead lasted for ten minutes. Angel Di Maria managing to beat Rafael before floating the ball in the air for, who else, Cristiano Ronaldo to brilliantly head home against his former team. The Portuguese was very respectful and refused to celebrate the equaliser and his seventh goal of the tournament.
United were more attacking in the second half but needed De Gea to continue to be at his brilliant best. Ronaldo almost brought the Bernabeu to life with an outrageous free-kick that just dipped on to the roof of the net. United's best chances to win the match fell to Robin Van Persie, but the Dutchman fluffed one attempted volley and Diego Lopez saved the others.
There was slightly more action in the other match in the Ukraine. The hosts took the lead just after the hour mark when Dario Srna's free-kick found the back of the net. But, just like United, Shakhtar's lead lasted for only ten minutes when Mario Gotze's ball found Robert Lewandowski who had no problem finishing from close range, his fifth goal of the tournament.
Shakhtar retook the lead on 68-minutes when poor defending allowed Douglas Costa to shoulder the ball before finishing well with a scissor's kick. But Dortmund managed to equalise once again, this time Mats Hummels escaped unmarked to head home a corner three minutes from time.
With both United and Dortmund getting away goals, it'd be easy to say that they now have the advantage. For Dortmund this may well be the case as Shakhtar are much better at home than they are away. But United's away goal will surely be cancelled out by Madrid at Old Trafford, leaving this tie tantalisingly open.
Celtic Suffer as PSG Grab Away Goals
The Champions League returned for the first legs of the second round. The first two ties saw Celtic suffer at home to Juventus despite playing very well whilst late drama in Valencia saw the Spaniards pull a goal back against PSG who have claimed two away goals.
The problems for Celtic began after just three minutes when a seemingly jet-lagged Efe Ambrose was shrugged off the ball by Alessandro Matri. Mikael Lustig looked like he had cleared the ball from off the line before Claudio Marchisio scored the rebound. But the ball had already crossed the line before Lustig cleared it and Matri as awarded his first goal of the competition.
Celtic's hopes of levelling the match were dashed when Juventus doubled their lead on 77-minutes. Andrea Pirlo played the ball into the Marchisio who cut inside and finished well past Fraser Forster, his second goal of the competition.
Ambrose's poor night continued as he was guilty of conceding possession as Marchisio nicked the ball off of him. Marchisio then played the ball to Mirko Vucinic who gladly took his second goal of the tournament. With three away goals in the bag, it's extremely hard to see a way back for Celtic when they travel to Italy for the second leg.
PSG also thought that they would have away goals without conceding to take back to France with them. The Frenchmen took the lead after just ten minutes when Javier Pastore fed Ezequiel Lavezzi. Lavezzi then swerved a challenge before smashing a powerful through the hands of the keeper for his fourth goal of the tournament.
It was 2-0 two minutes before half-time when January signing, Lucas, made a fantastic run down the wing. He cut inside and played the ball across for Pastore to slot home between the keeper's legs, his second of the tournament.
PSG looked home and hosed with two away goals but Valencia managed to get themselves back into the tie when Tino Costa's free-kick was headed home by Adil Rami in injury time. The tie may have been opened further as Zlatan Ibrahimovic will be missing the second leg after receiving a red card a minute later for an over the top challenge. It's advantage PSG but Valencia aren't out of it.
The problems for Celtic began after just three minutes when a seemingly jet-lagged Efe Ambrose was shrugged off the ball by Alessandro Matri. Mikael Lustig looked like he had cleared the ball from off the line before Claudio Marchisio scored the rebound. But the ball had already crossed the line before Lustig cleared it and Matri as awarded his first goal of the competition.
Celtic's hopes of levelling the match were dashed when Juventus doubled their lead on 77-minutes. Andrea Pirlo played the ball into the Marchisio who cut inside and finished well past Fraser Forster, his second goal of the competition.
Ambrose's poor night continued as he was guilty of conceding possession as Marchisio nicked the ball off of him. Marchisio then played the ball to Mirko Vucinic who gladly took his second goal of the tournament. With three away goals in the bag, it's extremely hard to see a way back for Celtic when they travel to Italy for the second leg.
PSG also thought that they would have away goals without conceding to take back to France with them. The Frenchmen took the lead after just ten minutes when Javier Pastore fed Ezequiel Lavezzi. Lavezzi then swerved a challenge before smashing a powerful through the hands of the keeper for his fourth goal of the tournament.
It was 2-0 two minutes before half-time when January signing, Lucas, made a fantastic run down the wing. He cut inside and played the ball across for Pastore to slot home between the keeper's legs, his second of the tournament.
PSG looked home and hosed with two away goals but Valencia managed to get themselves back into the tie when Tino Costa's free-kick was headed home by Adil Rami in injury time. The tie may have been opened further as Zlatan Ibrahimovic will be missing the second leg after receiving a red card a minute later for an over the top challenge. It's advantage PSG but Valencia aren't out of it.
Thursday, 20 December 2012
Champions League Last 16 Draw
Galatasaray v Schalke
Celtic v Juventus
Arsenal v Bayern Munich
Shakhtar Donetsk v Borussia Dortmund
AC Milan v Barcelona
Real Madrid v Manchester United
Valencia v Paris St.Germain
Porto v Malaga
Celtic v Juventus
Arsenal v Bayern Munich
Shakhtar Donetsk v Borussia Dortmund
AC Milan v Barcelona
Real Madrid v Manchester United
Valencia v Paris St.Germain
Porto v Malaga
Wednesday, 5 December 2012
Celtic Through With Win, Chelsea Out Despite Hitting Nordsjaelland For Six, United Lose
Group E: Chelsea's defence of the Champions League ends at the group stage despite thrashing Nordsjaelland in Rafa Benitez's first win, making them the first holders go exit at this stage. After a missed penalty from both sides, Chelsea took the lead six minutes before half-time with David Luiz converting from the spot for his second goal of the tournament. Fernando Torres would make it 2-0 in first half injury time before Joshua John pulled one back within the first minute of the second half. Chelsea had their two goal advantage back through Gary Cahill on 51-minutes before Torres added a fourth, his third of the competition, five minutes later. Juan Mata made it 5-1 with his third of the tournament on 63-minutes with Oscar completing the rout eight minutes later with his fifth of the campaign. But it wasn't enough as Chelsea lose on head to head.
Juventus end up winning the group as they effectively ejected Chelsea from the tournament. The only goal of the game came 11-minutes into the second half when Olexandr Kucher put the ball into his own net. The result means Shakhtar progress because they scored one more away goal against Chelsea as head to head shows they both won at home, Shakhtar 2-1, Chelsea 3-2. Final Table:
1. Juventus 12 +8
2. Shakhtar Donetsk 10 +4
3. Chelsea 10 +6
4. FC Nordsjaelland 1 -18
Group F: Bayern Munich make it three German group winners after comfortably beating BATE at home. Mario Gomez put Munich ahead after 21-minutes. The hosts then found themselves down to ten men when Jerome Boateng was sent off six minutes into the second half. This didn't hinder them as Thomas Muller was on hand to make it 2-0 three minutes later with his third of the competition. Xherdan Shaqiri then made it 3-1 on 65-minutes before the man count was levelled four minutes later when Denis Polyakow was also sent off. David Alaba would make it 4-0 seven minutes from time before BATE scored a consolation through Yegor Flipenko in the final minute of normal time.
Valencia join Bayern on points but fail to win the group after beating Lille. The only goal of the game came nine minutes before half-time when Jonas slotted his fourth goal of the competition from the penalty spot. Final Table:
1. Bayern Munich 13 +8
2. Valencia 13 +7
3. BATE Borisov 6 -6
4. LOSC Lille 3 -9
Group G: Celtic conformed their progression into the last-16 with victory over Spartak Moscow. Celtic just had to better Benfica's result and Gary Hooper gave them a great opportunity by putting hosts ahead on 21-minutes, his second of the competition. Ari would then equalise for Spartak six minutes before half-time. The win was confirmed with eight minutes to play when Kris Commons fired home from the spot, Spartak's night ended with Kim Kallstrom being shown a red card two minutes from the end.
Barcelona fail to score in Camp Nou in the Champions League for the first time since against Chelsea in April 2009. The match against Benfica finished 0-0 but there is slight concern over Lionel Messi who was stretchered off, although it appears he just suffered a knock. Final Table:
1. Barcelona 13 +6
2. Celtic 10 +1
3. Benfica 8 0
4. Spartak Moskva 3 -7
Group H: Manchester United lose at Old Trafford in the Champions League for the first time since Besiktas, three years ago. Cluj are the team to get the famous result over United but agonisingly exit the tournament on head to head when they were on the brink of being the first Romanian club to progress from the group stage. The only goal of the game came 11-minutes into the second half via a screamer from Luis Alberto.
Because Galatasaray beat Cluj in Romania and drew in Turkey, they go through after a tight victory away to Braga. Braga began to hold their end of the deal when they went ahead through Mossoro 13-minutes before half-time. Aydin Yilmaz equalised 13-minutes into the second before Burak Yilmaz broke the Romanian hearts with the winner and his sixth goal of the tournament, 11-minutes before the end. This means that no player other than a Yilmaz has scored for Galatasaray in the Champions League this campaign. Final Table:
1. Manchester United 12 +3
2. Galatasaray 10 +1
3. CFR Cluj 10 +2
4. SC Braga 3 -6
Juventus end up winning the group as they effectively ejected Chelsea from the tournament. The only goal of the game came 11-minutes into the second half when Olexandr Kucher put the ball into his own net. The result means Shakhtar progress because they scored one more away goal against Chelsea as head to head shows they both won at home, Shakhtar 2-1, Chelsea 3-2. Final Table:
1. Juventus 12 +8
2. Shakhtar Donetsk 10 +4
3. Chelsea 10 +6
4. FC Nordsjaelland 1 -18
Group F: Bayern Munich make it three German group winners after comfortably beating BATE at home. Mario Gomez put Munich ahead after 21-minutes. The hosts then found themselves down to ten men when Jerome Boateng was sent off six minutes into the second half. This didn't hinder them as Thomas Muller was on hand to make it 2-0 three minutes later with his third of the competition. Xherdan Shaqiri then made it 3-1 on 65-minutes before the man count was levelled four minutes later when Denis Polyakow was also sent off. David Alaba would make it 4-0 seven minutes from time before BATE scored a consolation through Yegor Flipenko in the final minute of normal time.
Valencia join Bayern on points but fail to win the group after beating Lille. The only goal of the game came nine minutes before half-time when Jonas slotted his fourth goal of the competition from the penalty spot. Final Table:
1. Bayern Munich 13 +8
2. Valencia 13 +7
3. BATE Borisov 6 -6
4. LOSC Lille 3 -9
Group G: Celtic conformed their progression into the last-16 with victory over Spartak Moscow. Celtic just had to better Benfica's result and Gary Hooper gave them a great opportunity by putting hosts ahead on 21-minutes, his second of the competition. Ari would then equalise for Spartak six minutes before half-time. The win was confirmed with eight minutes to play when Kris Commons fired home from the spot, Spartak's night ended with Kim Kallstrom being shown a red card two minutes from the end.
Barcelona fail to score in Camp Nou in the Champions League for the first time since against Chelsea in April 2009. The match against Benfica finished 0-0 but there is slight concern over Lionel Messi who was stretchered off, although it appears he just suffered a knock. Final Table:
1. Barcelona 13 +6
2. Celtic 10 +1
3. Benfica 8 0
4. Spartak Moskva 3 -7
Group H: Manchester United lose at Old Trafford in the Champions League for the first time since Besiktas, three years ago. Cluj are the team to get the famous result over United but agonisingly exit the tournament on head to head when they were on the brink of being the first Romanian club to progress from the group stage. The only goal of the game came 11-minutes into the second half via a screamer from Luis Alberto.
Because Galatasaray beat Cluj in Romania and drew in Turkey, they go through after a tight victory away to Braga. Braga began to hold their end of the deal when they went ahead through Mossoro 13-minutes before half-time. Aydin Yilmaz equalised 13-minutes into the second before Burak Yilmaz broke the Romanian hearts with the winner and his sixth goal of the tournament, 11-minutes before the end. This means that no player other than a Yilmaz has scored for Galatasaray in the Champions League this campaign. Final Table:
1. Manchester United 12 +3
2. Galatasaray 10 +1
3. CFR Cluj 10 +2
4. SC Braga 3 -6
Tuesday, 4 December 2012
Arsenal End With Defeat As City Make History
Group A: The battle to see who came out on top of Group A ended with an absolute goalkeeping howler. PSG took the lead in front of their home crowd just before the half hour mark courtesy of a Thiago Silva header from a corner, his second of the tournament. Jackson Martinez would equalise with his third goal of the competition just four minutes later. The winner came just after the hour mark when an Ezequiel Lavezzi shot was initially saved by Helton before the keeper somehow lost his grip and turning the ball into his own net even though he was positioned just past the post.
It's taken Dinamo Zagreb six games but they finally secure their one and only point of the campaign by scoring their only goal of the tournament, 545 minutes since they kicked off the group stage, and even that came via the penalty spot. After a snow delay, the game kicked off and Andriy Yarmolenko would put Kyiv ahead in first half injury time. The Croatians were then awarded a penalty in the 96th minute which Ivan Kristanovic managed to convert. Final Table:
1. Paris St.Germain 15 +11
2. FC Porto 13 +6
3. Dynamo Kyiv 5 -4
4. Dinamo Zagreb 1 -13
Group B: With Arsenal already guaranteed a place in the next round, Arsene Wenger decided to experiment on his trip to Greece. It began looking like a good experiment when Tomas Rosicky fired Arsenal ahead seven minutes before half-time. Olympiacos were much better in the second half and got their equaliser in the 65th minute through Giannis Maniatis. The Greeks would then win the match eight minutes later as Kostas Mitroglu posted his fourth goal of the tournament.
Schalke go through as group winners and progress undefeated for the first time in their history. They played Montpellier in France in the final game and took the lead through Benedikt Howedes 11-minutes into the second half, his second of the competition. Schalke's lead lasted for three minutes though as Emmanuel Herrera was on hand to secure Montpellier's second point of the tournament. Final Table:
1. FC Schalke 04 12 +4
2. Arsenal 10 +2
3. Olympiacos 9 0
4. Montpellier 2 -6
Group C: Malaga win the group undefeated after a draw at home to Anderlecht. Duda put the hosts ahead just before half-time before Milan Jovanovich equalised five minutes after the restart. Duda once again put Malaga in front just after the hour mark, only for Dieudonne Mbokani to equalise again just before the end, scoring his second goal of the tournament.
AC Milan end a very inconsistent group stage with defeat against Zenit in the San Siro. Fortunately, the Italians were already through so it didn't matter too much when Danny won the game for the Russians ten minutes before half-time with his second goal of the competition. Final Table:
1. Malaga 12 +7
2. AC Milan 8 +1
3. Zenit St.Petersburg 7 -3
4. RSC Anderlecht 5 -5
Group D: Manchester City become the first English club in the history of the Champions League to exit the competition without winning a single game. City have proven once again that they can't seem to play away in Europe as they lost in Dortmund. The only goal of the game came from Julian Schieber 12-minutes into the second half. If Bayern win their group tomorrow, there will be three German group winners this campaign.
Real Madrid end their group stage with a convincing victory over Ajax. Cristiano Ronaldo put Madrid ahead after just 13-minutes to chalk up his sixth goal of the tournament. Jose Callejon fired a second on 28-minutes before Kaka became the highest scoring Brazilian in the Champions League, overtaking Rivaldo, by making it 3-0 four minutes into the second half. Derk Boerrigter pulled one back for Ajax ten minutes later but Callejon wrapped things up with two minutes left by making it seven goals in his nine Champions League appearances. Final Table:
1. Borussia Dortmund 14 +6
2. Real Madrid 11 +6
3. Ajax 4 -8
4. Manchester City 3 -4
It's taken Dinamo Zagreb six games but they finally secure their one and only point of the campaign by scoring their only goal of the tournament, 545 minutes since they kicked off the group stage, and even that came via the penalty spot. After a snow delay, the game kicked off and Andriy Yarmolenko would put Kyiv ahead in first half injury time. The Croatians were then awarded a penalty in the 96th minute which Ivan Kristanovic managed to convert. Final Table:
1. Paris St.Germain 15 +11
2. FC Porto 13 +6
3. Dynamo Kyiv 5 -4
4. Dinamo Zagreb 1 -13
Group B: With Arsenal already guaranteed a place in the next round, Arsene Wenger decided to experiment on his trip to Greece. It began looking like a good experiment when Tomas Rosicky fired Arsenal ahead seven minutes before half-time. Olympiacos were much better in the second half and got their equaliser in the 65th minute through Giannis Maniatis. The Greeks would then win the match eight minutes later as Kostas Mitroglu posted his fourth goal of the tournament.
Schalke go through as group winners and progress undefeated for the first time in their history. They played Montpellier in France in the final game and took the lead through Benedikt Howedes 11-minutes into the second half, his second of the competition. Schalke's lead lasted for three minutes though as Emmanuel Herrera was on hand to secure Montpellier's second point of the tournament. Final Table:
1. FC Schalke 04 12 +4
2. Arsenal 10 +2
3. Olympiacos 9 0
4. Montpellier 2 -6
Group C: Malaga win the group undefeated after a draw at home to Anderlecht. Duda put the hosts ahead just before half-time before Milan Jovanovich equalised five minutes after the restart. Duda once again put Malaga in front just after the hour mark, only for Dieudonne Mbokani to equalise again just before the end, scoring his second goal of the tournament.
AC Milan end a very inconsistent group stage with defeat against Zenit in the San Siro. Fortunately, the Italians were already through so it didn't matter too much when Danny won the game for the Russians ten minutes before half-time with his second goal of the competition. Final Table:
1. Malaga 12 +7
2. AC Milan 8 +1
3. Zenit St.Petersburg 7 -3
4. RSC Anderlecht 5 -5
Group D: Manchester City become the first English club in the history of the Champions League to exit the competition without winning a single game. City have proven once again that they can't seem to play away in Europe as they lost in Dortmund. The only goal of the game came from Julian Schieber 12-minutes into the second half. If Bayern win their group tomorrow, there will be three German group winners this campaign.
Real Madrid end their group stage with a convincing victory over Ajax. Cristiano Ronaldo put Madrid ahead after just 13-minutes to chalk up his sixth goal of the tournament. Jose Callejon fired a second on 28-minutes before Kaka became the highest scoring Brazilian in the Champions League, overtaking Rivaldo, by making it 3-0 four minutes into the second half. Derk Boerrigter pulled one back for Ajax ten minutes later but Callejon wrapped things up with two minutes left by making it seven goals in his nine Champions League appearances. Final Table:
1. Borussia Dortmund 14 +6
2. Real Madrid 11 +6
3. Ajax 4 -8
4. Manchester City 3 -4
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