Tuesday’s Champions League Recap

 

GROUP A

 

AS Monaco v Club Brugge

0-4

The Belgian visitors kept their Champions League hopes alive on Tuesday with a 4-0 demolition of the Ligue 1 hosts, extending Monaco coach Thierry Henry’s winless start to five games.

Hans Vanaken turned in a low cross after just 12 minutes to put Brugge ahead, he then doubled their lead five minutes later by converting from the spot after Antonia Barreca handled the ball inside the area.

Brazilian Wesley Moraes made it three after 24 minutes when he hit home from an angled drive just outside the box. Captain Rudd Vormer added their fourth five minutes from time.

The home side started out the stronger team but crumbled during the painful 13 minute period that saw them go 3-0 down. They improved in the second half but Vormer‘s fourth goal gave them their heaviest-ever defeat on home soil in Europe.

Monaco’s last win came on August 11th. Tuesday’s defeat saw the 18th Champions League match in a row in which the Monegasques have failed to keep a clean sheet. The result leaves them bottom of Group A with one point, -8 goal differential, three points behind the Belgian Champions and eliminated from the competition, piling the pressure on Henry, the former Monaco and Arsenal striker who’s only been in his role as head coach for less than a month.

 

Up Next:

Ligue 1

Monaco v PSG – Sunday November 11th (3pm)

Belgian Pro League

Charleroi v Brugge – Saturday November 10th (12pm)

Champions League

Atlético Madrid v Monaco – Wednesday November 28th (12:55pm)

Dortmund v Brugge – Wednesday November 28th (3pm)

 

 

Atlético Madrid v Borussia Dortmund

2-0

Dominant Atlético took vengeance for last month’s 4-0 defeat by the Bundesliga side to move level on points with the Germans in Group A. The Spaniards sit second on goal difference.

Saul Niguez opened the scoring in the 33rd minute with a left-footed shot from inside the box. Antoine Greizmann scored his third of the campaign and the hosts second in the 80th minute to seal victory.

The Germans had close to 65% possession, but couldn’t manage a single shot on goal the entire game and had a total of just two efforts off target.

The defeat ended the visitor’s unbeaten run in all competitions since the beginning of the season. Now both sides need just one point from their next match to qualify for the knockout stage.

 

Up Next:

La Liga

Atlético Madrid v Athletic Bilbao – Saturday November 10th (12:30pm)

Bundesliga

Dortmund v Bayern Munich – Saturday November 10th (12:30pm)

Champions League

Atlético Madrid v Monaco – Wednesday November 28th (12:55pm)

Dortmund v Brugge – Wednesday November 28th (3pm)

 

 

GROUP B

Inter Milan v Barcelona

1-1

The La Liga champions qualified for the knockout stage of the competition on Tuesday after a compelling draw in Milan.

A late equalizer from Mauro Icardi ended the Catalans’ perfect record in this year’s competition. The former Barca youth player swiveled to smash home in the 87th minute not long after Malcom appeared to have snatched a late winner for Barca by scoring his first goal for the club just moments after coming off the bench.

The visitors were still without Lionel Messi but were the better side for the majority of the high intensity game. They coped well with the home side’s initial high pressing, mainly due to the composed passing of midfielder Arthur Melo, and soon began dominating the game.

Luis Suarez nearly scored what would have been a goal of the competition contender after controlling a high ball with his chest, he sent his attempt inches wide of the top corner. Ivan Rakitic also come close to finding the opener in the first period and was later guilty of an outrageous miss when he only needed to beat goalie Samir Handanovic but fired straight at the Slovenian.

After Malcom scored late on it seemed Barca were on their way to a first win in Italy since beating AC Milan in 2011, it would have seen them seal top spot in the group, but, they’ll have to settle for waiting until next week where a win over PSV Eindhoven will see them secure top spot. For now though they can still feel semi-relaxed as they’re already through to the knockouts with two games to spare.

Barcelona currently top Group B with 10 points from four games, 3 ahead of second place Milan.

 

Up Next:

Serie A

Atalanta v Inter Milan – Sunday November 11th (6:30am)

La Liga

Barcelona v Real Betis – Sunday November 11th (10:15am)

Champions League

Eindhoven v Barcelona – Wednesday November 28th (3pm)

Spurs v Inter Milan – Wednesday November 28th (3pm)

 

 

Tottenham Hotspur v PSV Eindhoven

2-1

Spurs manager Mauricio pochettino believes his side can qualify for the Champions League knockout stage after coming back from the brink of elimination.

With only 12 minutes of the game remaining the London club seemed to be down and out before England captain Harry Kane helped turn his side’s fortunes around with a double in the last 10 minutes.

Their first win of the competition sees the Premier League side sit third in Group B, three points behind Inter Milan, who travel to Wembley on the 28th. If they can beat Milan then both clubs will sit joint second on 7pts and take it down to the final game, which sees Spurs travel to Barcelona and Milan host PSV.

The hosts trailed to Luuk de Jong‘s towering header and were visibility frustrated at the superb display from PSV keeper Jeroen Zoet, who kept them at bay with a mix of brilliance and luck, utilizing every part of his body to make a series of crucial saves.

With time running out, as he so often does, Kane came to Spurs’ rescue. The England striker resurged the home fans’ faith with a low shot that finally broke the resistance of Zoet. He then scored from a close-range header that deflected past Zoet off substitute Trent Sainsbury with only a minute remaining, it initially went down as an own goal but was later deemed to have been on target before the deflection and so awarded to Kane.

 

Up Next:

Premier League

Crystal Palace v Spurs – Saturday November 10th (12:30pm)

Eredivisie 

De Graafschap v Eindhoven – Saturday November 12 (1:45pm)

Champions League

Eindhoven v Barcelona – Wednesday November 28th (3pm)

Spurs v Inter Milan – Wednesday November 28th (3pm)

 

 

GROUP C

Red Star Belgrade v Liverpool

2-0

Two early goals from Milan Pvkov gave Red Star Belgrade a shock victory in their champions league meeting. Success would have seen the English side take a three point lead at the top of Group C but instead they dropped to second following Napoli’s draw with PSG in Italy.

Striker Pavkov headed the hosts into the lead after 21 minutes before firing home a powerful effort seven minutes later to make it 2-0. Red Star dominated the first half and came close to opening the scoring through both Vujadin Savic and El Fardou Ben Nabouhane before Pakov‘s opener.

Liverpool came close to scoring first but Daniel Sturridge squandered a great chance from just six yard out in the 17th minute. Jurgen Klopp’s side had more than 80% of the possession and hit the woodwork on multiple occasions in the second half but couldn’t score as Red Star recorded their 10th clean sheet in their last 15 home games in Europe.

The Reds were favorites to progress from Group C before kick-off but they now have to play PSG and Napoli in their final two games to see if they can progress. Last year’s finalists face a nervous wait to see if they can qualify for the knockout stage.

 

Up Next:

Serbian SuperLiga

Dinamo Vranje v Red Star – Saturday November 10th (9am)

Premier League

Liverpool v Fulham – Sunday November 11th (7am)

Champions League

Napoli v Red Star – Wednesday November 28th (3pm)

PSG v Liverpool – Wednesday November 28th (3pm)

 

 

Napoli v Paris Saint-Germain

1-1

The two teams battled to a 1-1 draw in their Group C game on Tuesday. The visitors went in to the break with a 1-0 lead after Juan Bernat gave PSG a well deserved lead. Lorenzo Insigne leveled from the penalty spot in the 62nd minute after Jose Callejon pounced on a mistake by PSG’s Thiago Silva and was tripped in the area.

Whilst Neymar didn’t get on the scoreboard he was in the middle of all the action. The Brazilian showed flashes of inspiration and caused panic whenever he ran at Napoli’s defense. There were also moments where the typical, negative Neymar came out, being too individualistic, arguing with opponents and seeing yellow for sarcastically applauding the referee.

The Italian hosts struggled to play their way out of their defensive area in the first half against PSG’s aggressive pressing, including a play that saw Neymar release Kylian Mbappe down the left side with a beautiful chip pass, the Frenchman then twisted and turned his way past Raul Albiol and passed back to Juan Bernat, who managed to beat keeper David Ospina.

It was a very different second half as Napoli tore into the visitors. Gianluigi Buffon twice denied Dries Mertens, Jose Callejon then saw his shot blocked by Thilo Kehrer and Fabian Ruiz came close with a drive from outside the box. The Italian goalkeeper somehow managed to stop an Insigne shot on the line, which he knew nothing about. It took a penalty to beat the 40-year-old veteran.

 

Up Next:

Serie A

Genoa v Napoli – Saturday November 10th (2:30pm)

Ligue 1

Monaco v PSG – Sunday November 11th (3pm)

Champions League

Napoli v Red Star – Wednesday November 28th (3pm)

PSG v Liverpool – Wednesday November 28th (3pm)

 

GROUP D

Porto v Lokomotiv Moscow

4-1

The Portuguese hosts all but guaranteed themselves a place in the knockout stage of the competition with a 4-1 win over Moscow, who have yet to register a point in Europe this season.

Hector Herrera gave the home side the lead after just two minutes with help from Moussa Marega‘s neat footwork. The Malian striker ran circles around Lokomotiv’s defense and sprinted to the touchline before cutting the ball back to the captain, who scored from close range.

Herrera then turned provider just before the break, chipping the ball over the Russian side’s defenders into the path of Marega, who

Herrera then turned provider just before halftime, chipping the ball over Lokomotiv’s defenders and into the path of Marega, who stormed into the box, nutmegging Guilherme, Russia’s Brazilian-born national goalkeeper.

Substitue Jefferson Farfan pulled one back for the Russians on the hour mark, with a powder header from a corner, only to see Jesus Corono extend Porto’s lead with a left-footed shot. Porto substitute Otavio then finished the game with a stunning, curling effort from the edge of the area.

The result sees the hosts sit top of Group D with 10 points, two ahead of second place Schalke, whilst the visitors are now out of the competition with zero points from four games.

 

Up Next:

Primeira Liga

Porto v Braga – Saturday November 10th (3:30pm)

Russian Premier League

Rubin Kazan vs Lokomotiv – Sunday November 11th (8:30am)

Champions League

Porto v Schalke – Wednesday November 28th (3pm)

Lokomotiv v Galatasaray – Wednesday November 28th (12:55)

 

 

FC Schalke 04 v Galatasaray 

2-0

Guido Burgstaller gave Schalke the lead after just four minutes thanks to a goalkeeping error. The Austrian then set up Mark Uth who saw his 57th minute shot fly past Fernando Muslera into the bottom right-hand corner. The two became just the second and third players to score against Galatasaray.

Galatasaray had a chance to level things in the 50th minute after winning a free-kick just outside the box, but midfielder Garry Rodrigues drove his shot straight into the wall.

The Bundesliga side, who sit second with eight points, look set for their first knockout stage appearance since the 2014/15 season. Galatasaray are third in Group D with four and need to win both of their remaining matches and hope for other results to go their way in order to qualify.

 

Up Next:

Bundesliga

Eintracht v Schalke – Sunday November 11th (12pm)

Süper Lig 

Kayserispor v Galatasaray – Saturday November 10th (11am)

Champions League

Porto v Schalke – Wednesday November 28th (3pm)

Lokomotiv v Galatasaray – Wednesday November 28th (12:55)

 

 

 

ALL TIMES U.S. EASTERN