News Archive

Champions League, day 6

Valencia are out of the Champions League! The Ches had to beat Olympique Lyon in their last group game to have any chance of finishing second, but a 0-2 defeat left them in third spot, and they have to make do with a place in the Europa League. New coach Gary Neville saw his team fall behind when Cornet beat Jaume Domenech with an impressive shot shortly before half time, and Lacazette added a second on a quick breakaway after the restart. As it happened even a victory would not have taken them through, as Gent beat Zenit in the other group game, but it was a disappointing performance all the same. Barcelona meanwhile drew 1-1 in their last match at Bayer Leverkusen, a result which keeps up their unbeaten record in the mini-league. With top spot already assured Luis Enrique made eight changes to his line-up, but Rakitic and Messi were still there, and the former put the striker through to open the scoring in the twentieth minute. Chicharito Hernández equalized three minutes later though, and only a string of great saves by Ter Stegen preserved the result. (09.12.15)

A successful night for Spanish sides on Tuesday, all three winning in the last round of group games. Atlético Madrid came into their tie at Benfica knowing that both were already qualified for the last sixteen, but they still needed a victory to finish above their hosts as group leaders. In the end however they ran out 1-2 winners, strikes either side of half time by Saúl Ñíguez and Vietto putting them two up before Mitroglou got one back with a quarter of an hour to go. Sevilla were already out of the competition, but they needed to beat Italian champions Juventus and hope that Borussia Moenchengladbach didn’t do the same at Manchester City to finish third in their group. At half time things were looking grim, but after the restart Llorente headed a corner past Buffon to give the Andalusians a 1-0 win, and with the German side eventually losing 4-2 in Manchester, Emery’s team will at least be able to defend the Europa League trophy they have won four times already. Real Madrid meanwhile were already sure of finishing first in their group, but they beat Malmö by a massive 8-0 to silence their critics. Ronaldo got four of the goals in a twenty minute period either side of half time to take his tally in the group stage to eleven, two more than his own previous record, Benzema netted a hat-trick as well, and Kovacic got the other. Curiously the result matched the best ever in the Champions League, set by Liverpool when Rafa Benítez himself was their coach! (08.12.15)

Bayer Leverkusen 1 - Barcelona 1

Barcelona drew 1-1 in their last match at Bayer Leverkusen, a result which keeps up their unbeaten record in their mini-league, and leaves the German side down in third place behind Roma. With top spot already assured and Neymar out injured, Luis Enrique made eight changes to his line-up, but Rakitic and Messi were still there, and the former put the forward through to round Leno and open the scoring in the twentieth minute. Ex Real Madrid striker Chicharito Hernández equalized three minutes later though after Calhanoglou played on Mehmedi’s cross, and after the restart Calhanoglou missed an easy chance. Leno had to save from Sandro after that, but otherwise Bayer were on top, and only a string of great saves by Ter Stegen from Calhanoglou, Bellarabi and Chicharito preserved the result. (09.12.15)

Valencia 0 – Olympique Lyon 2

Valencia are out of the Champions League! The Ches had to beat Olympique Lyon in their last group game to have any chance of finishing second, but a 0-2 defeat left them in third spot, and they have to make do with a place in the Europa League. New coach Gary Neville was in charge for the first time, and he saw his team get off to a promising start, Mustafi heading a De Paul corner against the upright and then having a headed goal ruled out for what the referee considered to be a previous foul by Abdennour. Jaume Domenech had to save though from Cornet and Raffael, and with eight minutes to go to the break Cornet gave the French side the lead with an impressive shot which took a slight deflection off Abdennour to fly into the far top corner of the net. Neville brought on the ostracized Negredo after the break, and Alcácer, Cancelo and Javi Fuego all tested Lopes. But Domenech had to be at his best to keep out Sergi Darder, and with a quarter of an hour to go Lacazette added a second after Talisso put him through on a quick breakaway. As it happened though, even a victory would not have taken the Ches through as Gent beat Zenit in the other group game, but it was a disappointing performance all the same. (09.12.15)

Real Madrid 8 – Malmö 0

Real Madrid were already sure of finishing first in their group, but they beat Malmö by a massive 8-0 in their last group game to silence their critics. Once again there were some boos from the crowd after it was confirmed that the club had been thrown out of the Spanish cup, particularly when Rafa Benítez’s name came up on the screen before kick-off (even though it was not really his fault that they had included an illegible player in that match). But as had happened in the weekend game against Getafe, two early goals from Benzema changed the mood in the stadium. After that though Ronaldo took over proceedings, the Portuguese forward scoring no less than four goals in a twenty minute period either side of half time to take his tally in the group stage to eleven, two more than his own previous record. With half an hour still to go it was then a question of how many they could score, and Kovacic made it seven before Benzema completed his own hat-trick after Isco set him up. Benítez then brought on “the offender” Cheryshev in a sign of reconciliation, and for the first time in a long time Madrid started to look like a team rather than a group of individuals, a sign that the recent adversity may have strengthened their resolve. No more goals after that, but still a result which matched the best ever in the Champions League, curiously set by Liverpool when Benítez himself was their coach and Arbeloa was in the line-up! (08.12.15)

Benfica 1 - Atlético Madrid 2

Atlético Madrid came into their tie at Benfica knowing that both teams were already qualified for the last sixteen, but they still needed a victory to finish above their hosts as group leaders. In the end however they ran out 1-2 winners, Saúl Ñíguez firing them into the lead after Vietto laid the ball back with just over half an hour gone. Before that though Simeone’s team had dominated completely, Julio César having to save from Carrasco, Gabi and Saúl, and Godín having a headed goal ruled out for offside, and some ten minutes in to the second half Vietto got on the end of Carrasco’s cross to slide the ball behind the keeper from the near post. Substitutes Mitroglou and Raúl Jiménez did liven things up later on, the latter bringing a good save out of Oblak, and the two combining for Mitroglou to get one back with a quarter of an hour left on the clock, but Atlético held on for the win they needed to avoid the big names in next Monday’s draw. (08.12.15)

Sevilla 1 – Juventus 0

Sevilla were already out of the competition, but they needed to beat Juventus and hope that Borussia Moenchengladbach didn’t do the same at Manchester City to finish third in their group. The Italian side were also looking for a win though to ensure top spot, and Morata failed to convert two or three chances before the break. Llorente and Konoplyanka in particular brought good saves out of Buffon at the other end, but at half time things were looking grim, with Borussia leading in the Etihad stadium. After the restart Sergio Rico had to keep out a long shot from Pogba, but some twenty minutes in to the second half Llorente headed home a Konoplyanka corner to give the Andalusians the lead against his old team. There were some nervous moments for the home fans after that, Dybala firing a long shot against the crossbar and Rico making first class saves from Pogba and Morata, but with the German side eventually losing 4-2 in Manchester, Emery’s team will at least be able to defend the Europa League trophy they have won four times already, including twice in the last two years. (08.12.15)