UEFA Competitions
Manchester City slipped to a seventh defeat in 10 games as Juventus ended their run of draws thanks to two second-half goals
3 mins: City have had the ball for almost all the game thus far, and they eventually work it to De Bruyne on the right. Di Gregorio catches his cross.
1 min: City have kicked off, and immediately gone route one, Ederson pumping a long ball downfield and winning a throw-in as a result.
Continue reading...Arsenal moved into third place in the table thanks to two goals from Bukayo Saka
3 min: Monaco are winning most of the early duels. Arsenal not quite up to speed yet. On the touchline, Mikel Arteta claps his hands by way of encouragement.
1 min: Ødegaard loses the ball within nanoseconds and Monaco go on the attack. Ben Seghir has a run at the Arsenal defence, but there’s no way through. A very early sign that Monaco aren’t here simply to make up the numbers.
Continue reading...Luis Enrique’s side can be quietly hopeful of Champions League progress after deathly meeting of pop-up teams
It has often been said that the point of art is to ask the essential questions. Why does this thing exist? Why is this process happening? And is there any way of making it stop? In this context Paris Saint-Germain’s 3-0 defeat of Salzburg at the Red Bull Arena on Champions League match-day six was undeniably a work of art.
At the end of a fretful but still relentlessly soporific game, 90 minutes of Diazepam-ball dotted with moments of quality, PSG had upgraded their hopes of progressing to the next phase from dicey to quietly hopeful.
Continue reading...Aston Villa went third with a thrilling win in Leipzig while Real Madrid won a similarly exciting affair against Atalanta
If Paris Saint-Germain take an early lead at Red Bull Salzburg on Tuesday they may wonder whether to stick or twist. The new Champions League format has, at least in part, been designed to ensure Europe’s superpowers have fewer opportunities to fail, so their position risks embarrassment. They will not even qualify for the playoff round in February unless they improve on 25th place and, with three league-phase games remaining, are two points and three goals shy of the cutoff.
Victor Gyokeres, formerly of Coventry, clearly has an eager social media manager.
Continue reading...Received wisdom before kick-off at Stadion Maksimir was that this was the ideal time to face Dinamo Zagreb. Celtic proceeded to prove this campaign is not the one in which to play them in the Champions League. While there will be a tinge of frustration from Brendan Rodgers that a draw was all that could be collected from a fixture in which they were the superior team, capitulation in Dortmund early in this campaign continues to look irregular.
Celtic are again a serious team at elite level in Europe; while progression to the knockout stage could not be sealed in Zagreb, there should be every confidence of that box being ticked when Young Boys visit Glasgow in the new year. One defeat from six until now is a fine Celtic return. Dinamo never looked particularly capable of altering that record.
Continue reading...Mohamed Salah’s second-half penalty was enough to maintain Liverpool’s 100% record in the group stage
Beyond the goalies, two changes from the Newcastle game for Liverpool.
Trent Alexander-Arnold and Dominik Szoboszlai in, Alexis Mac Allister out altogether and Jarell Quansah benched after a difficult night on Tyneside.
Continue reading...Kieran Tierney is set to feature for Arsenal for the first time in more than 16 months after Mikel Arteta revealed he expected to be without several key defenders for Wednesday’s Champions League meeting with Monaco.
Thomas Partey, Jurriën Timber, Oleksandr Zinchenko and Gabriel Magalhães did not train with the rest of the squad on Tuesday and Arteta said “some of them probably aren’t going to be fit” to face the French side, who have an identical record of 10 points from five fixtures.
Continue reading...Eye-catching thrashings have been a feature of the revamped competition, but the cause is up for debate
If Paris Saint-Germain take an early lead at Red Bull Salzburg on Tuesday they may wonder whether to stick or twist. The new Champions League format has, at least in part, been designed to ensure Europe’s superpowers have fewer opportunities to fail, so their position risks embarrassment. They will not even qualify for the playoff round in February unless they improve on 25th place and, with three league-phase games remaining, are two points and three goals shy of the cutoff.
A tight 1-0 would prise the door back open but that might not cut it in this season’s competition. Salzburg are a shadow of their former selves and it should be an invitation to rack up a big score. The majority of PSG’s rivals have done so at least once: this edition of the tournament has been hallmarked by booming scorelines and the question, in a week that promises more of them, is why.
Continue reading...Philippe Clement again found sanctuary in Europe as Rangers romped to a remarkable 4-1 win over Nice in France.
Amid domestic struggles which have piled pressure on the Belgian boss, his side again came up with the goods this season in the Europa League.
Continue reading...Ruben Amorim received a rapturous welcome from the Old Trafford faithful, then oversaw a helter-skelter victory in his first home game as Manchester United’s sixth No 1 of the post-Sir Alex Ferguson era.
Like his five predecessors across 11 years, Amorim suffered. Under Europa League lights that shone down on the 6,714 partying Bodø/Glimt supporters, this was a standard welcome to the Theatre of Thrills and Spills as his new team just about made it through to the win.
Continue reading...Mats Hummels scored an injury-time equaliser for the visitors on a pulsating night in north London
Thank you to Mats Hummels for reminding me: this is a crucial game for Roma’s European hopes:
“This game is incredibly important for us,” he said. “It’s possibly our last chance if we want to finish in the top eight but we need points anyway to reach the next round and turn things around for our team and our club. It’s a very difficult game but it’s also a big chance. We’re playing a very strong team but we can show we’re able to play at a much higher level.”
Continue reading...Two goals from Rasmus Hojlund helped Ruben Amorim secure his first win as Manchester United head coach
Kevin Wilson emails: “If Amorim can get Mount anywhere near his Chelsea prime, then that will be a huge bonus. He’s still young and despite a rough few years, he’s still very talented. Whether he works better as one of the deeper midfielders or in the front three remains to be seen, but if he can stay fit, he’ll give the manager options.”
Amorim: “I am really calm, I expect a good game, a good environment, I am feeling that belonging with the fans. I am expecting the team to show different things, we need to improve.”
Continue reading...Chelsea moved to within one win of the Conference League last 16 with a 2-0 victory away to Heidenheim to maintain their perfect start in the competition.
Christopher Nkunku and Mykhailo Mudryk scored the goals in the second half, Jadon Sancho’s cut-back shortly after the interval finding the France international who fired in his 11th of the season, then Mudryk finished things late on with a lovely finish into the top corner.
Continue reading...Europe’s finest head-scratching struggles go on. We hand out honours and dishonours from the latest round of action
Inter: The 2023 finalists are second in the table and yet to concede a goal. They are yet to score many either, notching only seven goals in their five games. The latest victims of Simone Inzaghi’s smooth, efficient machine were RB Leipzig, whose own calamitous pointless campaign continued with a 1-0 defeat. An own goal from Castello Lukeba decided it after a wicked free-kick from Federico Dimarco, the wing-back playing an unfamiliar midfield role but was just as dangerous. As Leipzig desperately chased something from the match to rescue their campaign, it fell to the Inter defence to show off their usual control, the experience of Benjamin Pavard, Stefan de Vrij and Alessandro Bastoni as the defensive trio seeing out the job in some comfort.
Continue reading...PSV staged a dramatic Champions League comeback against 10-man Shakhtar Donetsk in Eindhoven, winning 3-2 from two goals down in the 87th minute.
The visitors went in front after just eight minutes from a quick breakaway, with Yukhym Konoplia setting up Danylo Sikan, whose shot squeezed beyond PSV keeper Walter Benítez. Oleksandr Zubkov doubled Shakhtar’s lead with a superb curling finish in the 37th minute, putting the Ukrainians in control of the match.
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