TheNewsGuru

Tag: UEFA CL

  • Women UCL: Oshoala’s bicycle-kick voted goal of the week

    Women UCL: Oshoala’s bicycle-kick voted goal of the week

    Super Falcons and Barcelona of Spain forward, Asisat Oshoala has won the UEFA Women’s Champions League Goal of the Week award.

    Oshola’s superb bicycle-kick goal against Benfica of Portugal  beat all other goals scored in same week of the female UEFA champions League.

    Barcelona Femeni won the matchday one fixture  by 5-0.

    Oshoala was introduced in the 60th minute of the encounter and her first touch of the game led to a goal.

    The 29-year-old also won the same award on matchday one last season.

    Barcelona Femeni  are defending the Champions League crown they won for the second time last season.

  • Griezmann, Morata grab brace as Atletico thrash 10-man Celtic

    Griezmann, Morata grab brace as Atletico thrash 10-man Celtic

    Atletico Madrid’s Antoine Griezmann and Alvaro Morata both struck twice to help thrash 10-man Celtic 6-0 in the Champions League on Tuesday, sending the Spaniards top in Group E.

    Atletico made a strong start and Griezmann opened the scoring in the sixth minute, slotting in a low shot from the edge of the box.

    Celtic were then reduced to 10 men when forward Daizen Maeda received a straight red card for a studs-up challenge on Atletico defender Mario Hermoso in the 23rd minute.

    Some fine saves from Celtic’s veteran goalkeeper Joe Hart from close-range efforts kept them in the game and the visitors almost found a shock equaliser in the 28th minute.

    Atletico keeper Jan Oblak made a stunning one-handed save to deny what would have been a comical own-goal by Morata as he attempted to clear a corner from inside Atletico’s six-yard box.

    Morata made amends in added time before the break, when Griezmann found Jose Maria Gimenez with a brilliant cross from the right touchline to the far corner and he headed it to the Spain captain to tap in.

    Player of the match Griezmann than scored the third with an acrobatic volley in the 60th minute and substitute Samuel Lino netted the fourth with a fine curling strike into the top left corner six minutes later.

    Morata blasted home an unstoppable strike from a rebound in the 76th minute and Saul Niguez wrapped up the scoring from close-range in the 85th.

    “Sure, the red card gave us an advantage, but we had started the game on top, scored early, something that we were having difficulties doing lately,” Griezmann told Movistar Plus.

    “We need to continue like this. With respect to our opponents, we tried to play as well as we could, score as many goals as we could and not do anything stupid or disrespectful.”

    Atletico went top in Group E on eight points with two games remaining, one point ahead of second-placed Lazio who beat Feyenoord 1-0 on Tuesday.

  • UCL Final: Guardiola heaps praises on Inter Milan goalie, Andre Onana

    UCL Final: Guardiola heaps praises on Inter Milan goalie, Andre Onana

    Manchester City manager, Pep Guardiola has singled out Cameroon and Inter Milan goalkeeper, Andre Onana,  saying that he’s one of the best in the World.

    City has been tipped as favourite to win this year’s Champions League trophy but Guardiola insists Inter Milan are also a title contender.

    Onana has kept eight clean sheets in 12 Champions League games this season.

    This includes five defensive shut-outs in their six knock-out stage matches.

    “They are a team with a lot of history, they have done really well with the shape, it’s not just how good they defend.

    “It’s how good they are in transitions and linking with the strikers. They have a real good process, starting from [Andre] Onana, an exceptional goalkeeper in the build-up – one of the best in the world right now,” Guardiola told a press conference.

  • UCL: Gosens tips Inter Milan to beat Manchester City

    UCL: Gosens tips Inter Milan to beat Manchester City

    Inter Milan left-back Robin Gosens has tipped his clubside to defeat Manchester City in the Champions League final on June 10 in Istanbul Turkey.

    Inter Milan will slug it out for the 2022/23 UEFA Champions League trophy.

    Inter Milan defeated neighbour AC Milan 3-0 on aggregate to reach the final for the first time in 13 years, while City defeated Real Madrid 5-1 on aggregate to have a chance to play in the final in Turkey.

    Speaking with Sky Sports Italia via Football Italia ahead of the encounter, the 28-year-old said:

    “We are all proud, but also aware we earned this opportunity on the pitch. We are going there to win. Anything can happen in football.

    “We deserved our place in that final; we know it will be a struggle, but we have what it takes to beat Manchester City.”

  • UCL: How AC Milan bundled Osimhen’s Napoli out of the Champions League

    UCL: How AC Milan bundled Osimhen’s Napoli out of the Champions League

    AC Milan booked a place in this year’s UEFA Champions League, after playing out a draw with another Serie A side Napoli at Naples on Tuesday night.

    Rafael Leão’s mesmerising solo assist helped to add a 1-1 away draw to AC Milan’s UEFA Champions League (UCL) quarter-final home leg triumph.

    Napoli’s cinderella run in the UCL ended after playing out a 1-1 draw with AC Milan in the reverse fixture thereby making the away side go three straight games unbeaten against Napoli.

    Fans at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona were always going to make life difficult for AC Milan, and the thunderous atmosphere they created saw the pitch shrouded in smoke by kick-off. That wasn’t the only thing that blinded the visitors either, as Napoli came racing out of the blocks, with Matteo Politano twice causing problems by cutting in from the right, although his closest effort was dragged a yard wide.

    However, he and fellow star performer Mário Rui were hauled off injured during the first half, as the tide began to turn towards Stefano Pioli’s side.

    After missing a penalty in the encounter, AC Milan’s Oliver Giroud scored to put the Visitor ahead before Nigerian striker Victor Osimhen equalized in the dying minute of the game but his goal couldn’t save Napoli.

    The game’s first major moment saw Olivier Giroud take centre stage, with the veteran Frenchman stepping up to the spot after Leão was scythed down in the box, only for Alex Meret to palm away his tame spot-kick.

    Result meant AC Milan will progress to the Semi-final of the competition for the first time in many years.

     

     

  • Why we defeated Chelsea 2-0 at Stamford Bridge – Carlo Ancelotti

    Why we defeated Chelsea 2-0 at Stamford Bridge – Carlo Ancelotti

    Real Madrid manager, Carlo Ancelotti has stated reasons his team defeated Chelsea away from home to reach the semi-final of this year’s UEFA Champions League.

    Madrid defeated Chelsea 2-0 home and away to grab a semi-final ticket for the second time in a row.

    Coach Ancelloti noted that the Galaticos were aware that the return leg would be difficult and really prepared for it without leaving anything to chance.

    According to him, the game plan was to prevent Chelsea from scoring an early goal because it could destabilize the team.

    However, the Blues put up a fight in front of their fans, before Rodrygo’s double in the second half settled the tie.

    “They gave everything in the first half, they caused us problems, especially on the left, we fixed that in the second half.

    “It’s normal to suffer, we had a good level, solid at the back. A good game, a deserved win, we’re very happy,” Ancelotti said.

    Chelsea have managed only one goal in their last six games despite spending around 600 million pounds (746 million dollars) on new players in the two transfer windows.

    This was since American Todd Boehly’s consortium bought the club previously bankrolled by Roman Abramovich.

    “I think for 60 minutes the only thing missing was a goal,” Lampard told reporters.

    “One goal or two goals changes the face of the game and at this level when you’re not clinical you see what happens. The end bit of scoring is crucial and something we need to address.”

    Chelsea have managed only one goal in their last six games despite spending around 600 million pounds (746 million dollars) on new players in the two transfer windows.

    Club record scorer Lampard now has the dubious honour of being the first Chelsea manager to lose his first four games in charge.

    He must now try to restore some hope among the fans in the seven league games his side have left.

    There will almost certainly be no European football for Chelsea next season and Lampard says the club has no divine right to think that it will be only a one-season absence.

    But he says the rebuilding job must start in the time he remains at the helm.

    “We have to take each step. Day off tomorrow, back into work Thursday and working towards Brentford,” he said.

    “This club is going to be back. I think the fans appreciated the performance today and we have to latch onto that and go again next year.

    “Manchester United have spent time out (of the Champions League), Arsenal have spent time out. It’s impossible to try and predict it.

  • UCL: Manchester City coach, Pep Guardiola speaks on Mane, Sane brawl

    UCL: Manchester City coach, Pep Guardiola speaks on Mane, Sane brawl

    Manchester City coach, Pep Guardiola has explained that the brawl between two Bayern Munich players, Mane and Sane will work for the club’s advantage.

    Manchester City will travel to Munich for the UEFA Champioms League quarter-final clash on Wednesday at the Allianz Arena.

    City won the first leg 3-0 at The Etihad.

    And after the game, Mane is widely reported to have punched Sane in the dressing room.

    “Absolutely, sometimes you need conflict to make the team more together, I am pretty sure of that. It’s not a weak point, it will be a strong point against us.

    “I know this club perfectly, I can imagine the situation against City, we play there, the players will do their best,” Guardiola told reporters.

  • UCL: Adeyemi’s solo goal put Dortmund at vantage position against Chelsea

    UCL: Adeyemi’s solo goal put Dortmund at vantage position against Chelsea

    A beautiful solo effort by Dortmund’s Karim Adeyemi helped the German side secure a slim 1-0 win over Chelsea in Wednesday’s UEFA Champions League game at the Signal Iduna Park.

    Adeyemi latched on to a loose ball before dribbling past Enzo Fernandez and Kepa Arizabalaga to give the home side all three points ahead of the reverse fixture in two weeks time.

    While Chelsea manager Graham Potter may still be working on how to get his squad of expensive newcomers to work as a team, the visitors’ individual quality and speed on the counter was obvious throughout.

    Borussia Dortmund are also hoping to win the German Bundesliga many years after it last won it, but presently occupy the third position on the log with just three points seperating  it and leaders Bayern Munich.

    Chelsea on the other hand are not in the running to win the English Premier League as they presently occupy the 10th position on the log and are out of all domestic cup competitions.

    The only hopes of the Blues winning a silverware this season is the UEFA Champions League and to achieve this result the 1-0 first leg loss to Dortmund must be upturned at the Stamford Bridge in two weeks time.

     

  • UEFA CL: All four English teams through to knock out stage

    UEFA CL: All four English teams through to knock out stage

    For the first time in a long while, all English representatives have booked their place in the knockout stage of the UEFA Champions League.

    Tottenham’s qualification was shaky but their 2-1  away win at Marseille ensured their qualification to the knock out stage.

    They eventually finished first in group D with 11 points and now joined Manchester City, Liverpool, Chelsea to progress to the next round.

    In five of the six previous seasons that all of the English clubs involved have reached the knockout stage, at least one has made it to the final.

    The only time that did not happen was in 2013-14, when Chelsea were beaten by Atletico Madrid in the semi-finals.

    Going on to win the competition has proved a little more tricky. The only triumphs were in 2004-05 (Liverpool) and 2007-08 (Manchester United).

    Still, an English side reaching the final this season would mark significant progress after five barren years.

    Since 2003-04, seven different English clubs have appeared in the Champions League group stages – Arsenal, Chelsea, Leicester, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United and Tottenham.

    In those 14 seasons, the teams reaching the group stages have qualified for the knockout stage 84% of the time.

    The highlight was 2007-08, with Arsenal reaching the quarter-finals, Liverpool making it to the semi-finals, and Manchester United beating Chelsea in the final.

    The low point was 2012-13, when only Manchester United and Arsenal made the last 16, and both exited at that stage.

  • UEFA CL: Bayern dump Barcelona to Europa league as Liverpool pummel Ajax 3-0

    UEFA CL: Bayern dump Barcelona to Europa league as Liverpool pummel Ajax 3-0

    Bayern are already through to the knockout stage, boasting a perfect record of four wins from four, but still dealt a big blow to the aspirations of Barcelona following the 3-0 demolition of the Blaugrana at Camp Nou.

    Barcelona exit the Champions League and are now heading to the Europa League to try and slug it out with the likes of Arsenal, Man Utd and other powerful football sides

    The first goal came from a glorious through ball by Serge Gnabry to find Sadio Mané, who easily beat Héctor Bellerín for pace and chipped the ball over Marc-André ter Stegen to give Bayern the lead; 20 minutes later, a similar counter-attacking goal with another assist from Gnabry and a good finish by Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting.

    Second half began with both teams pressing for a goal but all effort proved abortive until the dying seconds of the game.

    The visitors had a late corner and Benjamin Pavard found himself all alone inside the box to score Bayern’s third with the last touch of the game.

    The final whistle came to finish Barça’s Champions League journey with another European embarassment.

    Recall Barcelona was dumped out of the UCL last season and  still got booted uyt in the competition in  Eintracht Frankfurt in the semi -finals.

    However, it was an easy ride for English Premier League side Liverpool booked their place in the second round of the competition after pummeling Ajax 3-0 away from home.

    Needing a draw to reach the last 16, the Reds were fortunate not to be behind before Mohamed Salah clipped in with their only shot on target of the first half.