Football: Finland snatch Euro win over Denmark after Eriksen collapse

COPENHAGEN, Denmark -- Finland beat Denmark 1-0 in their opening match of Euro 2020 which was overshadowed by Christian Eriksen collapsing and having to be revived on the field by medics.

Joel Pohjanpalo scored the only goal on the hour mark of a Group B match which was stopped for nearly two hours after Danish playmaker Eriksen slumped to the turf towards the end of the first half.

There were fears for his life as he was given CPR by medics on the pitch as his teammates, some distraught, formed a circle around him.

The stadium had fallen into a shocked silence as the medics worked but Eriksen was eventually carried off the field at the Parken Stadium in Copenhagen and a photo showed him apparently holding his head as he laid on the stretcher.

The Danish Football Union (DBU) said the Inter Milan player was awake and had been able to speak to teammates.

"We've been in contact with him, and the players have spoken to Christian," DBU director Peter Moeller told Danmarks Radio (DR).

"That's the great news. He's doing fine, and they are playing the game for him," he added.

The match, which had kicked off at 1800 local time (1600 GMT), resumed two-and-a-half hours later in front of a passionate crowd at the Parken Stadium.

Chants of "Christian" and "Eriksen" from both sets of supporters rang around the stadium as news of his status began to filter through to supporters.

The two teams played out an uneventful final few minutes of the first half after both sets of players returned to the pitch with several Danish players in tears.

After a short break of five minutes the second half of the match continued with a similar pattern as before Eriksen's collapse, with Denmark pressing Finland back but failing to find a way past the opposition defense and Finnish 'keeper Lukas Hradecky.

Pohjanpalo stunned the crowd into silence with when he headed home Jere Uronen's cross, capitalising on Finland's one true chance of the game.

Shorn of the creativity of their shining light Eriksen, the Danes struggled even more to break down the tightly-organised Finns and looked as though they would need some good fortune to get something from the match.

They thought they had got it when Yussuf Poulsen was brought down in the area by Paulus Arajuuri in the 73rd minute, but Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg's weak spot-kick was easily saved by Hradecky.

The Danes piled on the pressure but apart from a few skirmishes in the box failed to cause their opponents much trouble and had to deal with defeat which will likely seem unimportant given what happened earlier in the evening. 

Agence France-Presse

Football: Tottenham hit back to beat Olympiakos in Mourinho's home bow

LONDON - Jose Mourinho's first home game as Tottenham Hotspur manager suffered a shocking start but ended happily as Harry Kane's record-breaking double helped his side come from behind to beat Olympiakos Piraeus 4-2 to reach the Champions League last 16 on Tuesday.

The unexpected arrival of the celebrated Portuguese former Chelsea boss after Mauricio Pochettino, who took Spurs to last season's Champions League final, has caused much head-scratching amongst the Spurs faithful.

A 3-2 Premier League win at West Ham United on Saturday won over some of the sceptics but when goals by Youssef El Arabi and Ruben Sabedo put Olympiakos, bottom of Group B, 2-0 up inside 20 minutes, Spurs fans were stunned into silence.

Mourinho's first decisive act, sending on playmaker Christian Eriksen for defensive midfielder Eric Dier after 29 minutes, changed the flow and Dele Alli's tap-in on the stroke of halftime proved crucial.

Tottenham looked a different side after the break and Kane struck twice, either side of Serge Aurier's thumping effort, to take his Champions League tally to 20 in a record 24 games -- beating the 26 it took Alessandro Del Piero to reach the mark.

Victory meant Tottenham are guaranteed to finish runners-up in the group to Bayern Munich who they face in a fortnight.

Mourinho, who won the competition with Porto and Inter Milan, shook hands with each of his players and applauded the fans who applauded back, if not singing his name.

"It was a disappointing start, we know we didn't come out with any energy," Kane said. "They got the early goal and then got the second and it was uphill from there.

"The goal just before halftime changed the momentum. We knew we couldn't play any worse than we did in the first half."

There was no fanfare for Mourinho as he took his place in the technical area before kickoff.

But the challenge he faces at Tottenham immediately became apparent as they began in the sloppy fashion that has been a hallmark of their season so far.

Olympiakos were far more lively and took the lead in the fifth minute when Danny Rose's attempted clearance was gathered by El Arabi and the Moroccan cut in from the right before fizzing a low drive from 25 metres past Paulo Gazzaniga.

The hosts responded with Son Heung-min's glancing header producing a fine save from Jose Sa.

However, Olympiakos continued to cause trouble in the Spurs defence. The hosts needed a last-ditch tackle by Davinson Sanchez to deny Daniel Podence after he broke clear.

But it got worse for Spurs in the 19th minute when Portuguese centre back Sabedo poked home from a corner.

Mourinho shrugged his shoulders at his assistants and soon hauled off Dier, although there were other candidates, such was the hosts' lacklustre start.

Had Olympiakos, roared on by a huge and noisy following, reached halftime ahead it would have been tough for Spurs, but when Yassine Meriah swung and missed at a clearance Alli had the simplest task to reduce the deficit.

Five minutes after halftime, Tottenham were level. A quick throw-in by Aurier released Lucas Moura and he cut the ball back for Kane to fire home.

Suddenly Spurs were rampant and they went ahead in the 73rd minute when Aurier connected sweetly to thrash home a right-footed volley from an angle.

Kane sealed the points five minutes later when he headed in Eriksen's dangerous delivery -- his 23rd goal in 23 games in all competitions for club and country this season. 

(Reporting by Martyn Herman Editing by Christian Radnedge)

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Spurs and Alli deny Chelsea record win

LONDON, United Kingdom -- In-form midfielder Dele Alli scored two near-identical headers as Tottenham Hotspur beat Chelsea 2-0 on Wednesday to torpedo the Premier League leaders' hopes of a record 14th consecutive victory.

Chelsea were bidding to become the first team to win 14 successive games within the same English top-flight season, but Alli's goals, both set up by Christian Eriksen, brought them down to earth.

"We were competitive against a team in very good form, one of the best in Europe, and we feel very proud and pleased because the performance was very solid," said Spurs manager Mauricio Pochettino.

Antonio Conte's Chelsea must content themselves with having equalled Arsenal's season record of 13 wins in a row from 2001-02 and they remain five points clear of second-place Liverpool.

But the end of their winning streak will give hope to their pursuers, not least Tottenham, who rose above Manchester City and Arsenal to third place in the table, seven points below the leaders.

"It is a pity to stop this run, but Tottenham is a good team, a really strong team and I think is for sure one of the teams that can fight for the title until the end," Conte told Sky Sports.

"My team are top of the table because we are working a lot. This league is very tough and it is important to continue to work."

Alli, 20, has now scored braces in three successive games and his latest double allowed Pochettino's men to register a fifth win in a row -- their best such run in nearly a year.

It also enabled Spurs to claim a measure of revenge, both for their 2-1 defeat at Chelsea in November and the fiery 2-2 draw at Stamford Bridge last May that ended their title challenge.

Pochettino, meanwhile, could celebrate his 150th Premier League game as a manager with a deeply satisfying victory.

"We are in a good position, third in the table," he said. "But it is a long way to finish the season."

- Carbon copy -

Whereas Spurs had gone with four at the back in November's 2-1 loss at the Bridge, here they effectively matched Chelsea's 3-4-3 shape, which made for an attritional first half at White Hart Lane.

Spurs saw most of the ball, their wing-backs Kyle Walker and Danny Rose carrying the fight, but they struggled to pick holes in Chelsea's rearguard and the visitors posed a threat on the break.

In the fifth minute, Nemanja Matic's lofted pass over Spurs' right-sided centre-back Eric Dier found Eden Hazard in ample space, only for the Belgian to shoot narrowly wide with his left foot.

Victor Wanyama and Eriksen sent low efforts wide from range for Spurs and when the hosts finally got in behind, Dier ghosting in to meet Rose's deep free-kick, Thibaut Courtois was on hand to save.

But in first-half injury time, Spurs struck, Eriksen shaping a cross into the box from the right and Alli, hitherto close to anonymous, leaping to plant a glorious header in the top-right corner.

It was the England midfielder's sixth goal in four games and within nine minutes of kick-off in the second half, he would have a seventh.

Urged on by a typically animated Conte, Chelsea flew out of the traps, Diego Costa testing Hugo Lloris with a skidding strike and Hazard nodding Marcos Alonso's header wide from point-blank range.

The celebrations, though, were Tottenham's thanks to a near carbon copy of their first goal, Eriksen swinging a cross to the back post and Alli outleaping Victor Moses and Cesar Azpilicueta to head home.

Conte made three bold changes, sending on Willian, Cesc Fabregas and Michy Batshuayi for Marcos Alonso, N'Golo Kante and Moses, with Pedro Rodriguez moving to a left wing-back role.

But his players, finally, appeared spent and Eriksen came close to adding a third with a dipping free-kick that narrowly eluded the left-hand upright.

source: news.abs-cbn.com