Football: Bayern hand Spurs record defeat as Real Madrid blushes spared

PARIS, France -- Serge Gnabry scored four second-half goals as Bayern Munich came from behind to hand last season's runners-up Tottenham Hotspur a stunning 7-2 home defeat in the Champions League on Tuesday after Real Madrid escaped with a 2-2 draw against Club Brugge.

There were routine wins for Manchester City, Paris Saint-Germain and Atletico Madrid, while Cristiano Ronaldo netted in a comfortable Juventus victory, but most of the drama was in north London.

The evening started well for Spurs as Son Heung-min fired across Manuel Neuer and into the far corner to give Mauricio Pochettino's team the lead against Bayern.

However, the German champions came roaring back to leave Spurs on the receiving end of the biggest ever home defeat for an English team in Europe. It was the first time they had ever conceded seven goals in a home game.

"In football it can happen. Every single touch went in. We are very disappointed and very upset but we have to stay together," a shellshocked Pochettino told BT Sport.

Two super strikes from Joshua Kimmich and Robert Lewandowski had Bayern ahead at the break and Gnabry, the former Arsenal winger, then scored two goals two minutes apart to make it four early in the second half.

Harry Kane reduced the arrears from the penalty spot, but Gnabry ran through to complete his hat-trick on 83 minutes and he smacked in the seventh goal after Lewandowski had netted his second of the evening.

- In Messi's footsteps -

"It's difficult to put this into words, winning 7-2. None of us would have imagined this," Gnabry told SkySport.

"To have scored four goals is also an amazing feeling. I imagine all the Arsenal fans enjoyed that one!"

The last player to score four in a game against English opposition was Lionel Messi for Barcelona against Arsenal in 2010.

The result means last season's beaten finalists already face a struggle to qualify from Group B after they drew at Olympiakos in their opening game.

The Greek club were beaten 3-1 at Red Star Belgrade on Tuesday despite Ruben Semedo giving them the lead as the second-half sending-off of Yassine Benzia for the visitors changed the game.

Milos Vulic equalised for Red Star before late headers by Nemanja Milunovic and Richmond Boakye secured victory for the Serbs, who go to Spurs next.

Meanwhile, City beat Dinamo Zagreb 2-0 at the Etihad Stadium to make it two wins from two in Group C.

Ilkay Gundogan hit the bar for Pep Guardiola's team in the first half before Riyad Mahrez squared for Raheem Sterling to tap in the 66th-minute opener.

Sterling then turned provider for Phil Foden to secure the points in stoppage time.

- Casemiro rescues Real -

In the same group, Israeli forward Manor Solomon netted the winner deep in injury time as Shakhtar Donetsk came from behind to beat Atalanta 2-1 in Milan.

Duvan Zapata gave the Italian side a first-half lead after Josip Ilicic had a penalty saved, but Junior Moraes equalised for the Ukrainian champions prior to the break, before Solomon's late heroics.

In Madrid, record 13-time champions Real were 2-0 down at half-time against Club Brugge, for whom Nigerian forward Emmanuel Dennis scored a first-half brace.

But Zinedine Zidane's team came storming back as Sergio Ramos headed in before Casemiro claimed a dramatic equaliser in the 85th minute, seconds after Ruud Vormer had been sent off for the visitors.

"I would like to keep the second half and forget the first," said Zidane afterwards. "The goals we conceded were laughable."

It is a first point for Real in Group A, which is led by PSG. The French club, again missing the suspended Neymar, beat Galatasaray 1-0 in Istanbul thanks to Mauro Icardi's second-half goal.

- New Ronaldo landmark -

Meanwhile, Gonzalo Higuain set Juventus on their way to a 3-0 win over Bayer Leverkusen in Turin before he set up Federico Bernardeschi to double their lead and Ronaldo completed the scoring late on.

That strike means the 34-year-old Portuguese forward has now scored a Champions League goal against 33 different opponents, equalling a record set by Raul.

Maurizio Sarri's team share first place in Group D with Atletico, who ran out 2-0 winners at Lokomotiv Moscow thanks to second-half goals by Joao Felix and Thomas Partey.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Football: Bayern demolish Dortmund to reclaim Bundesliga top spot

MUNICH, Germany - Champions Bayern Munich dismantled Bundesliga title rivals Borussia Dortmund 5-0 on Saturday, scoring four goals in a flawless first half to reclaim top spot and get back on course for a record-extending seventh straight league crown.

The Bavarians exploded into action and scored twice in the opening 17 minutes through Mats Hummels and Robert Lewandowski, adding two more from Javi Martinez and Serge Gnabry before the interval.

Lewandowski's strike meant the Polish forward became only the fifth player in Bundesliga history to reach the 200-goal mark and the first foreigner to do so.

The hosts, who drew 1-1 at Freiburg last week, stepped off the gas after the break and controlled the game before Lewandowski scored again in the 89th minute and Bayern moved up to 64 points with six matches remaining, one point clear of Dortmund.

"We put them instantly under pressure. We wanted to attack them early and we overran them," Bayern coach Niko Kovac said. "It was exactly what we had set out to do. We may have had some slip-ups this season but that happens.

"There were many critics of this team and that is why I am really happy for my players today."

The first chance, however, fell to Dortmund with Mo Dahoud hitting the post after a lightning quick break.

But that was the last Dortmund attack for a long time, with a glancing header by Hummels putting the host ahead in the 10th minute and highlighting their aerial superiority.

In total Bayern had 22 shots on goal compared to Dortmund's four and things got worse when Dan-Axel Zagadou's backpass fell to Lewandowski in the 17th and the Bundesliga's leading scorer chipped it over keeper Roman Buerki and volleyed in.

Poland's Lewandowski, who has scored 21 in the league this season, was the first player to break the 200-goal milestone since 1987.

Buerki had to rescue his team again when Hummels and Lewandowski beat the Dortmund defenders in the air.

The keeper denied Thomas Mueller from close range in the 41st minute but could do nothing to stop Martinez's rebound that put the hosts 3-0 up.

Gnabry added another to kill off any hopes of a comeback by Dortmund, who badly missed their injured top scorer Paco Alcacer.

Lewandowski notched his 21st goal of the season and 201st in the Bundesliga to put the cherry on top of a big win for Bayern which made them title favourites once more.

"This was clearly a lesson for us today," said Dortmund coach Lucien Favre. "We have to accept it. They were faster, more aggressive, more skilled. We now must focus on the next game." 

(Reporting by Karolos Grohmann, editing by Ed Osmond)

source: news.abs-cbn.com