Football: Haaland hits five to ease Man City into Champions League quarters

MANCHESTER -- Erling Haaland equaled a Champions League record with a five-goal haul to ease Manchester City into the quarter-finals at RB Leipzig's expense with a 7-0 win on Tuesday. 

Haaland also set a new club record for goals in a season of 39 in the process as Pep Guardiola's men reached the last eight for the sixth consecutive season with an 8-1 aggregate victory.

"My super strength is scoring goals," said Haaland. "A lot of it is being quick in the mind and trying to put it where the goalkeeper is not."

Abu Dhabi-owned City are yet to go all the way in the Champions League, but they have never had a striker of Haaland's quality to make the difference in the latter stages before.

At just 22 he now has 33 goals in 25 appearances in Europe's premier club competition.

"Firstly, I'm proud to play in this competition, I love it," added Haaland. "Five goals! To win 7-0 is amazing."

The snowy weather was more akin to Haaland's homeland, but City did not freeze under the pressure and kept their Champions League dreams alive.

The tie was delicately balanced after a 1-1 draw in eastern Germany three weeks ago, but a Leipzig side depleted by injury never looked like a match for their star-studded opponents.

"That was an incredible performance," said Leipzig coach Marco Rose.

"They didn't allow us to control the game at all, at no stage of the game. The bottom line is disappointing for us but they really deserved it."

Guardiola had kept Kevin De Bruyne in reserve for City's 1-0 win at Crystal Palace in the Premier League at the weekend and on his return to the starting line-up, the Belgian was back to his best.

Ilkay Gundogan should have opened the scoring after just three minutes from De Bruyne's inviting cross.

There was some fortune surrounding City's opener as VAR spotted a handball against Benjamin Henrichs that led to a penalty that neither the City players nor the crowd even noticed.

- Denied record chance -

Haaland fired low to Janis Blaswich's left to maintain his perfect record from the spot for City with his sixth penalty of the season.

Two minutes later it was 2-0 as Haaland teed up De Bruyne, who smashed a shot against the bar, and then showed his speed and strength to power home a header from the rebound.

Haaland had three before half-time as Ruben Dias rose highest to head Jack Grealish's corner onto the post and Amadou Haidara's attempted clearance ricocheted off City's number nine into the net.

Gundogan's classy finish into the far corner four minutes into the second half rubbed more salt into Leipzig's wounds before Haaland started rewriting the record books.

Firstly, he hammered home at the second attempt after Blaswich parried his initial header to match Tommy Johnson's record of 38 goals for City in the 1928-29 season.

Haaland set a new mark with still three months of the campaign to go when he snaffled up another rebound after Blaswich saved from Manuel Akanji.

In the process, he moved level with Lionel Messi and Luiz Adriano's record of scoring five goals in a Champions League game.

But Guardiola denied his star striker the chance of another record as he replaced him with Julian Alvarez with 25 minutes remaining.

"If he achieves all these milestones at 22 his life would be boring," joked Guardiola on making the change.

Instead, it was left to De Bruyne to have the final say as he curled a superb strike into the top corner in stoppage time.

Agence France-Presse

Football: Haaland haunts Dortmund as Man City win but Chelsea held on Potter debut

PARIS, France -- Erling Haaland scored an acrobatic late winner against his old club as Manchester City beat Borussia Dortmund 2-1 in the Champions League on Wednesday, while there were hard-earned victories for Real Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain.

Meanwhile Chelsea were held by Red Bull Salzburg in their first match under new head coach Graham Potter, as Rangers lost heavily again and Celtic drew with Shakhtar Donetsk.

In Manchester, Haaland took on the club he left in the close season for 60 million euros ($60m, £52m) after two and a half prolific years in the Bundesliga.

Yet it looked like Dortmund might spring a surprise as they went ahead just before the hour mark at the Etihad Stadium when England midfielder Jude Bellingham headed in.

City's equalizer did not come until Kevin De Bruyne set up John Stones to smash in with 10 minutes left, and Haaland got the winner in the 84th minute with an outrageous finish from Joao Cancelo's magnificent cross.

Haaland now has 13 goals in nine games for City, who have two wins from two in Group G.

"In the end we showed what we are," Haaland told BT Sport. "Dortmund were really good today (but) three points is what matters."

City's next two games will be against FC Copenhagen, who drew 0-0 with Sevilla in Denmark.

In London, Potter took charge of Chelsea for the first time but had to settle for a 1-1 draw against Salzburg in Group E, with Raheem Sterling's opener early in the second half being cancelled out by Noah Okafor.

"It has not been easy for the boys, they have responded to us really well over the last few days and it's a point we will have to take and get better," Potter told BT Sport.

Earlier, group rivals AC Milan beat Dinamo Zagreb 3-1 at San Siro, with Olivier Giroud scoring a penalty before Alexis Saelemaekers and Tommaso Pobega added further goals either side of a Mislav Orsic strike for Dinamo.

- Late goals for Madrid -

Reigning European champions Madrid needed two late goals to beat RB Leipzig 2-0 at the Santiago Bernabeu and maintain their perfect start in Group F.

Federico Valverde opened the scoring 10 minutes from time after being set up by Vinicius Junior, and substitute Marco Asensio sealed the victory with a tremendous first-time finish in injury time.

Carlo Ancelotti's side are clear at the top of the section from Shakhtar, who rode their luck to claim a 1-1 draw with Celtic.

The Scottish champions went ahead early on when Reo Hatate's ball into the six-yard box went into the net off Artem Bondarenko.

But Shakhtar, playing European home games in Warsaw due to the war in Ukraine, equalized before the half-hour mark via an emphatic finish by Mykhailo Mudryk.

Celtic had chances to win the game, none better than a late strike by Giorgos Giakoumakis that flashed agonizingly wide.

"We'll get our rewards if we keep playing that kind of football and showing that kind of commitment," said Celtic manager Ange Postecoglou.

At least they have a point, in stark contrast to rivals Rangers who lost 3-0 at home to Napoli in Group A.

- PSG come from behind -

In a dramatic second half, Rangers had American defender James Sands sent off for conceding a penalty which Piotr Zielinski had saved, only for Matteo Politano to score the rebound.

However, the referee ordered a retake, and Allan McGregor saved from Zielinski again.

Yet Napoli won another penalty midway through the second half, and this time Politano scored from the spot, before Giacomo Raspadori and Tanguy Ndombele added further goals.

The game had been postponed by 24 hours due to policing issues related to the death of Queen Elizabeth II, and Rangers ignored a decision by UEFA to reject their request to play the British national anthem before kick-off.

Paris Saint-Germain came from behind to beat Maccabi Haifa 3-1 in Israel as their superstar front three all scored.

Suriname international Tjaronn Chery put the home side ahead only for Lionel Messi to equalize before the break.

Messi then set up Kylian Mbappe to make it 2-1 midway through the second half, and Neymar sealed a second win in as many Group H games for PSG.

Juventus suffered a second straight defeat, though, as they lost 2-1 at home to Benfica.

Arkadiusz Milik's opener for Juve was cancelled out by Joao Mario's penalty, before David Neres struck Benfica's winner.

Agence France-Presse

Football: Bayern beat Barcelona on Lewandowski return, Liverpool grab late winner

PARIS, France -- Bayern Munich got the better of Barcelona as Robert Lewandowski returned to face his former club on Tuesday, while a late Joel Matip goal allowed Liverpool to beat Ajax and get their Champions League campaign up and running.

There was also a surprise defeat for Tottenham Hotspur at Sporting Lisbon, and Atletico Madrid were beaten on their trip to play Bayer Leverkusen.

Both Spanish visitors to Germany came away on the losing side, with Barcelona going down 2-0 at the Allianz Arena in Group C as Lewandowski came back to the club he left in the summer after eight prolific seasons in Bavaria.

The Pole scored a hat-trick on his Champions League debut for Barca as the Catalans beat Viktoria Plzen 5-1 last week.

He was desperately close to opening the scoring in the first half in Munich, but it was Bayern who went in front five minutes into the second half when Lucas Hernandez headed in from a corner.

Leroy Sane burst through four minutes later to make it 2-0 as Julian Nagelsmann's Bayern made it two wins out of two in the group.

They have now won their last five meetings with Barcelona, including two in last season's group stage and their 8-2 victory in the 2020 quarter-finals.

"I think for 'Lewy' it was really an emotional game to come back -- a little bit like coming home, because he was so successful here," Bayern captain Manuel Neuer told Amazon Prime of his old teammate. 

"The luck in the decisive moments wasn't on his side -- and that became our luck."

Barcelona next face Inter Milan, who got their first points with a 2-0 win away to Plzen in the Czech Republic.

Edin Dzeko and Denzel Dumfries got the goals for Inter while the home side had Pavel Bucha sent off in the second half.

- Matip the hero -

Liverpool got off to a disastrous start in Group A when they lost 4-1 to Napoli in Italy, but they bounced back from that to beat Ajax 2-1 at Anfield.

Mohamed Salah shook off a poor run of form to put Jurgen Klopp's side ahead in the 17th minute, only for the Dutch champions to equalize before the half-hour courtesy of an emphatic finish from their thrilling Ghanaian talent Mohammed Kudus.

Liverpool were heading for a third game without a win in all competitions until Matip rose in front of the Kop to head in from a corner in the 89th minute, the ball crossing the line before it could be cleared out.

"I think everybody could see that we understood and that we had to put a completely different shift into the game. The boys did that," Klopp told BT Sport.

"We played a lot of good stuff against a hard fighting opposition."

That match was preceded by a minute's silence to mark the death of Queen Elizabeth II.

The other game in Group A, between Rangers and Napoli, was postponed until Wednesday due to severe limitations on police resources in Scotland as a result of the Queen's death.

- Spurs shocked -

Meanwhile Antonio Conte's Spurs slumped to a 2-0 defeat against Sporting in Portugal in Group D, with the home side scoring both goals late on at the Jose Alvalade stadium.

It looked like the English side would escape with a point after Hugo Lloris produced a stunning late save to deny Pedro Porro.

But Paulinho headed in from the resulting 90th-minute corner, and Brazilian Arthur Gomes came off the bench to make it 2-0 with a superb solo strike in injury time.

"It was a difficult result. When you lose the game you are not happy," admitted Conte.

Sporting top the group with six points, while Eintracht Frankfurt joined Spurs on three points thanks to a 1-0 win in Marseille, with Jesper Lindstrom scoring in the first half.

Leverkusen claimed their first points in Group B as they beat Atletico 2-0 with two late goals, Robert Andrich and Moussa Diaby both finding the net.

Belgian champions Club Brugge top the section with six points after a stunning 4-0 win at FC Porto.

Former Barcelona striker Ferran Jutgla opened the scoring with a penalty before Kamal Sowah, Andreas Skov Olsen and Norwegian teenager Antonio Nusa all netted in the second half.

Agence France-Presse

Football: Havertz and Pulisic earn Chelsea 2-0 win over Lille

LONDON - Goals in each half from Kai Havertz and Christian Pulisic earned defending champions Chelsea a solid 2-0 first-leg victory over Lille in the Champions League last 16 on Tuesday, but the London side will be concerned about injuries to key players.

Germany forward Havertz, who had already had two attempts on goal early in the game, headed down a Hakim Ziyech corner in the eighth minute and the ball bounced high off the turf into the net.

Chelsea left struggling striker Romelu Lukaku on the bench and it was American Pulisic who hit the second in the 63rd minute with a curling finish after N'Golo Kante's surging run and pinpoint pass.

The action was at times frenetic as Ligue 1 champions Lille sought to take something from the game into the second leg at home on March 16.

"They played good football and the first half was very difficult for us. Now it is halftime and the next game we have to win as well," Havertz told BT Sport.

The French side, who topped their qualifying group ahead of Salzburg, VfL Wolfsburg and Sevilla, kept Chelsea busy going forward with buzzing runs from Renato Sanches, Benjamin Andre and Jonathan Bamba.

But efforts from all three and from Canadian striker Jonathan David were either blocked, usually by defensive rock Thiago Silva, or collected easily by Edouard Mendy in the Chelsea goal.

Chelsea, who face Liverpool in the League Cup final on Sunday, may be satisfied with their two-goal lead in the tie but they will be concerned for the fitness of pivotal midfielder Mateo Kovacic and of in-form Ziyech who both limped off early in the second half.

Thomas Tuchel's side are on an exhausting run of games with matches this month played or scheduled in five competitions.

They won the Club World Cup in Abu Dhabi 10 days ago and injured trio Ben Chilwell, Reece James and Callum Hudson-Odoi paraded the trophy round Stamford Bridge before kickoff.

They also won games in the FA Cup and Premier League before Tuesday's game and Sunday's final at Wembley.

"We did not play our best football," Havertz said. "We could not get the aggressiveness of the last few weeks but we won 2-0 and that is the most important thing. Sunday is another competition and we have to focus on that now."

(Reporting by Clare LovellEditing by Christian Radnedge)

-reuters-

Football: Real Madrid's Vinicius at the double to rattle Liverpool

MADRID - Real Madrid forward Vinicius Jr. came of age to score twice as his side punished a sloppy Liverpool to win 3-1 at home in Tuesday's Champions League quarter-final first leg.

The 20-year-old Brazilian fired the 13-times European champions into the lead in the 27th minute at the Alfredo di Stefano stadium after controlling a long diagonal pass from Toni Kroos from his own half which flummoxed the Liverpool defense.

Marco Asensio put the hosts further at ease by scoring in the 35th after a Kroos pass again caused havoc among the visiting backline but Liverpool looked more settled after the interval and a scrappy Mohamed Salah strike pulled them back into contention early in the second half.

But they failed to build on their momentum and Vinicius, who has a reputation for thrilling play but a lack of composure in front of goal, struck again in the 63rd minute, blasting past Liverpool keeper Alisson after clever combination play between Karim Benzema and Luka Modric.

Asensio missed a clear chance to grab Madrid's fourth goal, while Liverpool threatened late on.

Yet the visitors were unable to find a second away goal to take back with them to Anfield next Wednesday and the game ended with the same scoreline as in the 2018 Champions League final.

Vinicius, who kissed the Real badge after scoring his first goal was pleased to finally deliver on the biggest stage of all and silence the doubters who claimed he lacked the bottle to succeed at Real.

"The people on the outside can keep talking but I kept on working, that gave me the strength to rise to an important occasion and get the goals we needed," he told reporters.

Real coach Zinedine Zidane added: "That felt great, we played superbly but then had problems in the second half but recovered and produced a great performance, I'm so proud of the players. But there's still the second leg to come."

Real were dealt a huge setback on the morning of the game with news that Raphael Varane had tested positive for COVID-19, leaving Zidane's side without their two top centre backs as captain Sergio Ramos watched on injured.

But it was the heart of Liverpool's defence, depleted for the majority of the season and composed in Madrid of the inexperienced Nathaniel Phillips and Ozan Kabak, that suffered the most pain.

Kroos's incisive ball from deep caught out Phillips as Vinicius controlled it with his shoulder before confidently slotting past Alisson.

Liverpool were soon caught out again by a Kroos pass, a panicked Trent Alexander-Arnold heading the ball to the feet of Asensio, who chipped Alisson then followed his shot into the net.

'NOT SHARP ENOUGH'

"Two moments of not concentrating enough and they scored. We weren't sharp enough," said midfielder Georginio Wijnaldum.

"We hoped for a better result."

Visiting coach Juergen Klopp brought on Spain midfielder Thiago Alcantara for Naby Keita before halftime and his side looked more settled after the interval, with Salah deservedly pulling them back into contention.

But they again made things too easy for Madrid, who live for Champions League knockout matches and looked as at ease here at their tiny empty training ground as they do on these occasions at a bursting Santiago Bernabeu, currently under reconstruction.

"If you want to go to the semi-final, you have to earn the right to do so. We didn't do that tonight, especially in the first half," said Klopp.

"The only good thing I can say, apart from the goal, is it's only the first half of the tie."

Liverpool will take solace from the fact they managed to overturn a 3-0 deficit against Barcelona in the semi-finals in 2019 but in the second leg they will be unable to count on the scorching atmosphere at Anfield, where they have lost their last six league games. 

(Reporting by Richard Martin Editing by Toby Davis)

-reuters-

Football: PSG bury Barcelona demons to reach last eight

PARIS - Paris St Germain buried the ghosts of their embarrassing 2017 exit as they drew 1-1 at home with Barcelona on Wednesday to complete a 5-2 aggregate victory that sent them into the Champions League quarter-finals.

Four years after Barca claimed a memorable 6-1 win to overturn a 4-0 first-leg deficit in the last 16, PSG lacked inspiration but their 4-1 advantage from the first game in Spain was sufficient this time.

Kylian Mbappe, who scored a hat-trick at the Nou Camp, opened the scoring with a penalty against the run of play before Lionel Messi levelled with a superb long-range goal, but the Argentine had a spot-kick saved by Keylor Navas on the stroke of halftime.

The French champions were on the back foot in the second half as Barca piled on the pressure but Barca exited the competition before the semi-finals for the second year in a row.

Barca's exit ensured it will be the first time since 2005 that neither Messi nor Cristiano Ronaldo will be in the Champions League quarter-finals after Juventus were also knocked out in the last 16, on Tuesday.

"We suffered a lot in the first half, and psychologically it was a test for us. I gathered that the past was something that was talked about a lot here," PSG coach Mauricio Pochettino said.

"We were better in the second half, we were more competitive."

Barca coach Ronald Koeman tried to remain upbeat.

"We are departing this Champions League in a very different manner from the way we did last season. In this game, we hit our level and that's the road we have to follow," said Koeman, referring to the team's 8-2 aggregate defeat in the quarter-finals by Bayern Munich last year.

PSG, without injured forward Neymar, looked nothing like the team who reached last year's final or hammered Barcelona three weeks ago, but they did keep their composure at the back.

Barcelona stamped their authority early on, finding space for Ousmane Dembele, but the Frenchman was twice denied by Navas and he skied an effort over the crossbar in the opening 20 minutes.

Sergino Dest went close for Barca with a powerful angled shot that Navas deflected on to his left-hand post and Dembele broke down the left flank but his cross just evaded a sliding Messi.

It was PSG, however, who went ahead on 31 minutes as Mbappe converted a penalty awarded following a VAR review after Clement Lenglet appeared to step onto Mauro Icardi's heel.

Six minutes later, Messi unleashed a 25-metre missile that flew into the top corner to equalise in style with his 120th goal in the Champions League.

The Argentine had a chance to put the visitors in front just before the break when Barca won a penalty following a Layvin Kurzawa foul on Antoine Griezmann, but Navas deflected the Argentine's spot-kick onto the bar and away.

Barca were still all over PSG in the second half and it took a desperate tackle by Marquinhos to prevent Messi scoring from point blank range before Navas cleared a Sergio Busquets header.

Barcelona gradually ran out of steam, however, and must now turn to their bid to win the La Liga title, where they trail leaders Atletico Madrid by six points.

(Reporting by Julien Pretot; Editing by Ed Osmond)

-reuters-

Football: Ronaldo scores twice as Juve crush Messi's troubled Barcelona

BARCELONA, Spain -- Cristiano Ronaldo struck twice from the penalty spot to win his battle with rival Lionel Messi and guide Juventus to a 3-0 win over Barcelona on Tuesday, earning the Italians top spot in Champions League Group G.

The former Real Madrid striker and his Argentina counterpart traded Ballon d'Or wins for a decade between 2008-2017 and were figureheads for the duelling Spanish giants, but there was only one winner at the Camp Nou as they met for the first time since Ronaldo's departure for Juve in 2018.

Andrea Pirlo's Juventus lost 2-0 at home against Barcelona in October without Ronaldo, sidelined with Covid-19, but were greatly improved and earned the first Champions League away win against Barcelona since Bayern Munich triumphed in 2013.

Both sides, tied on 15 points, were assured of qualification before kick-off, but Juve's three-goal victory handed them a superior head-to-head record.

"When you have this desire to sacrifice yourself and an infallible sniper, like Ronaldo, you are sure you can win these matches," Bonucci told Sky Sport Italia.

"As we showed in the derby (win over Torino), if we play with this desire, we bring home the results we want. The next step is to do this in all our games."

Ronald Koeman, reeling from Barcelona's 2-1 defeat by promoted minnows Cadiz on Saturday in La Liga, reacted by making four changes but the hosts started badly.

It only took 13 minutes for Ronaldo to break the deadlock, slotting home from the penalty spot after the referee deemed Ronald Araujo's challenge on him a foul.

Juventus did not relent and their pressure led to a second goal, US midfielder Weston McKennie volleying home Juan Cuadrado's sweetly clipped cross in the 20th minute.

The Catalans and their captain Messi finally woke from their slumber, as the attacker had one effort blocked by Matthijs de Ligt and another saved by veteran goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon, while Pjanic lashed over the bar.

Ronaldo notched his second from the penalty spot in the 52nd minute after Clement Lenglet handled clumsily in the area, as the hosts imploded.

Antoine Griezmann, who was invisible in the first half, grazed the crossbar with a looping header from a Messi free kick, and Buffon beat out another effort, with De Ligt's pressure enough to stop Martin Braithwaite converting the rebound.

Leonardo Bonucci had a fourth goal ruled out for offside after he tapped in Ronaldo's effort from close range, with Messi trying in vain at the other end to answer Ronaldo, but he found the 42-year-old Buffon in his way time and time again.

Griezmann was critical of his own side after they fell to their first home Champions League group stage defeat since 2009.

"We were not good enough, they over-ran us in the first half, we lacked everything," he told Movistar. 

"A lack of attitude, desire, wanting to run, defending, attacking, everything was bad."

Barcelona goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen was also unhappy.

"There are two things, one thing is individual mistakes, and the other is how the team defends, these are different things," he said.

"Right now teams can score against us in any given moment. This is very tough, we need to come out of this, and work very hard."

Agence France-Presse

PARIS, France -- Curtis Jones sent a depleted Liverpool through to the Champions League last 16 on Tuesday, while Zinedine Zidane dismissed suggestions he might walk away from Real Madrid after another defeat by Shakhtar Donetsk left their European hopes in the balance.

Liverpool were without a host of key players for the visit of Ajax to Anfield in Group D, with 22-year-old Irishman Caoimhin Kelleher starting in goal in the absence of Alisson.

Teenager Jones scored the only goal just before the hour, tucking the ball in after Ajax 'keeper Andre Onana thought he could afford to let a Neco Williams cross sail over his head.

The result was vital for the Premier League champions after their home loss to Atalanta a week ago, and it allowed them to secure a spot in the knockout phase.

"Honestly since I was at Liverpool that feels like one of the biggest Champions League nights. Without supporters in, it was the most important, most difficult, most exceptional," Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp told BT Sport.

They will go through as group winners after Atalanta had to come from behind to draw 1-1 at home to Midtjylland, Cristian Romero heading in a late equaliser in response to Alexander Scholz's thumping opener for the Danes.

Atalanta are a point clear in second from Ajax, with the sides meeting in Amsterdam in their last game next week.

Two-time former European champions Porto also sealed a last-16 spot after drawing 0-0 at home to Manchester City, who were already through and are now guaranteed to top Group C.

Porto would have qualified regardless, because Olympiakos lost 2-1 to Marseille in France, with Dimitri Payet scoring two penalties in the second half to turn the game around after Mohamed Mady Camara fired the Greeks in front.

The result ends Marseille's Champions League record run of 13 straight defeats and means they could yet pip Olympiakos to third place and the consolation of a Europa League berth.

- Lukaku double, Atletico held -

Real Madrid could yet be consigned to a similar fate after they went down 2-0 to Shakhtar in Kiev, their second defeat this season by the Ukrainians.

Substitutes Dentinho and Manor Solomon scored second-half goals in Kiev as Shakhtar stunned the 13-time European champions again, having won 3-2 in Madrid in October.

Shakhtar had lost their last two Group B matches against Borussia Moenchengladbach by an aggregate score of 10-0, but now move above Real into second place with one game remaining.

Gladbach are top by a point, while Shakhtar have the upper hand on Real thanks to their superior head-to-head record.

However, the damage was limited for Real after Inter Milan won 3-2 away to Gladbach to keep their own hopes alive.

Matteo Darmian put Inter ahead and Romelu Lukaku scored twice for Antonio Conte's side. Alassane Plea netted a brace for Gladbach but was denied a hat-trick, and a late equaliser, because of an offside call.

It means Inter are bottom of the group but could still qualify, while Real will definitely qualify as long as they win at home to Gladbach.

Madrid have made it out of their group in every year since 1997 and so failure to qualify would be seen as a disaster, but Zidane is not considering stepping down.

"I am not going to resign, not at all. We are always going to have difficult moments, and we are on a bad run, but we need to keep going," said the Frenchman.

Real's city rivals Atletico Madrid will also still have it all to do in their final group game after being held to a 1-1 draw at home by a weakened Bayern Munich.

Joao Felix gave Atletico the lead against a Bayern side who had already won Group A. Thomas Mueller won and then converted a late penalty to earn the defending champions a draw.

Salzburg can snatch a last-16 place if they beat Atletico at home next week, after the Austrians won 3-1 away to Lokomotiv Moscow.

Mergim Berisha scored twice in the first half for Salzburg, and Karim Adeyemi got their third goal after Anton Miranchuk converted a penalty for the railway-backed side.

Agence France-Presse

Wolfsburg shock Real Madrid 2-0 to crown big European night

WOLFSBURG, Germany - Real Madrid's hopes of an 11th European title were left hanging by a thread as they slumped to a shock 2-0 loss at Germany's Champions League novices VfL Wolfsburg in their quarter-final first leg on Wednesday.

The Germans were celebrating a memorable last-eight debut after Ricardo Rodriguez's penalty in the 18th minute and Maximilian Arnold's strike in the 25th stunned the visitors only four days after their 'Clasico' win in Spain over Barcelona.

Despite making just one change to the lineup that started against Barca, Real coach Zinedine Zidane's team will now go into the return leg in Madrid next Tuesday with a clear disadvantage.

The Germans, last season's Bundesliga runners-up who had scored only one goal in their last three matches, were more aggressive than the Spaniards and used their chances extremely well.

"You have to bring that energy if you want to win," said Wolfsburg coach Dieter Hecking. "I was laughed at when I said yesterday that we may have a chance. Real had their opportunities early on and we were a bit lucky.

"We pulled together, we found the spaces and played very well. Now we will go to Madrid, knowing that we have a chance to advance."

The Spaniards, who saw Karim Benzema limp off with a foot injury in the 40th minute, enjoyed a strong start but never recovered from the quick two-goal punch and were lucky not to have conceded a third in the second half.

"I am very disappointed. We had imagined it completely differently," said Real midfielder Toni Kroos. ""We started well, had a big chance early on. We did not underestimate them but struggled after those two goals. We had too little movement."

The Spaniards needed only 90 seconds to put the ball in the net but Cristiano Ronaldo's effort was ruled offside.

They kept up the pressure and Frenchman Benzema came close minutes later when his shot was blocked by Wolfsburg's Diego Benaglio.

But it was the hosts who struck first after being awarded a penalty when Andre Schuerrle went down in the box in a challenge with Casemiro.

Swiss international Rodriguez sent Keylor Navas the wrong way before Wolfsburg struck again seven minutes later with Arnold sliding in to complete a superb passing move that left the Real backline dazed.

Things got even worse for the Spanish side as Benzema was taken off minutes before the break and Real struggled to develop any traction in their attacking game in the second half.

"I think it was the first half the caused us problems," said Real coach Zinedine Zidane. "We were not concentrated enough. We did it better in the second half but we did not score."

Champions League top scorer Ronaldo was rarely left without two players marking him and he was also denied by Benaglio in their one-on-one in the 70th as Real grew more desperate, pouring forward in search of a goal.

Wolfsburg kept threatening to extend their lead and although Schuerrle twice failed to score despite racing clear, it did not prevent the Germans from condemning Real to their first defeat this season in the competition.

(Reporting by Karolos Grohmann, editing by Pritha Sarkar)

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Holders Barca begin defense at Roma

PARIS, France -- Champions Barcelona begin their bid to become the first side since AC Milan in 1990 to retain Europe's premier club trophy away to Roma while faltering Chelsea host Israelis Maccabi Tel Aviv on the second day of the opening round of Champions League matches.

AFP Sport runs the rule over the eight matches from groups E, F, G and H to be played on Wednesday:



Group E

Bayer Leverkusen (GER) v BATE Borisov (BLR)
Bayer Leverkusen and BATE Borisov meet for the first time in their opening Champions League Group E fixture at the BayArena. Leverkusen, who reached the round of 16 last season, advanced to the group stage following a 3-1 aggregate play-off win over Lazio. Difficult to break down on their home ground, Roger Schmidt's side have won five of their last six home fixtures in Europe, and conceded just two goals in their last 12 homes matches. BATE advanced through three qualifying rounds to reach the group stage. It is their fifth group stage appearance but they have never gotten past this round, conceding 24 goals in last year's campaign. BATE's veteran midfielder Aleksandr Hleb knows the German side well however having played them 11 times with German clubs Stuttgart and Wolfsburg.



Roma (ITA) v Barcelona (ESP)

Lionel Messi-powered Barcelona open their title defence in Rome's Stadio Olimpico as they bid to become the first team since AC Milan in 1989 and 1990 to win back-to-back titles. The Spaniards arrive at the former club of coach Luis Enrique buoyed by a hard-fought 2-1 victory at Atletico Madrid in which Messi came off the bench to score the winner to keep their perfect start to the La Liga season at the weekend. No team has ever retained the European Cup in the UEFA Champions League era but Enrique will be looking to get off to a strong start at the club he managed in the 2011-2012 season. Roma warmed up for the tie with a 2-0 win away to Serie A new boys Frosinone at the weekend. The Italians will be looking to put behind them last season's 7-1 home whipping by Bayern Munich at home on their return to the competition after three years.



Group F

Dinamo Zagreb (CRO) v Arsenal (ENG)

Dinamo are on a 15-game winless run in the Champions League, failing to make it out of the group stage in four attempts. The Croatian champions came up against Arsenal in the third qualifying round in 2006/2007, losing 5-1 on aggregate to the Premier League giants. Dinamo have found goals hard to come by, mustering only four in their last dozen group outings. Wenger says his side, sitting fourth in the league, need to find the right balance between "urgency and confidence" in Zagreb. Theo Walcott, who scored against Stoke at the weekend, is set to once again be deployed as a central striker rather than in his more usual role as a winger.



Olympiakos (GRE) v Bayern Munich (GER)

Olympiakos, under recently appointed coach Marco Silva, are making their fifth successive appearance in the competition, and have proved tough to dismantle at their Piraeus HQ. The Greeks are on an 11-match unbeaten run in all competitions. Bayern, five-time European champions, welcome back Mario Goetze, the Germany international who is fit after missing Saturday's 2-1 come-from-behind Bundesliga win over Augsburg. But longterm sickbay residents Franck Ribery and Arjen Robben are absent. Coach Pep Guardiola has told his players they must raise their game from their weekend performance to avoid slipping up in Greece. The two sides' only previous encounter dates back to 1980/81 in the European Champion Clubs' Cup with Bayern coming out on top.



Group G

Dynamo Kiev (UKR) v Porto (POR)
Returning to the Champions League after missing out for the last two years, Dynamo Kiev aim to defeat a Porto side who are unbeaten in their six visits to Ukraine. Ukrainian double winners Dynamo are competing in the group stage for the 15th time, but manager Seri Rebrov is in charge of a team in the tournament for the first time. Porto, whose manager Julen Lopetegui serves a touchline ban, are looking to improve on last season's run to the quarter-finals where they were defeated by Bayern Munich.



Chelsea (ENG) v Maccabi Tel Aviv (ISR)

With their defence of the Premier League title already in turmoil after three defeats in their first five matches, Chelsea kick off their European campaign hoping for a morale-boosting victory over a Maccabi Tel-Aviv team returning to the competition after a 10-year absence. Condemned to a disappointing Champions League last 16 exit by Paris Saint Germain last season, the west Londoners, reeling after Saturday's 3-1 loss at Everton, will be facing Maccabi for the first time in a competitive fixture, although there are a couple of familiar faces at the Israeli club. Maccabi manager Slavisa Jokanovic, who led Watford to promotion to the Premier League last season, is a former Chelsea midfielder, while defender Tal Ben Haim spent the 2007-08 season at Stamford Bridge.



Group H

Valencia (ESP) v Zenit St Petersburg (RUS)

The omens are not good for Zenit in a match that sees two Portuguese former colleagues lead their sides into battle. Valencia's Nuno and Andre Villas-Boas of Zenit worked together under Jose Mourinho in their Porto days when the former was a reserve goalkeeper and the latter a coach. Nuno leads Valencia back into the Champions League after a two-year absence against a side that have lost every time they've played in Spain. Valencia also have four wins and a draw form their home matches against Russian outfits.



Ghent (BEL) v Lyon (FRA)

Hein Vanhaezebrouck's Ghent are perhaps unique in the Champions League as they would have preferred a tougher group. Denied the chance to take on a Barcelona, Bayern Munich or Manchester United, their debut in the competition sees them tackle it with limited ambitions. Managing director Michel Louwagiue says they simply want to get as many points as possible in the group stages to earn as much money as possible. Lyon, semi-finalists in 2010, will be expecting to take three points to boost their chances of a place in the knock-out rounds, although they are missing injured forward Nabil Fekir.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Barca cap great season with fifth European Cup win

BERLIN - Barcelona were crowned kings of Europe for the fifth time after beating Juventus 3-1 in a pulsating Champions League final at the Olympic Stadium on Saturday, capping their magnificent season with a title treble.

The Spaniards lived up to their tag as favourites and added the European Cup to their La Liga and King's Cup triumphs as coach Luis Enrique celebrated his first season in memorable fashion.

Goals from Croatian Ivan Rakitic in the fourth minute, Uruguayan Luis Suarez in the 68th and Brazilian Neymar with the last kick of the game sealed Barca's second treble, matching their 2009 feat.

"It's incredible, a dream, something unique," Suarez told reporters. "To win these competitions you have to suffer, if not it's not worth it, and today we had to suffer to win the match."

Barca's South American trio of Suarez, Neymar and Lionel Messi, known collectively as 'MSN', showed spectacular form all season and Saturday's goals took their tally to an amazing 122 in all competitions as the game proved the perfect antidote for the corruption scandal engulfing soccer's governing body FIFA.

Juve, however, became the first team in the history of the competition to get beaten in six finals and the Italian giants have now lost their last four.

"I would like to thank the team for the wonderful season they have had," said Juve coach Massimiliano Allegri who landed the domestic double in his first season in charge.

"We played a great game tonight...unfortunately when you play against great players you think you have things under control but then they get you."

SUBLIME GOAL

Barca shrugged off a nervous start by scoring a sublime fourth-minute goal.

All 10 outfield players touched the ball in a 16-pass move that ended when Neymar fed Andres Iniesta and he picked out Rakitic to slot the fourth fastest goal in a European Cup final.

Juve keeper Gianluigi Buffon, who won the World Cup with Italy at the Olympic Stadium in 2006 but is still waiting to capture his first European Cup crown, denied Barca a second goal in the 13th minute with a superb one-handed save keeping out a Dani Alves shot.

Alvaro Morata twice went close for the Italians but Barca's pressure in the first half was relentless and Suarez twice almost netted.

The 37-year-old Buffon again came to the rescue three minutes after the restart and then Juve struck against the run of play with former Real Madrid striker Morata tapping the ball in after keeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen had saved from Carlos Tevez.

The Italians looked to be taking control of the game but their joy was short-lived. Argentine Messi took matters into his own hands, charging past three defenders and unleashing a low drive that Buffon could only parry to Suarez.

It was the most crucial goal of the 28-year-old Uruguayan's career and it came a year after he was branded a villain for biting Italy's Giorgio Chiellini, who missed Saturday's final through injury, at the World Cup in Brazil.

Neymar had a goal disallowed after his header bounced off his own hand to deceive the diving Buffon, much to the forward's frustration.

Juve, who had an average age of 30 and were the second oldest team to play in a Champions League final, fought bravely but ran out of steam.

Neymar netted deep into stoppage time to provide a fitting farewell for midfielder Xavi who is leaving Barca after collecting 25 trophies in more than two decades with the club he joined at the age of 11.

Along with team mates Iniesta, Messi and Gerard Pique, Xavi also equalled former Netherlands midfielder Clarence Seedorf's record of four Champions League triumphs. (Editing by Tony Jimenez)

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com