 | « Back to article | Print this article |
Two late goals in two minutes from Sergi Roberto and Luis Suarez gave European champions Barcelona a dramatic 2-1 win over Bayer Leverkusen in the Champions League on Tuesday.
Trailing 1-0 at the Nou Camp with 10 minutes to go, Sergi poked in a rebound from close range, and moments later Suarez produced a fine finish for the winner, sweeping home first-time from just inside the area.
Kyriakos Papadopoulos had put the German side ahead after 22 minutes from a corner, with Barca keeper Marc-Andre Ter Stegen beaten in the air.
For Barca, who were without injured talisman Lionel Messi, it was a frustrating game of missed chances until their pressure told.
"We believed in ourselves until the end," Suarez told reporters.
"We are the champions. We were not able to play our best football but we had to win this match and show that we are the champions.
"The coach (Luis Enrique) gave us good advice in the break and now it is important for us to be leaders."
Barca are top of Group E with four points from two games. Leverkusen are second with three, ahead of BATE Borisov on goal difference.
Barcelona coach Enrique decided against a tactical change in the absence of Messi, with youth product Sandro Ramirez coming into their attacking trident.
Leverkusen, who were on the wrong side of a 7-1 defeat when they faced Barca in Spain in 2012, when Messi scored five, showed no fear as they went out to attack.
Javier Hernandez got in front of the Barca defence and forced a good save from Ter Stegen inside two minutes.
Ivan Rakitic headed straight at keeper Bernd Leno and then a Sandro strike was also saved, but Leverkusen continued to pose a threat.
A Kevin Kampl shot inside the area went just wide before the goal from Papadopoulos, who headed home from a couple of yards out with Ter Stegen not moving on his line.
A deflected Neymar shot came off the post and a Sandro follow-up was blocked on the line by Papadopoulos as Leverkusen hung on to their lead.
After the break the chances began to pile up for Barca, with Sandro and Neymar firing wide while Pique headed at the keeper when well placed.
To make matter worse for Barca they lost Andres Iniesta to injury in the second half.
Still, there was time for a thrilling finale for the Barca fans.
Sergi was quickest to the rebound after Leno's low save, and then Suarez came up with another telling contribution, sending a rising right-foot shot into the keeper's top corner.
Lewandowski stays hot as Bayern thrash Dinamo Zagreb
Bayern Munich striker Robert Lewandowski continued his remarkable scoring run with a hat-trick in a 5-0 thrashing of Dinamo Zagreb on Tuesday to snap the Croats' 45-game unbeaten run and put the German champions in firm control of Champions League Group F.
In an explosive first half in which Bayern were 4-0 up inside half an hour, the Poland striker, who has notched a staggering 10 goals in their last three matches, including five in nine minutes against VfL Wolfsburg in the Bundesliga, struck twice in seven minutes.
"He is having an amazing run and an unbelievable week behind him," Bayern captain Philipp Lahm told reporters. "A striker like Lewandowski doesn't need any prodding. He could be even more dangerous than last season."
Brazilian Douglas Costa had put the hosts ahead with a fine low shot after 13 minutes and Mario Goetze added his second of the campaign before Poland captain Lewandowski chipped keeper Eduardo in the 55th minute for his third goal as Bayern moved to a maximum six points from two matches.
Greek champions Olympiakos stunned Arsenal 3-2 to move into second place level on three points with Zagreb, leaving their hosts bottom without a point.
"I want to congratulate my players for tonight," Bayern coach Pep Guardiola said. "They had a top performance. With (wingers) Douglas Costa and Kingsley Coman our game is much better. Robert and Thomas (Mueller) have much more space in the middle.
"Now we are off to the Oktoberfest and then we will start thinking about Borussia Dortmund on the weekend," he added referring to their top-of-the-table Bundesliga clash.
Dinamo, unbeaten in 45 games matches in all competitions before Tuesday and winners at Arsenal in their opening group game, were mere observers as they witnessed Bayern's awe-inspiring display of speed, skill and strength.
Bayern coach Pep Guardiola surprisingly left Thomas Mueller and Xabi Alonso on the bench, playing the talented Joshua Kimmich instead.
The 20-year-old needed three minutes to make his presence felt, although his glancing header sailed narrowly over the bar.
Eduardo came to the rescue a little later, palming a powerful Jerome Boateng drive around the post but could do nothing when Costa charged into the box and caught him off guard from a tight angle.
His 13th-minute goal opened the floodgates and Bayern doubled their lead in the 21st when Thiago Alcantara pounced on a mistake by Filip Benkovic and laid the ball off for Lewandowski, who had no trouble tapping in.
Goetze was then on target after playing a clever one-two with Kingsley Coman in the 25th and Lewandowski flicked in a Costa corner three minutes later with the ball going in off the bar.
The 27-year-old Lewandowski, who also scored twice against Mainz 05 in the Bundesliga on Saturday, completed his treble 10 minutes after the restart with a fine turn and chip after a backheel combination between Costa and Thiago left the Dinamo defence dazed.
Roma endure torrid night with 3-2 loss to BATE
Belarus champions BATE Borisov shocked injury-hit AS Roma with an entertaining 3-2 home win in their Champions League Group E clash on Tuesday.
BATE went 3-0 up in the first 30 minutes through Ihar Stasevich and two from Filip Mladenovic.
The Serie A club hit back after the break and reduced the deficit with strikes from Gervinho, after 66 minutes, and Vasilis Torisidis eight minutes from time.
Roma's Alessandro Florenzi also hit the crossbar late on but BATE held out to move on to three points in Group E. Roma are bottom of the section with one.
BATE were almost written off when they lost their first game 4-1 to Bayer Leverkusen.
And maybe even they didn't expect to be three goals to the good by half-time here.
Stasevich, the midfielder and captain, opened the scoring after eight minutes with a close-range header after an effort had come back off the bar.
Roma keeper Wojciech Szczesny was caught frozen four minutes later when left-back Mladenovic fired a surprise long-range shot low into the net, with referee Mark Clattenburg rebuking Lucas
Digne for wearing a ring on his finger just moments before.
Mladenovic sent the home crowd into raptures for the third, when he again broke down the left, cut into the area to collect a pass from Maksim Volodko, and sent the ball just under the crossbar with a powerful shot.
The Giallorossi, missing Francesco Totti as well as the influential Seydou Keita and Edin Dzeko due to injuries, pulled one back as Gervinho slotted home following a slick combination between Mohamed Salah and Iago Falqué.
Greek defender Torosidis then smashed in from close range and Florenzi almost helped complete an incredible comeback by clattering the woodwork with a curled shot from the edge of the area.
Lyon's chances take a knock with Valencia defeat
Olympique Lyonnais' chances of reaching the knockout phase of the Champions League already look in jeopardy after slumping to a 1-0 home defeat by Valencia in their second game on Tuesday.
Lyon, who drew at Ghent in their opening match, are bottom of Group H after Sofiane Feghouli gave Valencia, who are second on three points, a victory against the run of play.
Zenit St Petersburg lead the group with a maximum six points after beating Ghent, who are third with one point, 2-1 at home.
Feghouli scored the only goal with an 18-metre missile that went in under the crossbar at the end of a swift counter-attack three minutes before halftime,
Lyon had a huge chance to level just before the break but Alexandre Lacazette's deflected shot crashed onto the bar.
The hosts piled on the pressure after the interval but were too clumsy as Valencia continued to be dangerous on the break and their defence held firm.
Valencia goalkeeper Jaume Domenech made a couple of stunning saves in added time to frustrate Lyon, who dominated possession but lacked sharpness.
Lyon next face Zenit in St Petersburg and Valencia host Ghent on October 20.
