 | « Back to article | Print this article |
A round-up of Wednesday's action in the UEFA Champions League.
Erling Haaland grabbed an 84th-minute winner against his former club Borussia Dortmund as Manchester City came from behind with two late goals to seal a 2-1 win in Champions League Group G on Wednesday.
The Norwegian has now scored 13 goals in eight games since making his move from the Bundesliga club and his latest was a brilliant finish as he leapt to guide home a wonderful cross with the outside of his boot by Joao Cancelo.
There was something inevitable about the 22-year-old, who scored 86 goals in 89 appearances for Dortmund, deciding the outcome but it was a surprise how much City had struggled for almost an hour.
Pep Guardiola opted to rotate his squad a little and his players struggled to find their usual tempo and fluency in a dull opening 45 minutes.
The German defence had coped with City's pedestrian build-up play with neither Jack Grealish or Riyad Mahrez getting much joy on the wings.
The first real chance came in the 52nd minute and it fell to Dortmund with Marco Reus bustling in from the left but he scooped his shot wide of the far post.
Reus was more accurate, though, four minutes later when a corner reached him at the back of the penalty area and he whipped a ball back into the box for England international Jude Bellingham to head past Ederson.
Guardiola had been preparing a triple change when the goal was scored and he soon introduced Bernardo Silva, Phil Foden and Julian Alvarez.
The trio provided the desired impact -- adding the missing pace and inventiveness to City's forward play but when they drew level in the 80th minute it was thanks to a defender.
Kevin De Bruyne played the ball inside to John Stones who blasted a fierce drive past Alexander Meyer from outside the box.
The momentum was with City and all Dortmund's efforts to neutralise Haaland counted for nothing when Cancelo produced his magical cross and the Norwegian twisted his body in the air and used the outside of his left foot to steer the ball home.
City, who won their opening group game against Sevilla 4-0, top the standings on six points, three ahead of the Germans.
Copenhagen hold Sevilla goalless
FC Copenhagen held Sevilla to a scoreless draw as both sides picked up their first point of their Champions League Group G campaign from a game that showcased plenty of effort but little effective attacking football on Wednesday.
Amid a fantastic atmosphere at a packed Parken Stadium, the visitors enjoyed plenty of possession but they struggled to get many shots on target as the Copenhagen defenders threw themselves in the way of their goal-bound efforts.
The best effort of the second half came from the home side's Mohammed Daramy, who brought the crowd to their feet with a dribble along Sevilla's goal-line, but keeper Marko Dmitrovic was alive to the danger and snuffed out the chance.
Manchester City top the group on six points after their 2-1 win over Borussia Dortmund, who are second on three. Copenhagen are third on one point, with Sevilla bottom on goal difference.
Disjointed Chelsea held by Salzburg
Battling Salzburg held a disjointed Chelsea to a 1-1 draw, severely denting the 2021 winners' chances of qualifying from Group E.
Raheem Sterling put the London side ahead in the 48th minute, latching on to a low cross from Mason Mount and shooting beyond the diving Philipp Kohn into the left corner of his net.
It was his first Champions League goal in Chelsea colours and the first goal under new coach Graham Potter, who took over last week following the shock dismissal of Thomas Tuchel.
But the well-organised Salzburg side, who also drew with AC Milan last week, ran tirelessly and were rewarded in the 75th minute when Noah Okafor sent a low cross home after Cesar Azpilicueta and Thiago Silva had failed to clear the ball.
Former Brighton & Hove Albion boss Potter said he was disappointed with the result "but the boys gave everything. It's impossible to control the game for 90 minutes and the period we didn't do so well they scored.
"It's always irritating when you concede but the overall defensive performance was good. Little details you have to improve. Not the result we wanted but we will take the point."
Chelsea held Salzburg in their own half for long periods but failed to find the telling final pass. New signing Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang could not get on the end of a series of crosses and Kai Havertz often looked isolated.
Chelsea lost their first group game to Dinamo Zagreb last week and Tuchel was sacked the following day. On Wednesday, the crowd chanted Tuchel's name and applauded at the 21st minute of the match in recognition of the 2021 title when Chelsea beat Manchester City in the final in Porto.
Chelsea, who followed that triumph with victory in the World Club Cup earlier this year and were favourites to qualify from Group E, now languish at the bottom of the group with one point.
Giroud on target as AC Milan ease past Dinamo Zagreb
AC Milan secured their first Champions League win this season after goals from Olivier Giroud, Alexis Saelemaekers and Tommaso Pobega powered them to a 3-1 victory over Dinamo Zagreb at home in Group E.
Giroud opened the scoring from the spot in the first half with Saelemaekers and Pobega adding two more after the interval as Milan, who drew at Salzburg in their group opener, grabbed a vital win despite a late rally from the Croatian champions.
A lively opening from Milan led to half-chances for Sandro Tonali and Giroud but the best opportunity of the half fell to Rafael Leao, who failed to get his shot away despite being brilliantly picked out by Brahim Diaz from deep.
Dinamo, conquerors of Chelsea on the opening matchday, almost struck against the run of play in the 28th minute through Sadegh Moharrami, whose left-footed effort was turned behind by Mike Maignan.
The Serie A winners finally made their dominance count when Giroud dispatched a penalty on the stroke of halftime after Leao went down under a clumsy challenge from Josip Sutalo.
Milan flew out of the traps in the second half and were rewarded instantly when Saelemaekers doubled their advantage with a thumping header following some excellent play down the left from Portugal international Leao.
But Dinamo refused to go away, displaying the grit that helped them topple Chelsea as they pulled one back through Mislav Orsic, who smashed home in the 56th minute after being set up by deft footwork from Bruno Petkovic.
Petkovic was a constant threat as the game wore on but Milan's superior attacking quality told when youngster Pobega combined with Theo Hernandez to finish off Dinamo.
Milan are top of Group E with four points from two games, with Dinamo one point behind in second. Chelsea host Salzburg later on Wednesday.
Real Madrid see off Leipzig with late goals
Midfielder Federico Valverde scored a superb second-half goal and Marco Asensio struck late to fire holders Real Madrid to a 2-0 win at home to RB Leipzig in Group F.
Uruguayan Valverde showed composure to calmly beat a defender with clever footwork on the edge of the area before picking his spot in the bottom corner of the net in the 80th minute.
The 14-times winners gave an underwhelming performance and until Valverde's goal had only managed one shot on target, while Leipzig had created plenty of openings but were not clinical enough in the area.
Real wrapped up the victory with a goal in added time from substitute Asensio, the Spaniard slotting into the net after a lay off from Toni Kroos.
Real lead Group F with six points after two games, while Leipzig are bottom with no points.
In their first Champions League match under new coach Marco Rose, Leipzig took the game to Real and were comfortably the better side in the first half, with forward Christopher Nkunku causing the hosts plenty of problems.
Nkunku fired an early shot at goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois and later forced his way into the area before Real midfielder Aurelien Tchouameni made a crucial tackle. The French forward was then inches away from connecting with a Timo Werner cross from close range.
Real offered little going forward but felt they should have had a penalty when Luka Modric was smothered by Xaver Schlager shortly before halftime.
The same script was followed for much of the second half until Valverde, who had scored a sensational goal against Real Mallorca at the weekend with a run from his own half, provided the breakthrough moment.
Mbappe, Messi on target as PSG rally to beat Maccabi
Kylian Mbappe and Lionel Messi combined superbly as Paris St Germain's near-perfect start to the season continued with a 3-1 win at Maccabi Haifa.
Messi cancelled out Tjarron Chery's surprise first-half opener after being set up by Mbappe and he returned the favour for the France forward after the break before Neymar grabbed a late third as PSG were made to sweat by the Israeli champions.
PSG top Group H with six points, level with Benfica, who claimed a 2-1 victory at Juventus.
Christophe Galtier's French side travel to Benfica on October 5 while Juventus and Haifa meet with the threat of early elimination looming.
PSG got off to a lively start with Mbappe threatening twice in the opening minutes but they quickly fell into a lull and they were punished midway through the half.
As Haifa increased the pressure, Dolev Haziza whipped a perfect cross for Chery, who stretched out his leg to beat Gianluigi Donnarumma and put the hosts ahead.
PSG struggled to find their rhythm but Mbappe beat two defenders in the box and his cross was deflected into the path of Messi, who fired home from close range to make it 1-1 eight minutes before the break.
Argentine Messi has now found the back of the net against a record 39 different teams in the Champions League.
PSG were still too passive after the interval, allowing Haifa to create chances for Frantzdy Pierrot and Omer Atzili.
Vitinha's work in the midfield, however, proved vital for the Ligue 1 champions and Messi went close at the hour after being set up by the diminutive Portuguese.
PSG's individual talents eventually made the difference as Mabppe collected a fine through ball from Messi to give his side the advantage with a low shot in the 69th minute.
Haifa did not lie down but Neymar wrapped it up in clinical fashion on a counter-attack after collecting a fine pass from Marco Verratti two minutes from time to end an 11-match run without a goal for the Brazilian forward.
Benfica fight back to inflict more misery on Juventus
Twice European Champions Benfica fought back to secure a 2-1 win at Juventus with goals from Joao Mario and David Neres, maintaining their perfect start in Champions League Group H.
It was a miserable night for Juventus, who have lost their opening two games of the Champions League group stage for the first time and lost three games in a row in Europe's elite club competition for the first time in 50 years.
Juventus took a fourth-minute lead when Arkadiusz Milik climbed highest inside the box to head the ball into the bottom-left corner from a Leandro Paredes set piece.
The early goal seemed to take Benfica by surprise, as the first 25 minutes of the game was dominated by Juventus, who pushed the Portuguese team onto the defensive.
Benfica had their first real chance after 27 minutes when Neres crossed for Goncalo Ramos, who managed to head the ball right at Juventus keeper Mattia Perin.
As half-time approached, Benfica began to gain more control and possession as the pressure from Juventus eased.
The visitors were awarded a penalty in the 43rd minute following a VAR check after Juventus midfielder Fabio Miretti fouled Ramos inside the box and Mario equalised from the spot.
Benfica maintained their momentum in the second half, with Neres putting them ahead in the 55th minute, firing home on the volley after Rafa Silva's shot had been parried into his path by Perin.
Juventus pressed forward in the last 10 minutes, with substitute Angel Di Maria leading the charge on his return from a muscle injury.
Bremer failed to convert an opportunity to equalise for Juventus in the 88th minute as the Italians slumped to defeat.
Benfica are second in Group H with six points, level with Paris St Germain, who won 3-1 at Maccabi Haifa.
Benfica host Paris St Germain next on October 5, when Juventus will play Maccabi Haifa.
Napoli strike late after Politano penalty to beat Rangers
Napoli stayed on top of their Champions League Group A as Matteo Politano's penalty and late strikes by Giacomo Raspadori and Tanguy Ndombele sealed a 3-0 victory over 10-man Rangers at Ibrox and maintained their unbeaten start.
Politano opened the scoring in the 68th minute, having taking over penalty duties from midfielder Piotr Zielinski who was twice denied from the spot by Rangers goalkeeper Allan McGregor in the second half.
The spot kick, awarded after Borna Barisic had handled the ball in the box, came after Napoli had squandered two chances to go ahead from the penalty spot following James Sands's dismissal for a clumsy challenge on Giovanni Simeone.
Zielinski's tame shot was first saved by McGregor before Politano reacted sharply to slide the ball home but the Video Assistant Referee ordered the penalty to be retaken for encroachment by the Napoli forward line.
Veteran McGregor, who replaced the injured Jon McLaughlin for the game, dived to his left to deny Zielinski a second time, but the home fans were silenced as Napoli continued to attack and Raspadori and Ndombele sealed the win after slick moves.
The result means Luciano Spalletti's side, who thrashed Liverpool 4-1 in their opener of the competition, have six points from two matches in Group A while their Scottish opponents are bottom after two defeats.
