With two first-half goals from Angel Di Maria and a rare late strike from right-back Thomas Meunier, a new-look Paris Saint-Germain missing its headline stars beat a lacklustre Real Madrid 3-0 in the Champions League to go top of Group A in an impressive start to its European campaign on Wednesday.
Di Maria, a Champions League winner with Madrid in 2014, was rampant against his former club, using his phenomenal speed and clever placing to torment a Madrid defence sorely missing the suspended Sergio Ramos.
The Argentine’s first goal poked past Thibaut Courtois’ near post in the 14th minute was his 25th in 100 European matches.
Some of PSG’s new recruits were instrumental in the victory.
Di Maria’s opener originated with Mauro Icardi, a late loan-signing from Inter Milan. He linked up smartly with left-back Juan Bernat, who then found Di Maria in space in the box with a sneaky inward-cutting pass.
Di Maria doubled the advantage when he struck again in the 33rd minute, found this time by Idrissa Gueye, bought from Everton.
Di Maria caressed a pinpoint shot with his left foot from long range past the outstretched Courtois and celebrated enthusiastically as Paris fans lit red flares.
PSG captain Thiago Silva said the win showed "character and personality."
"We were efficient. We were solid," he said.
Gareth Bale thought he’d got a goal back moments after Di Maria’s second strike with a sweet volley over former Madrid teammate Keylor Navas, bought by Paris to provide added assurance behind the PSG defence.
But in consulting the video replay, referaee Anthony Taylor spotted that the Wales winger had touched the ball with his right arm as he juggled the ball from his left foot to his right one before shooting.
Meunier’s goal in second-half injury time was only his sixth in 48 European matches and capped an impressive PSG performance that left Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane scowling.
Atletico gets late equalizer in 2-2 draw against Juventus
MADRID — Hector Herrera scored in the 90th minute as Atletico Madrid salvaged a 2-2 draw against Juventus in the Champions League on Wednesday.
Cristiano Ronaldo was held scoreless in his return to Madrid, but Juventus was able to open a 2-0 lead with goals by Juan Cuadrado and Blaise Matuidi in the second half. The hosts rallied with Stefan Savic scoring in the 70th and Herrera getting the equalizer with a late header after a Kieran Trippier cross.
Ronaldo, who was jeered by the rowdy Atletico crowd nearly every time he touched the ball, had his best chance deep into stoppage time. He niftily got past a defender inside the area, but his low show was wide of the far post.
Ronaldo led Juventus past Atletico with a hat trick in the round of 16 last season after the Spanish club had won the first leg 2-0 in Madrid.
One of Atletico’s best players on Wednesday was teenager João Felix, touted in Portugal as Ronaldo’s successor.
Atletico had not conceded twice at home in European competitions since a loss to Chelsea two years ago. It had won nine straight at the Wanda Metropolitano Stadium, conceding only once.
Cuadrado opened the scoring for Juventus early in the second half, making a neat cutback inside the area and firing a firm shot into the top corner. Matuidi added to the lead after another counterattack, finding the net with a header from a well-placed cross by Alex Sandro.
Atletico, which has lost only three of its last 23 matches in European competitions, kept pressing until it was rewarded with headed goals by Savic and Herrera.
In the other group match, Lokomotiv Moscow won 2-1 at Bayer Leverkusen.
Next month, Juventus hosts Bayer Leverkusen and Atletico visits Lokomotiv.
Tottenham blow 2-0 lead to draw Olympiakos
ATHENS, Greece — If Tottenham wants to repeat its run to the Champions League final, coach Mauricio Pochettino knows his players have to learn a lesson from Wednesday’s group opener.
Tottenham gave up a two-goal lead and had to settle for a 2-2 draw against Olympiakos in a disappointing start to its European campaign.
Harry Kane scored a clinical penalty in the 26th minute after being carelessly brought down by Yassine Meriah, and Lucas Moura made it 2-0 four minutes later with a strike from 20 metres (yards). But the Greek side was level early in the second half.
"I think, to be honest, that we didn’t deserve to go 2-0 up since we hadn’t found a way to stop them," Pochettino said. "What disappointed me is that we didn’t manage that 2-0 (advantage) property … I think our performance wasn’t the best."
Spurs thrashed Crystal Palace 4-0 at the weekend, but Pochettino said his team couldn’t reach the same level in Greece.
"They didn’t show the same aggression and focus and we conceded too many chances," he said.
Olympiakos winger Daniel Podence troubled the visitors all evening, testing goalkeeper Hugo Lloris early and later setting up Miguel Angel Guerrero who hit the bar with a low strike. But Podence finally found the net before the break after exchanging passes with Mathieu Valbuena, who then levelled from the penalty spot in the 54th minute.
"We got ourselves in a great position but obviously, the goal before the first half changed the momentum," Kane said. (Getting) two goals away from home that’s not bad, but overall we’re disappointed because this is the kind of game we’d want to be winning."
Tottenham, which lost the Champions League final to Liverpool last season, brought on Son Heung-min for the last 17 minutes but the South Korean produced little threat on the left.
Olympiakos returned to the Champions League after a year’s absence but sorely missed striker Kostas Fortounis, out with a knee injury, and defender Pape Abou Cisse who has influenza.
But Ruben Semedo returned to fitness and paid tribute to his teammates.
"Every player wants to be in the Champions League, and so do I. So we spare no effort and that worked for us," he said. "I think the result was fair for us and it came from very hard work."
Coach Pedro Martins said his club remains the outsider in a group that also includes Bayern and Red Star Belgrade.
"There are two favourites in this group and that hasn’t changed," Martins said. "But we are Olympiakos and we have a mentality of wanting more. We showed heart tonight and character. There are not many teams that can back from a 2-0 deficit to Tottenham."
Man City cruises to win over Shakhtar in Champions League
KHARKIV, Ukraine — Manchester City became the only English club to win its opening Champions League game, beating Shakhtar Donetsk 3-0 on Wednesday.
After Chelsea and Liverpool lost and Tottenham drew, City cruised past its Ukrainian opponent. Riyad Mahrez and Ilkay Gundogan combined for the first two goals, with Mahrez scoring the opener from a rebound after Gundogan hit the post in the 24th minute.
For the second, the roles were reversed. Mahrez cut inside to pass for Gundogan, who shot past Andriy Pyatov at the near post. Gabriel Jesus made it 3-0 on the break in the 76th.
City was coming off a 3-2 loss to Norwich in the English Premier League on Saturday and had injury problems in defence.
"I think it was necessary to respond and we responded quite well, all of us," Gundogan said. "They created good chances also but we were solid at the back (with) two very experienced players."
City’s hastily assembled centre-back pairing of Nicolas Otamendi and former Shakhtar player Fernandinho — covering for the injured John Stones — held up well. Although Fernandinho, who is normally a midfielder, was perhaps lucky not to give away a penalty with a late tackle.
"Others can play in that position, but I think Fernandinho is a clever player and so intelligent, and an incredible guy, so he did well," City coach Pep Guardiola said.
It is the third season in a row that City has played Shakhtar in the Champions League group stage. This time the Ukrainian team lacked the attacking firepower of the squad which won 2-1 to end a lengthy City unbeaten run in 2017.
Junior Moraes had Shakhtar’s best chance of the game in the 34th but shot straight at City goalkeeper Ederson when in behind the defence. In the second half, he missed the target with Ederson out of position.
After Dinamo Zagreb surprised Italian debutant Atalanta 4-0 in the other game, City’s chances of qualifying top of Group C only increased.
There was another boost for City as left-back Benjamin Mendy came on as an 83rd-minute substitute, his first appearance since April due to the various injury problems which have restricted him to just four games in the last 10 months.
Bayern beats Red Star 3-0 to open Champions League campaign
MUNICH — Bayern Munich substitute Thomas Muller provided a late highlight as the German powerhouse beat Red Star Belgrade 3-0 in their Champions League opener on Wednesday.
Muller came on for Philippe Coutinho in the 83rd minute and scored in the first minute of injury time when he ran behind the visiting defence and spun around to volley Thiago Alcantara’s lobbed free kick past goalkeeper Milan Borjan.
Robert Lewandowski had already sealed the result after striking from close range in the 80th, but it had been shaping up to be a frustrating evening for the Poland striker, who missed several chances after Kingsley Coman opened the scoring in the 34th.
Bayern failed to turn almost total possession in the first half into clear-cut scoring opportunities.
Marko Marin, Red Star’s playmaker and a former German international, went closest for the visitors in a rare attack when he shot just wide of the far post before Lewandowski scored.
Even Bayern goalkeeper Manuel Neuer was off his best as he misjudged a simple back-pass and was forced to clear in the 13th.
Coutinho nearly scored a stunning opener on his Champions League debut for the side but his well-struck volley flew just over the bar.
Coman then finally broke the deadlock by heading in Ivan Perisic’s cross.
Coutinho also had a goal ruled out for offside, and Lewandowski went close with a free kick after the break, before Borjan made a brilliant save to deny Perisic.
Perisic again went close midway through the half when he controlled the ball on his chest and lobbed the goalkeeper, only to see the effort come back off the crossbar. Lewandowski missed the rebound with the goal at his mercy, but finally struck after the visitors failed to clear.
Tottenham drew 2-2 at Olympiakos in the other Group B game.
Orsic hat trick helps Dinamo Zagreb end 11-match losing run
ZAGREB, Croatia — Mislav Orsic scored a hat trick Wednesday as Dinamo Zagreb ended an 11-match losing streak in the Champions League group stage with a 4-0 win over Atalanta, which was making its competition debut.
Orsic’s first was a low shot from the edge of the area after the half-hour mark. Eleven minutes later, he had an uncontested header. Then he completed the hat trick midway through the second half by beating the offside trap and using one touch before striking into the far corner.
The 26-year-old Orsic, who also scored three goals in Champions League qualifying, recently made his international debut with Croatia.
Marin Leovac opened the scoring by redirecting in a cross from close range.
Manchester City won 3-0 at Shakhtar Donetsk in the other Group C opener.
Croatian champion Dinamo was in danger of matching Anderlecht’s record of 12 straight losses in the competition between 2003 and 2005.
Atalanta qualified by finishing a club-record third in Serie A.
Lokomotiv beats Leverkusen thanks to goalkeeper’s error
LEVERKUSEN, Germany — A blunder from Bayer Leverkusen goalkeeper Lukas Hradecky handed Lokomotiv Moscow a 2-1 win over the German side in the Champions League on Wednesday.
With the score tied at 1-1, Hradecky sent a pass straight to Lokomotiv midfielder Dmitry Barinov, who promptly scored.
Lokomotiv had taken the lead through Grzegorz Krychowiak in the 16th minute before Leverkusen levelled when Charles Aranguiz’s shot took a deflection off Benedikt Höwedes and was ruled an own goal.
The defeat is a big blow for Leverkusen, which had been widely considered more likely than Lokomotiv to challenge Juventus and Atletico Madrid for the qualifying places in Group D.
It was Lokomotiv’s first Champions League away win since 2002 thanks to the Russian club’s poor away record last season and a long gap in Champions League appearances before that.
Atletico drew 2-2 with Juventus in Madrid in the other game in the group Wednesday.
Club Brugge, Galatasaray draw 0-0
BRUGES, Belgium — Club Brugge and Galatasaray drew 0-0 in their Champions League opener on Wednesday, having to settle for a point each in Group A where Real Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain are favoured to advance.
Both teams had shots hit the top of the crossbar, from Brugge defender Federico Ricca in the first half and Galatasaray midfielder Sofiane Feghouli in the 61st minute.
The Turkish champion came close in the first half when Ryan Babel forced a good save from Brugge goalkeeper Simon Mignolet, who got a Champions League winner’s medal last season as a Liverpool substitute.
Brugge, which advanced through two qualifying rounds as the first Belgian league runner-up to reach the group stage, is still unbeaten in 11 games this season.
Galatasaray ended a five-game losing streak in Champions League away games, though has now failed to score in five straight on the road.
PSG was hosting 13-time champion Madrid in a later kickoff Wednesday. In the next round on Oct. 1, Brugge travels to Madrid and Galatasaray hosts PSG.
0 comments:
Post a Comment