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Rediff.com  » Sports » Champions League PIX: Real Madrid held; PSG, Juve win

Champions League PIX: Real Madrid held; PSG, Juve win

Last updated on: October 02, 2019 06:39 IST
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Tottenham Hotspur suffer their heaviest home defeat in Europe as Serge Gnabry scores four for Bayern Munich.

Images from Tuesday's UEFA Champions League matches.

Club Brugge's Emmanuel Bonaventure Dennis celebrates with teammates after scoring his team's first goal against Real Madrid during their UEFA Champions League Group A match at Santiago Bernabeu in Madrid on Tuesday

IMAGE: Emmanuel Bonaventure Dennis celebrates with teammates after scoring Club Brugge's first goal against Real Madrid during their UEFA Champions League Group A match at the Santiago Bernabeu, in Madrid, on Tuesday. Photograph: Gonzalo Arroyo Moreno/Getty Images

Real Madrid scrambled their way back from two goals down to avoid a hugely embarrassing defeat to Club Brugges and draw 2-2 in the Champions League on Tuesday, leaving the 13-times winners with one point after two games in Group A.

 

Nigerian forward Emmanuel Bonaventure stunned the Santiago Bernabeu by giving the Belgians the lead in the ninth minute, mis-controlling the ball and nudging it towards goal but somehow still beating Real keeper Thibaut Courtois to score.

Bonaventure struck again with another scrappy goal in the 39th minute, losing his footing as he bore down on Courtois but still producing a stunning finish to lift the ball high into the net.

Club Brugge's Percy Tau battles for possession with Real Madrid's Sergio Ramos 

IMAGE: Club Brugge's Percy Tau battles for possession with Real Madrid's Sergio Ramos. Photograph: Gonzalo Arroyo Moreno/Getty Images

Real captain Sergio Ramos headed his side back into contention with a goal in the 54th minute while midfielder Casemiro equalised with a header in the 85th, moments after Brugges captain Ruud Vormer had been sent off.

Zinedine Zidane's side are joint-bottom of Group A with one point, having lost 3-0 at Paris St Germain two weeks ago. PSG beat Galatasaray 1-0 in a later match on Tuesday.

Zidane was fiercely critical of his side for their first-half display but was happy with how they responded.

"It was a bad result but the reaction was good," he told a news conference.

"We cannot be happy because we have never played as bad as we did in the opening 45 minutes. I'm pleased with how we reacted but not for only getting a point.

"The first goal we conceded was laughable. We started badly and we were not focussed in the areas of the pitch where the opponent could cause us the most harm."

PSG win at Galatasaray to take control of group

Mauro Icardi celebrates with teammate Marquinhos after scoring for Paris St Germain against Galatasaray.

IMAGE: Mauro Icardi, right, celebrates with teammate Marquinhos after scoring for Paris St Germain against Galatasaray. Photograph: Umit Bektas/Reuters

Mauro Icardi scored his first goal for Paris St Germain as they beat Galatasaray 1-0 away to take control of Champions League Group A on Tuesday.

Icardi touched the ball home from close range in the 52nd minute after being teed up Pablo Sarabia whose superb pass beat Galatasaray keeper Fernando Muslera.

PSG have taken a maximum six points from their first two matches and are four points clear of second-placed Club Bruges, who drew 2-2 at Real Madrid earlier on Tuesday. Madrid are bottom, level on one point with Turkey's Galatasaray.

PSG wasted several other chances throughout the game, as they dominated the encounter and found space in the final third on several occasions.

The hosts had their first chance in the 18th minute when Younes Belhanda and Jean Michael Seri exchanged passes, before Seri fired wide.

Falcao missed an opportunity for the hosts to level the game in the 69th minute, when he failed to convert a central free kick from just outside the box.

Gnabry hits four as Bayern trounce Tottenham

Serge Gnabry scores Bayern Munich's fifth goal to complete his hat-trick against Tottenham Hotspur.

IMAGE: Serge Gnabry scores Bayern Munich's fifth goal to complete his hat-trick against Tottenham Hotspur. Photograph: Paul Childs/Reuters

Tottenham Hotspur suffered their heaviest home defeat in Europe as Serge Gnabry struck four goals for Bayern Munich in a 7-2 romp to seize control of Champions League Group B on Tuesday.

Master marksman Robert Lewandowski also scored twice as Bayern responded to going behind early on in devastating fashion, running riot on a rain-lashed night in north London.

When Son Heung-min gave last season's finalists Tottenham a deserved 12th-minute lead, their magnificent stadium was rocking. But the fragility that has undermined their season so far returned as they capitulated in alarming fashion.

It was the first time Tottenham have shipped seven goals at home in any major competition and they became the first English club to concede seven in Europe since they themselves lost 8-0 to FC Cologne in the now-defunct UEFA Intertoto Cup in 1995.

To add insult to injury for Mauricio Pochettino's shell-shocked side it was a Gnabry, a former Arsenal misfit who managed one goal in a handful of appearances, who was their chief tormentor with a sensational display.

While Tottenham's season continues to misfire, Niko Kovac's Bayern appear to be going from strength to strength.

It was not quite the Bavarians' biggest away win in Europe -- they won 7-1 at Roma in 2014 -- but to do it against a side who reached last year's final sent out a powerful message.

"It didn't look like (a) 7-2 (match) after 30 minutes. We had our problems at the back and (Manuel) Neuer kept us in the game with some class saves," Kovac told reporters.

"After that, we were much better. We scored at the right time. Getting the second before the break was key."

Pochettino has enjoyed unforgettable European nights as Tottenham manager but this will go down as one of his lowest moments since he took charge in 2014.

"Bayern were clinical and scored with every single touch," he said. "That is tough to accept but we need to move on. We need to be strong and keep going, stay together...not to find guilt or try to escape. It is the only way to recover."

Bayern lead the group with six points with Red Star Belgrade, on three, who beat Olympiakos 3-1. Olympiakos are level with Tottenham on one point after their 2-2 draw on matchday one.

Chances flowed like the rain in a rip-roaring start to the first clash between the sides for 35 years.

Gnabry stung the finger of Hugo Lloris inside two minutes before Son was twice denied by Neuer after being played in one-on-one by Tanguy Ndombele.

When Bayern gifted possession to Tottenham in the 12th minute, Ndombele found Son again and this time the South Korean beat Neuer with a powerful angled drive.

Tottenham's inability to hold a lead has been a feature this season and within three minutes Bayern were level thanks to a precision effort from distance by Joshua Kimmich.

Harry Kane had an effort cleared off the line soon after but they were pole-axed by three Bayern goals in a 10-minute spell.

Lewandowski has already bagged 10 goals in six Bundesliga games this season and his hot streak continued seconds before the interval as he turned and fired home from the edge of the area after Tottenham had failed to clear the ball.

It was harsh on Tottenham but things only got worse.

Gnabry shredded Tottenham's defence in the 53rd minute with a jet-heeled burst down the left before cutting in to arrow a shot past Lloris and he struck again two minutes later.

Kane's penalty restored some hope for Tottenham on the hour after Danny Rose was adjudged to have been fouled and substitute Christian Eriksen forced a fingertip save by Neuer.

But when Gnabry completed his hat-trick in the 83rd minute, racing on to Thiago Alcantara's long ball before sliding a cool finish past Lloris, the home fans flooded towards exits.

With Bayern's fans joyfully singing "football's coming home" Lewandowski scored a brilliant second from Philippe Coutinho's pass -- taking his Champions League haul to 56 in 106 games.

Tottenham's defence went AWOL again as Gnabry put Bayern in seventh heaven with his fourth.

Red Star fight back to beat 10-man Olympiakos

Milos Vulic celebrates scoring Crvena Zvezda's first goal with team mates.

IMAGE: Milos Vulic celebrates scoring Crvena Zvezda's first goal with team mates. Photograph: Marko Djurica/Reuters

Former European Cup winners Red Star Belgrade fought back to earn a 3-1 home win against 10-man Olympiakos Piraeus in a pulsating Champions League Group B clash after late headers by Nemanja Milunovic and Richmond Boakye on Tuesday.

Olympiakos dominated the opening half and their striker Miguel Angel Guerrero twice came close before central defender Ruben Semedo fired the Greek side ahead with a fortuitous goal in the 37th minute.

Giorgos Masouras floated a deep free kick into the penalty area and Semedo's cut-back across the face of goal at the far post went in off the outstretched arm of Red Star goalkeeper Milan Borjan, who should have done better.

After Olympiakos midfielder Yassine Benzia was sent off in the 58th minute for a second bookable foul, Red Star capitalised five minutes later when Milos Vulic drove a crisp low shot from 12 metres into the bottom left corner of the net following some slack defending by the visitors.

Borjan kept out Mohamed Camara's fierce long-range shot and Yassine Meriah fired wide from close range for Olympiakos before Milunovic and substitute Boakye struck in a frantic finish to delight the home fans.

The goals were almost a carbon copy of each other as Milunovic rose above his marker to head home an 87th-minute corner and Boakye followed in his footsteps three minutes later.

The result lifted Red Star to second place in the group on three points from two games, behind leaders Bayern Munich who have a maximum six after a 7-2 away rout of Tottenhem Hotspur. Olympiakos and Spurs have one point each.

The match was played in a rarely amicable atmosphere as visiting Olympiakos fans were given a red carpet reception by the home supporters, with rival groups mingling before the kick off and chanting each other's songs during the match.

Bonded by their kindred red-and-white colours as well as the Christian Orthodox faith shared by Serbs and Greeks, Red Star and Olympiakos fans have a long history of friendship and they also exchanged flags in the Rajko Mitic stadium.

Super subs take Manchester City past Dinamo Zagreb

Phil Foden scores Manchester City's second goal against Dinamo Zagreb.

IMAGE: Phil Foden scores Manchester City's second goal against Dinamo Zagreb. Photograph: Carl Recine/Reuters

Manchester City made it two wins out of two in Champions League Group C after goals from substitutes Raheem Sterling and Phil Foden gave Pep Guardiola's side a 2-0 victory over Dinamo Zagreb.

A game that could easily have ended in frustration, with Dinamo defending deep and effectively, turned on the introduction of England international Sterling in the 56th minute.

The Croatians frustrated the Premier League champions with some excellent defending in the first half and all City could manage from their domination was Ilkay Gundogan's shot against the bar in the 21st minute after an earlier effort from Sergio Aguero had been well dealt with by Dinamo keeper Dominik Livakovic.

David Silva screwed a shot wide after the ball fell to him inside the area but City did not create enough from the amount of possession they enjoyed.

Guardiola's side attacked almost exclusively down the left, where fullback Benjamin Mendy was allowed plenty of space, but either the delivery into the box let them down or the Dinamo defence stood firm.

Riyad Mahrez on the right flank saw too little of the ball and City failed to really use the full width of the field, too often getting involved in 'five-a-side' contests on the edge of the box.

The introduction of Sterling increased the tempo and width of City's play and it was the England international who broke the deadlock in the 66th minute, turning in a low cross from Riyad Mahrez after a superb diagonal pass from Rodri.

Dinamo tried their luck in the final stages but were caught on the counter in stoppage time with Sterling breaking and slipping the ball wide to Foden who confidently drove home.

City move on to six points from their opening two games after winning their first match 3-0 at Shakhtar Donetsk, while Dinamo have three points.

"They defended so well, even the goal from Raheem the defender was there. I didn’t expect them to play so deep, they only shot on target at set pieces, but they did what they did so well," said Guardiola, who praised Sterling for his improved finishing.

“He’s a player who is always there, he has this talent he loves to score goals, you always have that feeling. We had chances but they defended really well and that’s why it was difficult to score a goal," he said.

"I think still he can improve his finishing. Today the pass for Phil was perfect. But still there is a gap to be even more clinical but it’s important that all the time he’s there and that’s why he’s been able to score the goals," he said.

Foden's instant impact, with his goal coming four minutes after he came on, left Guardiola feeling sorry that he was unable to find more minutes for the talented 19-year-old.

“I know, he deserves to play, I want to give him minutes, I’m unfair to him, I’m sorry but he has (Kevin) De Bruyne, Bernardo Silva, Rodri (ahead of him).

"I know the best way is for him to play minutes but he’s so young. I don’t know many players of his age (who) have played so many minutes, he’s going to be incredible in the future but it is what it is."

Solomon strikes late winner as Shakhtar beat Atalanta

Shakhtar Donetsk's Manor Solomon celebrates with teammate Dodo after scoring the winner during their Group C match against Atalanta at San Siro in Milan on Tuesday

IMAGE: Shakhtar Donetsk's Manor Solomon celebrates with teammate Dodo after scoring the winner during their Group C match against Atalanta at San Siro in Milan on Tuesday. Photograph: Daniele Mascolo/Reuters

A goal in deep into stoppage time by substitute Manor Solomon snatched all three points for Shakhtar Donetsk as they beat Atalanta 2-1 in their Champions League Group C clash in Milan on Tuesday.

The Italians were looking to bounce back from an embarrassing 4-0 opening-day defeat to Dinamo Zagreb, while Donetsk were also looking for their first points of the campaign, having been beaten 3-0 at home by Manchester City.

With their home ground in Bergamo falling short of UEFA's standards, Atalanta have been forced to play their European games at the San Siro stadium in Milan, some 60 kilometres from their home.

Atalanta missed a golden chance to take the lead when Josip Ilicic's 16th-minute penalty was saved by Andriy Pyatov, but the goalkeeper failed to cut out a cross 12 minutes later and Colombian striker Duvan Zapata headed his side in front. 

Atalanta's Duvan Zapata scores the opening goal against Shakhtar Donetsk 

IMAGE: Atalanta's Duvan Zapata scores the opening goal against Shakhtar Donetsk. Photograph: Emilio Andreoli/Getty Images

Shakhtar hit back just before halftime, Junior Moraes rounding the keeper to slot home the ball past the despairing slide of Jose Luis Palomino, and Brazilian midfielder Marlos slammed a free kick off the crossbar just before the break.

The visitors had looked content to absorb Atalanta's late pressure and settle for a point but a counter-attack deep into stoppage time ended with Solomon picking up fellow substitute Dodo's pass and rifling home the winner for Shakhtar.

Higuain the hero as Juve rout Leverkusen

Juventus's Gonzalo Higuain shoots at goal during the match against Bayer Leverkusen.

IMAGE: Juventus's Gonzalo Higuain shoots at goal during the match against Bayer Leverkusen. Photograph: Massimo Pinca/Reuters

Argentinian striker Gonzalo Higuain scored one goal and made another, while Cristiano Ronaldo added the third, as Juventus cruised to a 3-0 win over Bayer Leverkusen to go top of Champions League Group D on a rainy night in Turin.

Juventus, who threw away a two-goal lead to draw 2-2 away to Atletico Madrid on the opening day, paired Higuain with Ronaldo in attack and it did not take long for the move to pay off.

Goal-poacher Higuain exploited a disastrous attempt at a headed clearance by Jonathan Tah in the 17th minute, taking a touch before thumping the ball into the bottom left-hand corner to leave goalkeeper Lukas Hradecky no chance.

With Leverkusen enjoying plenty of possession but creating precious little in front of goal, Higuain turned provider in the second half, whipping in a low cross from the left for Federico Bernardeschi to sweep home Juve's second.

Keeper Hradecky nearly conceded a third in the 70th minute, taking a bad touch on a back pass that almost steered the ball into his own goal and then trying to get out of trouble with a risky short pass before the danger was cleared.

Leverkusen's best chance of the night fell to substitute Paulinho, but the 19-year-old Brazilian could not crown his Champions League debut with a goal and his lob went wide.

Portuguese attacker Ronaldo had a frustrating night in attack but after uncharacteristically missing some decent second-half chances, he slotted the ball through Hradecky's legs to make it 3-0 in the 88th minute.

The win puts Juventus top of the group on four points and ahead of second-placed Atletico Madrid, who won 2-0 away to third-placed Lokomotiv Moscow, on goal difference.

Leverkusen are bottom after their second straight defeat.

Felix, Partey give Atletico the points in Moscow

Joao Felix celebrates scoring Atletico Madrid's first goal against Lokomotiv Moscow.

IMAGE: Joao Felix celebrates scoring Atletico Madrid's first goal against Lokomotiv Moscow. Photograph: Evgenia Novozhenina/Reuters

Atletico Madrid’s 126-million-euro forward Joao Felix scored his first goal in the Champions League to help his side earn a 2-0 win at Lokomotiv Moscow in Group D on Tuesday.

The Portugal international broke the deadlock early in the second half of a tight game, sliding to the floor to knock the ball in on the rebound after his first shot had been parried by the hosts’ goalkeeper Guilherme.

Thomas Partey doubled Atletico’s lead 10 minutes later, knocking a ball from Diego Costa into the net after a lovely chipped pass from Felix, who became the fourth-most expensive player of all-time when he joined from Benfica in July.

The win took Atletico into second place in the group on four points, the same number as leaders Juventus who beat Bayer Leverkusen 3-0 and have a better goal difference.

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