UEFA Champions League
UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE: BARCELONA, DORTMUND A STEP AWAY FROM ROUND OF 16
BY APESIN ADEMOLA.
Lionel Messi returned from injury layoff ahead of time and should be in the squad as Barcelona hope to wrap up proceedings in Group B on time.
Three wins in as many matches have set the Catalans ahead of the field, three points clear of tonight’s opponents, Inter.
The Nerazzurri will however be baying for blood at the San Siro having lost the first leg 2-0.
Inter’s resurgence is signposted by their being second placed in Serie A ahead of Napoli.
Since suffering a lone goal home defeat to Parma on Matchday 4 of the current Serie A season, Inter have gone on to win all their matches in all competitions, except the setback at Camp Nou. That is nine matches on the bounce!
In that same group are Tottenham and PSV Eindhoven, who both file out at Wembley chasing their first win of the group stage.
The first leg ended 2-2 in Eindhoven, the only time both times will gain a point in three group fixtures.
Spurs battled out a 3-2 win away to Wolverhampton Wanderers in the English Premier League on Saturday to displace Arsenal at fourth spot.
That followed their 3-1 win over West Ham United also on the road, which extinguished their home lone goal loss to Manchester City.
With five points adrift of the second round qualification bar, Spurs know that this is a must-win encounter.
In Group A, Borussia Dortmund will qualify for the Round of 16 with two matches to spare if they achieve double victory over their Spanish hosts, Atlético.
Diego Simeone’s side crumbled 0-4 at Signal-Iduna Park in Dortmund a fortnight ago but have won two other games since then – 2-0 against Real Sociedad in LaLiga and 1-0 away to UE Sant Andreu in Copa del Rey – and forced a 1-1 draw away to CD Leganés in their last match on Saturday in the domestic league.
The pressure is more on Atlético, who are three points adrift of their opponents as maximum points will draw them level going into the last two fixtures of the group stage.
Given that their subsequent opponents will be AS Monaco and Club Brugge, both posting only one point in three group matches, the chances of Atlético advancing to the knockout stages with Dortmund will be boosted by victory tonight.
In the earlier match in the group, Thierry Henry will be seeking his first win since his managerial career commenced at his former club, Monaco.
Henry, whose club career began at Monaco before he blossomed at Arsenal, signed a three-year managerial deal with his former club on October 18.
He has lost two matches and shared honours in the other two, and hoping to win his first match versus Club Brugge this evening.
Defeat for either Monaco or Brugge, who finished the first leg 1-1 in Brugge, will spell elimination from the elite club competition.
In Group C, despite the highly-prized stars in PSG, the Parisians have failed to match up to pre-tournament rating in the Champions League this season.
Although they established a record of 12 consecutive wins in Europe’s top five leagues with their defeat of Lille last Friday, that impressive run has not been translated into Europe as they have managed only one win against Serbian minnows Crvena Zvezda.
They drew with Napoli and lost to Liverpool to stand at No 3.
Kylian Mbappe, Neymar and company face second place Napoli, who battled to a 2-2 result in Paris two weeks ago.
Napoli have been in decent form in Serie A, currently sitting third in the table after 11 games.
They won their last game against Empoli 5-1, which should give them confidence going into this crucial clash with the French champions.
Victory over Liverpool and a draw with PSG should also give Napoli encouragement that they can challenge PSG again in this fixture.
Fresh from a frenetic 1-1 outcome at the Emirates Stadium versus Arsenal on Saturday, Liverpool go into battle with Group C’s whipping side Crvena Zvezda, who they thrashed 4-0 at Anfield in the first leg. The Reds might have exited the English League Cup quite early – losing to Chelsea at the first time of asking – but they are one of three teams without a loss in the English Premier League this season after 11 rounds of matches.
Mohamed Salah, Roberto Firmino and Sadio Mane will all be ready to make it double victory over their hosts, a result that will move them nearer the knockout rounds.
Group D have FC Porto ahead of Schalke 04 by two points, while Galatasaray are a point behind the German side.
Porto will strive at a double over bottom-placed Lokomotiv Moskva, who lost the first leg 3-1, while Schalke welcome Galatasaray to their Veltins-Arena in Gelsenkirchen. The reverse fixture ended goalless.
Fixtures…
Group A:
- AS Monaco v Club Brugge (first leg 1-1) (6:55pm)
- Atlético Madrid v Borussia Dortmund (first leg Borussia Dortmund 4-0) (9pm)
Group B:
- Tottenham Hotspur v PSV Eindhoven (first leg 2-2) (9pm)
- Internazionale Milano v Barcelona (first leg Barcelona 2-0) (9pm)
Group C:
- FK Crvena Zvezda v Liverpool (first leg Liverpool 4-0) (6:55pm)
- Napoli v Paris Saint-Germaine (first leg 2-2) (9pm)
Group D:
- FC Porto v Lokomotiv Moskva (first leg FC Porto 3-1) (9pm)
- Schalke 04 v Galatasaray (first leg 0-0) (9pm)
UEFA Champions League
Osimhen and Aubameyang: Africa’s First Men of the Match in 2025/26 Champions League
The Champions League has barely started and already African fans have something to be proud of.
Two of the continent’s biggest names, Victor Osimhen from Nigeria and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang from Gabon, have become the first African players this season to be named Man of the Match.
For Osimhen, it was a night to remember in Istanbul. Galatasaray were up against Liverpool, a team with a European pedigree and needed someone to step up. Osimhen did just that.
His goal gave Galatasaray a 1-0 win but it was more than just the goal. His energy and how he kept Liverpool’s defenders on their toes all night made him the best player on the pitch.
So his winning of the UEFA Man of the Match award. Galatasaray fans had proof they have a striker who can change games at the highest level.
Meanwhile, on the same night in Marseille, Aubameyang was showing why he has been Africa’s most reliable goal scorer for over a decade.
At 36, some wondered if he still had it on nights like this. His answer was a thunderous “YES.”
Marseille tore Ajax apart in a 4–0 demolition that saw Aubameyang seal his stature as the orchestrator and heartbeat of the French club’s attack.
His movement, his composure and his leadership stood out. So much so that he too was rightfully awarded the Man of the Match.
The fact that these two happened on the same night made it even more special for African football fans.
Osimhen represents the new generation: quick, hungry and with still a few years ahead to make history.
Aubameyang is the veteran still out there to prove – even though he really has nothing to prove anymore – that experience and class don’t fade easily.
Together, they gave African football fans a double reason to smile.
For Nigeria and Gabon, these awards are more than individual trophies. They are ultimately a reminder of how much African players contribute to the Champions League season in, season out.
And the tournament is still in its early stages. So there’s every chance more players from the continent will follow in their footsteps before the Budapest finale in 2026. Only good omens for the 2025 AFCON that starts in a few months.
-Morocco World News
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In his glory days, Jose Mourinho celebrated dramatic goals from his teams by sprinting down the touchline, sometimes sliding on his knees for extra euphoric effect.
On Tuesday, back at his former club Chelsea as the new coach of Benfica, Mourinho’s most eye-catching intervention was down the touchline again, but this time his run was to urge his team’s fans to stop hurling objects onto the pitch.
Benfica under Mourinho, in his fourth game in charge, were defeated 1-0 by an under-strength Chelsea side in the Champions League after a fist-half Richard Rios own goal.
The self-declared “Special One” was lauded by the home fans with a few choruses of “Jose Mou-rin-ho” in recognition of his successes – three Premier League titles and four other trophies – which no other Chelsea manager has come close to matching.
Mourinho, 62, acknowledged the chants with a gentle wave, got a cheer when he ventured onto the pitch to clear a spare ball and quickly vanished down the tunnel at the final whistle after shaking the hand of Chelsea coach Enzo Maresca.
It was all a far cry from the fervour of 20 years ago when Mourinho – having led Porto to an unlikely Champions League triumph – turned Chelsea into English champions for the first time in 50 years in 2005 and won the title again a year later.
After a collapse of form, Mourinho departed in 2007 but he won the Champions League again, this time with Inter Milan in 2010, knocking out the Londoners on the way to the final.
He went on to manage Real Madrid before returning to Chelsea where he claimed a third English title and then had spells at Manchester United, London side Tottenham Hotspur – an unforgivable move for many Chelsea fans at the time – and Roma.
As the big offers dried up, Mourinho went on to coach Fenerbahce in Turkey where he lasted little more than a year before his return to Portuguese football with Benfica.
Asked after Tuesday’s defeat by Chelsea if he still had the drive of the early days of his career, Mourinho insisted he felt more motivated.
“If I am in a job it’s because I like to put myself on the line every day,” he told reporters. “I am desperate to win the next match.”
Mourinho said he thought Benfica had deserved more from the game. “We started well, we controlled well. I don’t know if I can say big chances but we had chances for sure.”
Chelsea’s Maresca said he was relieved to secure a win – albeit a scrappy one – after two consecutive defeats in the Premier League and a 3-1 loss at Bayern Munich in the his side’s Champions League opener.
“Sometimes you need to learn to win in another way,” he said of Chelsea’s improved defensive performance. “At least we learned how to win a game with a red card.”
Striker Joao Pedro was dismissed for a second yellow card after coming on as a substitute, the third time in four matches that Chelsea have finished with 10 men
-Reuters
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Hosts Eintracht Frankfurt scored four times in 29 minutes to bounce back from a goal down and hammer Galatasaray 5-1 in their Champions League opener on Thursday.
The Turkish sides are without their talismanic striker, Victor Osimhen who was injured while on international duty with Nigeria.
The Turks had hit Frankfurt on the break with Yunus Akgun completing the move from a Leroy Sane assist in the eighth minute. Germany international Sane, who joined from Bayern Munich this season, became the only player in Champions League history to play for four or more clubs and score or assist on his debut for each of them.
Frankfurt, competing for only the second time in the Champions League main round, struggled to break through Galatasaray’s defence until a defensive error from Akgun in the 37th. Ritsu Doan pounced, charged into the box and Davinson Sanchez deflected the Japanese winger’s shot in for an own goal.
The hosts took the lead in first-half stoppage time when 19-year-old Turkey international Can Uzun scored a superb goal on his Champions League debut after fine control and a quick turn in the box. The hosts netted again before halftime with Jonathan Burkardt’s well-timed glancing header putting them 3-1 up.
With the visitors forced to take more risks after the break, Frankfurt found space and Burkardt completed his dream Champions League debut with another header in the 66th for his second goal of the evening. Ansgar Knauff completed the rout in the 75th.
Frankfurt next travel to Atletico Madrid on September 30 when Galatasaray host Liverpool.
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