UEFA Champions League
LIVE SCORES; BAYERN MUNICH 4-1 CHELSEA (Agg: 7-1) BARCA 3-1 NAPOLI (agg 4-2)
85mins: BARCELONA 3-1 NAPOLI (AGG: 4-2)
Napoli still hunting. Milik spins on the ballon the edge of the box but is blocked by Lenglet.
Almost an error from ter Stegen after he misjudges a ball into the box.
It is headed back to his near post, he leaves it but it bounces off the post and he gets away with it.
Into the final five minutes now.
CHELSEA ARE OUT OF THE CHAMPIONS LEAGUE
FULL-TIME: Bayern Munich 4-1 Chelsea (agg 7-1)
STILL ADVANTAGE BARCELONA AT CAMP NOU
NO GOAL – BARCELONA 2-0 NAPOLI (AGG 3-1) Another goal by Messi is disallowed after VAR check
After two minutes of checking, the goal is ruled out for the slightest brush of Messi’s arm as he controlled the ball.
POINT TO NOTE:
This is the first time Chelsea have shipped seven goals in a two-legged European tie
GOAL! BAYERN MUNICH 4-1 Chelsea (agg 7-1)
GOAL! BAYERN MUNICH 3-1 Chelsea (agg 6-1)
Tactical double Bayern Munich substitution
71min: They bring off their players on yellow cards and at risk of suspension to protect them from suspension as Thiago Alcantara and Josh Kimmich depart to be replaced by Corentin Tolisso and Alvaro Odriozola.
68th min ; Bayern Munich 2-1 Chelsea (agg 5-1)
Chance here for Chelsea as Ross Barkely is tripped on the very edge of the box by Thiago Alcantara. If the Blues are to launch the comeback of all comebacks, now’s the time from this free-kick about 20 yards out to the left…
67min: Chelsea still need four goals to progress. I this realistically possible as they are under pressure now.
Josh Kimmich heads the ball on for Robert Lewandowski whose volley across goal is deflected just wide by Kurt Zouma.
Double Bayern Munich substitution
64min: Double change for Bayern and indeed Boateng does depart as Niklas Sule comes on, while Philippe Coutinho replaces Ivan Perisic who of course scored the second goal for the hosts earlier.
Bayern Munich 2-1 Chelsea (agg 5-1)
60min: It might not be a hamstring injury for Boateng but given the state of play in this tie I will be surprised if he continues for much longer. Hans-Dieter Flick though is not preparing a switch.
57min: Trouble for Bayern Munich. Trying to clear the ball under pressure from Callum Hudson-Odoi with a diving header, Jerome Boateng has stayed down holding his hamstring. I suspect his evening is done if that is the case.
SECOND HALF ON
Chelsea creating chances
Emerson clips a through ball to Mason Mount, who bears down on goal and hammers it at Manuel Neuer from a tight angle.
Then Thiago Alcantara unleashes a lovely tackle on Ross Barkley to stop him from putting Tammy Abraham clear.
Chelsea have posed more of a threat to Bayern this half than they had done before, pre- or post-onset of the global pandemic.
HIGHLIGHTS OF FIRST HALF
· Half-time: Bayern 2-1 Chelsea (5-1)
· 10 MIN. GOAL! Bayern 2-1 Chelsea (5-1)
· 24 MIN. GOAL! Bayern 2-0 Chelsea (5-0)
· 44 MIN. GOAL! Bayern 1-0 Chelsea (4-0 agg)
HALF-TIME: Bayern Munich 2-1 Chelsea (agg 5-1)
GOAL: Barcelona 3-1 NAPOLI (Insigne 45+3mins, pen)
Amid some loud protests behind him, the Napoli captain makes no mistake.
There is life left in this yet.
GOAL! Bayern Munich 2-1 CHELSEA (agg 5-1)
44min: Total gift for Chelsea but they will take it.
Manuel Neuer parries away an Emerson low cross very poorly and it allows Tammy Abraham to tap in from close range. One added minute.
BARCELONA 2-0 NAPOLI (AGG 3-1)
In the other Champions League match , Barcelona are leading 2-0 against Napoli making it an aggregate of 3- lead. Goals came from Clement Lenglet in the 10th minute while Lionel Messi scored the second in the 23rd minute. What could have been the third goal by Messi was disallowed in the 30th minute.
DISALLOWED!
THE COMEBACK STARTS HE… no, let’s not even.
A great reaction from Chelsea, though, as Callum Hudson-Odoi cuts through the middle and fires home an excellent goal!
OH WAIT. It’s been disallowed for an offside that must have happened about 20 minutes earlier. Great.
GOAL! BAYERN MUNICH 2-0 Chelsea (agg 5-0)
Robert Lewandowski gets his 12th Champions League goal this season!
Robert Lewandowski has scored 52 goals in 44 appearances in all competitions this season, finding the net in 36 of those 44 matches (82%). Relentless.
Bayern Munich 1-0 Chelsea (agg 4-0)
16min: Chelsea need to get a grip here. They nearly fall two goals down on the night, with only some last ditch defending from N’Golo Kante forcing Thomas Muller to shoot over the crossbar.
GOAL! Bayern Munich 1-0 Chelsea (agg 4-0)
10min: Chelsea think the offside flag has saved them as Willy Cabellero rushes out his goal to bring down Robert Lewandowski.
But VAR soon overules that and after the Chelsea stopper is booked, the Polish striker gives the keeper the eyes before slotting home the resulting penalty without even looking at the ball.
Chelsea have a mountain to climb in Munich as they face Bayern Munich in the Round of 16. The Premiership side dream of comeback and upturn a 3-0 deficit to reach the quarterfinal stage. Can they do it?
- Bayern Munich starting XI: Neuer, Kimmich, Boateng, Alaba, Davies, Goretzka, Thiago, Gnabry, Muller, Perisic, Lewandowski
- Chelsea starting XI: Caballero, Emerson Palmieri, Zouma, Christensen, James, Kovacic, Kante, Barkley, Mount, Abraham, Hudson-Odoi
Tickets for the men’s Champions League final in Budapest will start at 70 euros ($80) with a lottery deciding the allocation for the general public, UEFA said on Monday.
The final will be on May 30 at Puskas Arena in the Hungarian capital.
Fans will also be able to attend the women’s Champions League final at Oslo’s Ullevaal Stadium on May 23 for as little as 20 euros, with tickets on sale from Monday for all UEFA club competition finals.
The pricing structure stands in contrast to major international tournaments such as the World Cup and the European Championship, where ticket prices are typically far higher and have drawn criticism from supporters.
Applications are open through UEFA’s ticket portal, with sales for the Champions League final closing on March 19.
Tickets will then be allocated through a lottery once the rather than sold through first-come, first-served sales or dynamic pricing models increasingly used at major sporting events.
UEFA said the majority of tickets for the four finals will go to supporters of the participating teams and the general public, with more than 40 percent of capacity for the Champions League final reserved for fans in the two lowest price categories.
Prices for the Europa League final in Istanbul on May 20 start at 40 euros, while the Conference League final in Leipzig on May 27 begins at 25 euros.
-Reuters
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Atletico Madrid tore Tottenham Hotspur apart in a stunning first-half blitz on Tuesday, powering to a 5-2 victory in the first leg of their Champions League last-16 tie and leaving the Premier League side with a mountain to climb in London.
The visitors’ 22-year-old goalkeeper Antonin Kinsky endured a night to forget on his first appearance since October and only his third of the season.
Two costly errors from the Czech helped Atletico race into a commanding lead, and he was substituted in the 17th minute by manager Igor Tudor immediately after Atletico’s third goal.
Marcos Llorente struck after six minutes when Kinsky slipped while playing the ball out, and Antoine Griezmann doubled the lead in the 14th when Micky van de Ven also lost his footing.
A minute later, Julian Alvarez walked in the third after Kinsky miscued a clearance, the earliest a team has gone three goals up in a Champions League knockout match.
After Kinsky was replaced by Guglielmo Vicario, Atletico added a fourth when Robin Le Normand’s header crossed the line following a rebound from Griezmann’s free kick. Tottenham defender Pedro Porro reduced the deficit after 26 minutes.
Alvarez then raced from his own half to score the hosts’ fifth goal in the 55th before Dominic Solanke punished an error by Atletico keeper Jan Oblak, which gifted Spurs a second goal.
“We’re very happy with the win and the three-goal lead, but there are still 90 minutes left to play on their home turf,” Alvarez told Movistar Plus.
“We know what this competition is like. Every detail counts, it’s not going to be easy, but we want to be in the quarter-finals.”
ATLETICO SEIZE CONTROL
Diego Simeone’s Atletico side needed barely a quarter of an hour at the Metropolitano stadium to seize control, scoring three times in nine chaotic minutes as Premier League strugglers Spurs unravelled spectacularly.
The rout began in the sixth minute when Kinsky slipped onto his backside while attempting to play out from the back, gifting possession to Alvarez. The Argentine squared for Llorente, who steered a tidy finish just inside the left post.
Eight minutes later, defender Van de Ven also lost his footing trying to control a routine pass, leaving Griezmann free to burst into the area and drill a low shot past Kinsky.
A minute later, Kinsky completely fluffed a first-time clearance from a back-pass, allowing Alvarez to stroll the ball into an unguarded net.
Atletico’s three goals marked the earliest a team has gone three ahead in a Champions League knockout match, and the damage was far from complete.
Tudor reacted by sending on regular keeper Vicario, but the Italian had little time to settle.
In the 22nd minute, he pushed out a Griezmann free kick only as far as Le Normand, whose close-range header was initially clawed away before the referee, alerted by goal-line technology, awarded Atletico their fourth goal.
TOTTENHAM TRY TO RESPOND
To their credit, Spurs responded swiftly. Porro surged down the right in the 26th minute, collected a lateral pass from Richarlison and fired past Oblak to reduce the arrears.
Tottenham captain Cristian Romero then struck the post with a header from a corner before halftime as the visitors sought another lifeline, while Griezmann sliced wide from close range with the goal at his mercy.
Any hope of a sustained Spurs comeback was extinguished 10 minutes after the break. With the away side committed forward, Atletico broke at speed from a defensive corner.
Griezmann’s delightful touch released Alvarez from inside his own half and the forward sprinted clear before sliding a low finish beyond Vicario for his second and Atletico’s fifth.
There was still time for another twist.
In the 76th minute Oblak miscontrolled the ball while attempting to play out from the back, presenting halftime substitute Solanke with possession and the striker rifled home to give Spurs the faintest glimmer of hope.
Yet the evening belonged emphatically to Atletico, who carry a three-goal advantage into next week’s return leg in London after a display that punished every Tottenham misstep.
-Reuters
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UEFA Champions League
Heineken Brings “Fans Have More Friends” Campaign to Nigeria for Champions League Round of 16
As the Round of 16 of the UEFA Champions League gets underway, Heineken is bringing fans together in Nigeria through its global “Fans Have More Friends” campaign.
The initiative will see premium match-viewing experiences hosted in Lagos at select venues, including GreenHouse on Olu Holloway Road, Ikoyi, and Hunger Games on Kofo Abayomi Street, Victoria Island, during match days on Tuesday and Wednesday.
According to organisers, the events are designed to offer more than just live football coverage. Fans attending the viewing parties will enjoy live music performances, interactive “predict and win” games, branded merchandise giveaways and a steady supply of Heineken throughout the night.
The programme aims to transform match nights into full entertainment experiences that blend football, music and social interaction among supporters.
Every goal comes with excitement!
Maria Shadeko, Portfolio Manager for Premium Beer at Nigerian Breweries Plc, said the campaign reflects the deep connection between football and social life in Nigeria.
“In Nigeria, Champions League nights are about connection,” Shadeko said. “Friends come together, strangers become friends, and everyone shares the same emotions from kick-off to the final whistle. Through Heineken’s ‘Fans Have More Friends’ platform, we are celebrating that spirit of togetherness.”
While the festivities unfold off the pitch, attention will also turn to the action across Europe as the knockout stage produces several high-profile encounters.
Among the headline ties is the clash between Paris Saint-Germain and Chelsea FC, while Newcastle United face FC Barcelona. Elsewhere, Galatasaray SK will meet Liverpool FC, and Atlético Madrid will battle Tottenham Hotspur.
Heineken rewards a loyal fan in ‘Predict and Win’ contest at one of the viewing experiences on a match night
Another standout fixture pits Real Madrid against Manchester City, a contest many fans consider worthy of a final. Bayern Munich will take on Atalanta BC, Bayer Leverkusen face Arsenal FC, while Sporting CP meet Bodø/Glimt.
Nigerian fans will also have a strong interest in the tournament through local stars playing key roles for their clubs. Victor Osimhen is expected to lead the attack for Galatasaray against Liverpool, while Ademola Lookman will aim to shine for Atlético Madrid in their tie against Tottenham.
Across Lagos and other Nigerian cities, Champions League match nights have become social gatherings where supporters of different clubs watch together, debate tactics and celebrate goals.
Shadeko said Heineken’s campaign is designed to capture and amplify that shared passion.
“Fandom has a unique way of bringing people closer,” she said. “When you watch a big match with others, the experience becomes bigger and more memorable. That is what we are creating with these match-day experiences.”
As the Champions League anthem echoes across Europe and the Round of 16 drama begins, fans in Nigeria will gather once again to share the excitement, with Heineken adding its own flavour to the match-night experience
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