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UEFA Champions League

Chelsea top group with comfortable win at 10-man Milan

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Champions League – Group E – AC Milan v Chelsea – San Siro, Milan, Italy – October 11, 2022 Chelsea’s Mateo Kovacic and Thiago Silva in action with AC Milan’s Sandro Tonali REUTERS/Daniele Mascolo

Chelsea completed the double over AC Milan to top Champions League Group E with a 2-0 victory at San Siro on Tuesday, a match the hosts had to play the majority of with 10 men.

Looking to build on a 3-0 win over the Italians last week, Chelsea’s task in Milan’s famous old stadium was made all the more navigable after home defender Fikayo Tomori was sent off against his former club when conceding a 17th-minute penalty.

Jorginho converted from the spot after Milan’s protests had calmed down, before striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang scored for the third successive match in all competitions to double Chelsea’s lead in the 34th minute.

With the numerical disadvantage, chances were at a premium for Milan in the second half, full-back Sergino Dest wasting the best of them by blazing over from a good position.

Chelsea remained mostly untroubled though, with the victory moving them to seven points from four matches, a point ahead of RB Salzburg and three in front of Milan and Dinamo Zagreb.

“To come here and win is not easy,” Chelsea coach Graham Potter told BT Sport. “Credit to the players. They were really good.

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“We had a bit of luck with the opposition going down to 10 men. It’s nice for the penalty and nice for Jorginho to score. It was a nice move to lead to it. It is what it is. Sometimes they go for you. Overall the performance was good. “

Qualification for the knockout stages looked like it may be a tall order for Chelsea after a shock defeat in their group opener at Dinamo Zagreb was followed by a disappointing home draw with Salzburg

But victory over seven-time European Cup winners and Serie A champions Milan last week brought Chelsea right back into it — setting things up nicely for the return match in Italy.

England international Tomori’s foul on Mason Mount, however, effectively ended the match as a contest.

Tomori, who joined Milan from Chelsea in 2021, could not believe the referee showed him a straight red card, but the decision stood after a VAR review, as the 24-year-old became the first English player to get sent off in a Champions League game against an English side.

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“The penalty and red card changed everything,” Milan coach Stefano Pioli told Mediaset. “Chelsea didn’t need to play with a numerical superiority.

“I don’t want to review the episode, it seems too obvious. I don’t want to comment. I told the referee what I think, I don’t speak English very well but I think he understood “.

Jorginho confidently dispatched the spot kick, and the second goal was brimming with quality, with Mount heavily involved, laying the ball through for Aubameyang to continue his fine scoring run having joined Chelsea from Barcelona last month.

Substitute Conor Gallagher should have added a third early in the second, before blazing another opportunity over later in the half, but it mattered little, as Chelsea, in cruise control, saw the match out with ease.

It is now four wins from five in all competitions for new coach Potter since taking over from Thomas Tuchel last month.

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-Reuters

Kunle Solaja is the author of landmark books on sports and journalism as well as being a multiple award-winning journalist and editor of long standing. He is easily Nigeria’s foremost soccer diarist and Africa's most capped FIFA World Cup journalist, having attended all FIFA World Cup finals from Italia ’90 to Qatar 2022. He was honoured at the Qatar 2022 World Cup by FIFA and AIPS.

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UEFA Champions League

Nigeria’s Victor Olatunji becomes third African scoring debutant in Uefa Champions League

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Nigeria’s Victor Olatunji was not just the hero for his side, Sparta Prague, in Wednesday’s 3-0 defeat of Salzburg in their opening game of the UEFA Champions League, he has edged himself into the competition’s record books.

According to Opta, Olatunji’s goal made him the third African player to score and assist on  Champions League debut.

Before him were  Gabon’s  Daniel Cousin in 2007 (for Rangers in the match with Lyon) and Cote d’Ivoire’s Serge Aurier in 2015 (for PSG in the duel with Shakhtar Donetsk).

Olatunji scored one and produced a master-piece assist that led to the third goal for Sparta Prague on Wednesday night.

Reigning Czech Republic champions Sparta Prague kicked off their UEFA Champions League campaign with a game against Salzburg at the Epet Arena in Prague.

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Olatunji, who has been the main man for Sparta Prague since last season, got a starting shirt in the striker position- his debut in the Champions League.

The Czech side had a dream start as they took the lead just a minute into the game courtesy of Kaan Kairinen. After conceding, Salzburg started to dominate the game, but they failed to make any clear-cut opportunity.

Sparta Prague were better coordinated and held their lines better. They eventually got their second, and it was courtesy of Nigeria striker Olatunji. A long ball was played from Sparta Prague’s defence, Olatunji got to it, and he took a one-time shot to send the ball into the bottom left corner of the goal.

Then, in the second half, Olatunji supplied the assist for Qazim Laci for Sparta Prague’s third. In his 58 minutes of action, the 25-year-old striker registered two goal attempts, 14 touches, and won four of his seven duels. The game eventually ended 3-0 in Sparta Prague’s favour.

In the other matches of the night, Manchester City were held to a goalless draw by Inter Milan while PSG managed a lone goal win over Girona in Paris and Club Brugge lost 0-3 at home to last year’s losing finalist, Borussia Dortmund.

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Celtic FC had a goal feast at home with a 5-1 demolition of visiting Slovan Bratislava and Bologna and Shakhtar Donestsk settled for a goalles draw. Action resumes tonight with FC Bacerlona and Arsenal away in Monaco and Atalanta respectively.

RESULTS

  • Bologna 0-0 Shakhtar
  • Sparta 3-0 Salzburg
  • Celtic 5-1 Brastilava
  • Brugge 0-3 Dortmund
  • Man City 0-0 Inter
  • PSG 1-0 Girona

THURSDAY’S FIXTURES

  • Feyenoord Vs Leverkusen
  • Zvezda Vs Benfica
  • Atalanta Vs Arsenal
  • Brest  Vs Graz
  • Atletico Vs Leipzig
  • Monaco Vs Barca
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UEFA Champions League

Kane scores four goals as record-breaking Bayern crush Dinamo Zagreb 9-2

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Champions League - Bayern Munich v GNK Dinamo Zagreb - Allianz Arena, Munich, Germany - September 17, 2024 Bayern Munich's Harry Kane scores their sixth goal from the penalty spot to complete a hat-trick REUTERS/Angelika Warmuth

Bayern Munich striker Harry Kane scored four goals to lead his side to a 9-2 demolition of visitors Dinamo Zagreb on Tuesday and a record for the most goals by one team in a Champions League match after a scintillating performance.

Bayern struck three times in the first half with Kane converting a 19th minute penalty before becoming the highest scoring English player in European Cup history with 33 goals, breaking Wayne Rooney’s mark of 30.

Kane, who scored three goals against Holstein Kiel in the Bundesliga on Saturday, also became the first player to score a hat-trick of penalties in a European Cup match.

The game had the second-biggest winning margin in Champions League history, with Liverpool and Real Madrid holding the record with 8-0 wins.

Borussia Dortmund’s 8-4 win over Legia Warsaw in 2016 is the record for most goals overall in a Champions League match.

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“It’s the first time I’ve ever had three penalties in one game,” said Kane. “It was a different feeling for me, but to score four goals is fantastic.”

“To help the team in any way possible is important. Whether they’re penalties or normal finishes I’ll take them all. It was a great night for us.”

DETERMINED BAYERN

Bayern are eager to bounce back after failing to win any domestic or international silverware last season.

“Everyone has a point to prove here and we’ve started the season that way,” Kane said. “The way the coach wants us to press and be intense with and without the ball is important. We know we can dominate teams with the quality we have.”

With Zagreb completely boxed in, Raphael Guerreiro, who had earlier put the ball in the net only to be ruled offside, drilled home from a superb Jamal Musiala assist in the 33rd and Michael Olise added another five minutes later.

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The Croats briefly recovered by making the most of some sloppy defending with goals from Bruno Petkovic in the 49th and Takuya Ogiwara a minute later to give themselves some hope.

It was, however, short-lived with Bayern, who hope to reach this season’s final to be played in Munich, upping the tempo instantly and scoring two more in a four-minute span through Kane and Olise to restore order.

In coach Vincent Kompany’s Champions League debut on the bench, England captain Kane bagged his third and fourth goals with penalties in the 73rd and 78th.

Thomas Mueller also set a record with his 152nd Champions League appearance for Bayern, breaking Xavi’s mark at Barcelona for the most matches in the competition with one club.

Substitutes Leroy Sane and Leon Goretzka also got on the scoresheet with late goals as Bayern opened their Champions League campaign in devastating fashion.

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-Reuters

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UEFA Champions League

Real Madrid to play Liverpool, Milan and Dortmund in revamped Champions League

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Reigning champions Real Madrid will play Borussia Dortmund in the league phase of the Champions League in what will be a repeat of last season’s final after the draw for the new-look 36-team tournament was held on Thursday.

Clubs will no longer playing three teams home and away in the group phase, but will face eight different teams with four games at home and four away which were picked with the help of a computer.

With clubs facing two teams each from the four pots, the draw threw up plenty of mouth-watering fixtures with Real also set to play former champions Liverpool and AC Milan in the league phase.

Premier League champions Manchester City will face Inter Milan — a repeat of the 2023 final — Paris St Germain and Juventus while Bayern Munich are up against PSG and Barcelona among others.

Apart from Real, Liverpool also take on RB Leipzig, Bayer Leverkusen and AC Milan.

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New Barcelona boss Hansi Flick has his hands full with the Spanish team set to face the two German giants — his former club Bayern Munich and Dortmund.

The draw was conducted with the help of the competition’s all-time top scorer Cristiano Ronaldo and former goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon, who were both given special awards by UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin.

-Reuters

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