UEFA Champions League
‘It is my fault’, admits Xavi as drowning Barcelona are held 3-3 by Inter
Robert Lewandowski scored two late goals to save Barcelona from elimination in the Champions League in a thrilling 3-3 draw with Inter Milan on Wednesday at Camp Nou.
The Polish forward dragged Xavi Hernandez’s side level at 2-2 in the 82nd minute and then again at 3-3 in stoppage time with a towering header, after Robin Gosens put the Italians ahead with one minute remaining.
Barcelona’s Champions League fate is no longer in their own hands though and they still face a second consecutive group-stage elimination if Inter Milan win at home against eliminated Viktoria Plzen on Oct 26.
Being on the verge of another early knock-out is a bitter blow for the Catalans, who hoped a summer signing spree, including Lewandowski from Bayern Munich, could restore their position among Europe’s elite.
“They were our errors tonight, we had the game in our hands, we had it in Munich, we had it in Milan and we had it here today,” bemoaned Xavi.
“We’re depending on another team to go through. They are our mistakes, we have to improve them. That’s the reality. The (improvement) process is longer than we thought in Europe.
“There are other competitions, La Liga, the Copa del Rey, the Super Copa. We have to insist, persist, believe.”
The hosts made the early running but Lautaro Martinez flashed a warning shot into the side netting on the counter-attack, with Inter sitting deep but ready to spring forward.
Lewandowski, in search of his first goal in three games, had a header cleared off the line and at the other end, Edin Dzeko hit the crossbar.
Raphinha was frustrated after skewing a volley wide but his work rate proved crucial when Barcelona broke the deadlock. The Brazilian winger chased a ball down in the corner and fed Sergi Roberto, who cut the ball across for Ousmane Dembele to blast home from close range.
Inter stewed on the goal at half-time and quickly produced one of their own, netting in the 50th minute after Gerard Pique played Nicolo Barella onside and the Italian rifled home.
The Inter midfielder snuck behind Pique, who waved a cross past him, towards Marc-Andre ter Stegen, not reading Barella’s movement.
The defender, 35, was starting his first Champions League game of the season, with Barcelona paying the price for Jules Kounde, Ronald Araujo and Andreas Christensen’s injuries.
“They didn’t come out switched on enough in the second half, that is a coaching error,” said Xavi.
“When you draw at home with these fans, with this atmosphere, it is my fault. I am angry. My feeling is that this competition has been, and is still being, cruel with us.”
It was another of the team’s veterans who gave the ball away for Inter’s second goal, with Sergio Busquets conceding possession with a stray pass. Hakan Calhanoglu found Martinez, and the Argentine striker left Eric Garcia for dead and slammed home via the post.
“We made errors that at this level, you cannot make,” admitted Garcia.
Eventually Lewandowski got his goal with a deflected strike at the second attempt after substitute Alejandro Balde found him in the area.
Gosens thought he had handed Inter qualification and eliminated Barca when he struck late on from Martinez’s cross, on yet another counter-attack, but Lewandowski had other ideas.
The striker’s towering header saved Barcelona from certain elimination, but their future in the competition still hangs by a fraying thread.
“I think that Barca are a very great team with a great coach. The problem is that Barca met an Inter in these games, an Inter at the right level, organised, determined,” said Inter coach Simone Inzaghi.
“In the second half, we played well and we deserved to win the game. We created many chances, we hit the bar, there were some very big saves.”
There is little time for Barcelona to pick themselves up and dust themselves down. On Sunday, Real Madrid beckon at the Santiago Bernabeu in La Liga.
–AFP
UEFA Champions League
Nigeria’s Victor Olatunji becomes third African scoring debutant in Uefa Champions League
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.
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.
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
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.
“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.
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.
-Reuters
UEFA Champions League
Real Madrid to play Liverpool, Milan and Dortmund in revamped Champions League
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.
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
Many fans risk missing 2026 World Cup as Visa window for visitors is closing
Nigeria’s Victor Olatunji becomes third African scoring debutant in Uefa Champions League
Lagos sports writers mourn Adeyinka Adebayo
Breaking! Uzoho suspended from Super Eagles’ next match with Sierra Leone
No longer Super League as CAF changes name of its new clubs competition
AIU releases its report on Tobi Amusan
-
AFCON1 week agoSuper Eagles lead Afcon Group D qualifiers despite Benin’s defeat of Libya
-
AFCON1 week agoAustin Eguavoen remains the ‘Big Boss’, says NFF
-
AFCON1 week agoWhy I benched Osimhen again – Eguavoen
-
AFCON1 week agoRwanda newspaper gives 5 lessons gleaned from Rwanda-Nigeria clash
-
Nigerian Football1 week agoWesterhof recommends Siasia for Super Eagles’ job
-
AFCON1 week agoNigeria’s managerial crisis resumes as Eguavoen reportedly declines to continue
-
AFCON1 week agoPresent and Past as CAF Coaches Symposium unites Rohr, Peseiro and Eguavoen
-
CAF Confederation Cup7 days agoEnyimba continues unbeaten run against Burkina Faso clubs