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UEFA Champions League

Klopp hopes against hope in unlikely Liverpool comeback in Madrid

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Juergen Klopp is not throwing in the towel but admits the chances are slim that his Liverpool side will overturn a three-goal deficit against Real Madrid in their Champions League last 16, second leg at the Bernabeu on Wednesday.

Liverpool scored twice inside the opening 15 minutes in the first leg at Anfield last month, but then collapsed and ended up losing 5-2 after holders Real produced a stunning comeback.

“Three weeks ago after the game I said that with that result, Madrid were through to the next round,” Klopp told a news conference on Tuesday. “Now we know there’s a game to play.

“(Even) if there’s only one percent chance (for us to overturn the result), I’d like to give it a try.

“We’re here to play an extremely strong opponent and try to win the game. And as difficult as it is, that’s probably possible. Not likely but possible, and for that we’re here. We respect the competition and the opponent too much not to look forward to this game.”

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Liverpool head into the game on the back of a demoralising 1-0 defeat at relegation-threatened Bournemouth on Saturday, their eighth Premier league loss of the season.

Yet the club have often saved their best for Europe and have a history of famous comebacks.

In 2018-19 they overturned a 3-0 semi-final first-leg loss against Barcelona to beat Lionel Messi’s side 4-0 in the return at Anfield, while in 2005 they came back from three goals down at halftime to beat AC Milan on penalties in the final.

“If we can surprise in a negative way, we should also be able to surprise ourselves in a positive way,” Klopp said.

“It’s clear we’re not here telling Madrid: ‘Be careful, we’re coming’… But we’re here to try to win the game. And to win it we have to play extremely good.

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“A normal game, an okay game – it will not be enough. Even just to win it – and I’m not talking about going through to the next round – we have to be on top of our game.”

Liverpool midfielder Fabinho, who had a stint with Real Madrid over a decade ago, underlined the importance of approaching the clash with cool heads.

“It’s not easy coming to Santiago Bernabeu with three goals down,” he said. “But I think it’s necessary not to appear desperate since the start of the game.

“It’s obvious that we need to score but I think it’s more important not to concede more, 0-0 at the end of first half would be a good score. We need to remain cold-headed.

“Real Madrid, how can I say, they smell the blood. If you give them any opportunity, they go and score and that’s what we saw in the last match. We learn and have to try to be less exposed.”

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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

Osimhen and Aubameyang: Africa’s First Men of the Match in 2025/26 Champions League

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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.

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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.

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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.

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-Morocco World News

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UEFA Champions League

‘Special One’ Mourinho makes low-key, losing return to Chelsea

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UEFA Champions League - Chelsea v Benfica - Stamford Bridge, London, Britain - September 30, 2025 Benfica coach Jose Mourinho reacts alongside Chelsea's Alejandro Garnacho Action Images via Reuters/Andrew Couldridge

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.

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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.

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“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

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-Reuters

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UEFA Champions League

Osimhen-less Galatasaray crumble miserably at Frankfurt

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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.

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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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