UEFA Champions League
LIVE – CHAMPIONS LEAGUE SEMI-FINAL: LYON 0-3 BAYERN MUNICH
88 MIN: GOAL! Lyon 0-3 BAYERN MUNICH –Lewandowski (Bayern) scores!
Double Lyon substitution
67min: Here comes a double change from Lyon as they look to force a way back into this game. Jeff Reine-Adelaide replaces Karl Ekambi while Kenny Tete comes on for Leo Dubois.
Bayern Munich substitution
63min: Having come on at half-time, Niklas Sule already looks like he is struggling with a knock. He is staying on for now though as Kingsley Coman replaces Ivan Perisic in Bayern Munich’s second switch.
MATCH UPDATE
*Bayern unbeaten; Lewandowski on 14 goals
*Lyon’s second semi-final appearance
*Winners face Paris in Sunday final
58 min: Substitution – Dembélé (in) – Depay (out) (Lyon).
Süle coming on for Boateng wasn’t an expected substitution. The German commentator suggested the change might be about saving his energy for the final, rather than it being injury-related.
SECOND HALF: Changes for both teams as Lyon restart
Lyon send on Thiago Mendes for Bruno Guimaraes in defensive midfield, while Bayern Munich replace Jerome Boateng with Niklas Sule at centre-back. Both changes look like they are injury influenced.
Substitution
Mendes (in) – Bruno Guimarães (out) (Lyon).
Substitution
Süle (in) – Boateng (out) (Bayern).
The referee blows for half-time.
Gooooal!
Gnabry (Bayern) scores!
GOAL! Lyon 0-1 BAYERN MUNICH
18min: What a goal this is! It’s eight goals in nine games for Serge Gnabry and I doubt any of them are better than this.
Picking the ball up from the right touchline, he cuts inside dodging a couple of challenges before from 23 yards he blasts into the top corner. It’s world class, it really its.
BAYERN MUNICH
Bayern Munich were able to seal their spot in the semifinals after battering Barca 8-2 last Friday.
Their attention had likely already shifted to today’s showdown with Lyon. Will they make it another harvest of goals?
The juggernaut, helmed by Hansi Flick, shows no signs of faltering after the comprehensive thumping. Bayern handed Chelsea their worst-ever aggregate defeat in a European tie, and often didn’t appear to have broken a sweat. They did the same to Barcelona.
Will Lyon be their next victims?
LYON
There were fears that the two Ligue 1 clubs remaining in the Champions League after Ligue 1 was called to an early finish would have suffered from a lack of preparation. But Lyon have blown that preconception well and truly out of the water.
They overcame Juventus and sealed a quarter-final spot in what was only their second competitive game in five months. Lyon appeared in top physical condition, despite their defeat in Turin, and deserved their eventual triumph on away goals.
Memphis Depay had bullishly predicted that Lyon were fearless and capable of springing an upset, and he was proved right.
The Dutchman also highlighted the newly-introduced single-leg format and now believes that ‘anyone can be favourites’.
However, that may not be the case for Rudi Garcia’s troops for their next clash. They face Manchester City, one of the favourites to win the competition for the first time in their history. Lyon will need to replicate the defiance which saw them narrowly lose out to Paris Saint-Germain in the French League Cup final last month in order to pose any real threat of reaching the final four.
Bayern have also shattered countless records during their run to Lisbon. They became the second-ever team to have won every single Champions League game so far this season. They have also scored the most goals in this season’s tournament, with 31 in total. That tally is sensationally 11 higher than the next closest team, Paris Saint-Germain.
Flick became only the third coach in history to guide his side to a win in his first five Champions League matches. His achievements have been rendered even more impressive considering the mess he had inherited from predecessor Niko Kovac in November.
Of course, it always helps that serial scorer Robert Lewandowski has netted the most goals in the competition with 13. Bayern are the favourites in many peoples’ eyes, and understandably so.
The second semi final of the Champions League is about to begin. It pitches French Ligue 1 side, Lyon against Germany’s Bayern Munich. The winner will face Paris Saint-Germain in the final.
Will the final match be an all-French duel? Will it be a Franco- German confrontation as this semi final match is? The events of the next one hour and a half will decide.
Meanwhile, both Lyon and Bayern Munich are unchanged from their quarterfinal matches.
Lyon starting XI: Lopes, Denayer, Marcelo, Marcal, Dubois, Caqueret, Bruno Guimaraes, Aouar, Cornet, Depay, Toko Ekambi
Bayern Munich starting XI: Neuer, Kimmich, Boateng, Alaba, Davies, Thiago, Goretzka, Gnabry, Muller, Perisic, Lewandowski
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
UEFA Champions League
Kane scores four goals as record-breaking Bayern crush Dinamo Zagreb 9-2
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
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