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UEFA Champions League

Chelsea blow bid for first place as Zenit snatch dramatic Champions League draw

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Zenit St Petersburg’s Magomed Ozdoev celebrates after scoring their third goal against Chelsea.PHOTO: AFP

Chelsea blew their chance to finish top of Champions League Group H as Magomed Ozdoev’s stoppage-time equaliser forced the holders to settle for a dramatic 3-3 draw at Zenit Saint Petersburg on Wednesday (Dec 8).

Thomas Tuchel’s side had already qualified for the last 16 and were hoping to take first place to theoretically secure an easier draw in the knockout stages.

They were just seconds away from achieving their aim when Ozdoev fired home to leave Chelsea two points behind group winners Juventus.

Werner had put Chelsea ahead after 84 seconds with his club’s fastest ever Champions League goal.

Claudinho equalised and Sardar Azmoun handed Zenit the lead before half-time.

Romelu Lukaku, making his first start since suffering an ankle injury against Malmo in October, equalised with his first goal in 11 club games since the Chelsea striker netted against Zenit in September.

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Werner looked to have won it with five minutes left, but Ozdoev’s last-gasp goal added to Tuchel’s mounting problems.

After Chelsea’s damaging 3-2 defeat at West Ham knocked them off the top of the Premier League on Saturday, this was another setback for the Blues.

A long flight and temperatures well below zero made it a gruelling trip for a team already running on fumes and a return trip to Saint Petersburg for the Champions League final in May must seem a long way off for Tuchel’s spluttering team at present.

Chelsea will face one of Ajax, Real Madrid, Bayern Munich or the winner of the Lille, Salzburg, Sevilla and Wolfsburg group in the last 16.

With N’Golo Kante still absent due to a knee injury, Jorginho unavailable because of a nagging back problem and Mateo Kovacic testing positive for the coronavirus this week, Chelsea’s midfield was in tatters.

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Tuchel made eight changes from the West Ham game, with Edouard Mendy replaced by Kepa Arrizabalaga after the Chelsea keeper’s costly mistake against West Ham.

Sting in the tale

Reece James, in superb form at right wing-back this season, was deployed in central midfield as Tuchel looked for a solution to his problems in that area, but the defender was a fish out of water for much of the game.

Saul Niguez has endured a difficult start following his loan switch from Atletico Madrid, but the Chelsea midfielder finally provided a positive contribution in the second minute.

Making a lung-bursting run from his unfamiliar left wing-back role, Saul’s shot was pushed away for a corner by Zenit keeper Mikhail Kerzhakov.

From Ross Barkley’s resulting set-piece, Andreas Christensen flicked on to Werner and he had the simple task of poking home from virtually on the goal-line.

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So often this season, Chelsea have taken the lead without killing the game off and once again they were caught out in the 38th minute.

After Chelsea failed to clear their lines, Douglas Santos’s cross found the visitors’ defence flat-footed and Claudinho took full advantage with a glancing header past Kepa.

There was worse to come for Chelsea three minutes later.

Barkley surrendered possession too easily in midfield and Malcom’s pass split the Chelsea defence, with Azmoun beating the flimsy offside trap and rounding Kepa before slotting into the empty net.

Chelsea were in disarray at the back and it took good saves from Kepa to repel Azmoun’s strike and then Malcom, who threatened with a curler in the second half.

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Largely anonymous for the first hour, Lukaku grabbed Chelsea’s equaliser in the 62nd minute.

Werner ran onto Barkley’s pass and Lukaku was just onside as he converted the German’s pass from close range.

Chelsea kept plugging away and looked to have won it in the 85th minute when Werner took Christian Pulisic’s pass and drilled a low finish past Kerzhakov from 12 yards.

But there was a sting in the tale as Ozdoev lashed home from the edge of the area four minutes into stoppage time.

-AFP

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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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