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UEFA Champions League

Liverpool under pressure to beat Real in Champions League final

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Champions League Final – Liverpool Training – Stade de France, Saint-Denis near Paris, France – May 27, 2022 General view during training REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach

Liverpool are unbeaten since March, have lost only three games all season and have already lifted two domestic cups but they will play Real Madrid in Saturday’s Champions League final under pressure to avoid ending the campaign as nearly men.

Having spent the latter part of the season being touted for a unique quadruple, they face the prospect of potential double disappointment after missing out on the Premier League title to Manchester City by a solitary point on the last day.

For Real the situation could not be more different. They began the season with low expectations but ended up romping to the LaLiga title and became the comeback kings of Europe after heroic and improbable fightbacks en route to the final.

So while bookies’ favourites Liverpool have lost fewer games in all competitions this term than Madrid have in the Champions League alone, the pressure appears to be more on the Reds to lift the trophy at the Stade de France.

Real are enjoying a dream season that started with almost no expectations and could end up with a LaLiga-Champions League double thanks mainly to an amazing season from Karim Benzema.

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His 15 goals in 11 Champions League games, 10 in the knockout stage, have put Real on the verge of winning Europe’s elite club title for the fifth time in nine years and the France striker as favourite to claim the Ballon D’Or after scoring 44 goals, with 15 assists, in 45 games in all competitions.

It has been a stellar season that took some time to arrive for the 34-year-old Frenchman, who took has cemented a place as the undisputed leader and most influential player in a team that needed a talisman after losing Cristiano Ronaldo four years ago.

He has only netted once in his four Champions League finals but that was against Liverpool in 2018 when he opened the scoring in a 3-1 win thanks to a horrendous error by Loris Karius on a nightmare night for the German goalkeeper.

Memories of that match will provide an extra dose of confidence for Benzema and his tam mates on the back of Real’s hugely impressive run of comebacks in this season’s competition that have built a feeling of invincibility for Los Blancos.

They came from behind in all their knockout stage clashes against Paris St Germain, Chelsea and Manchester City to win with last-minute goals that turned the Bernabeu into a place where fans and players started believing miracles come true.

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Real won a record-extending 35th LaLiga title with a month of the season left and are in their 17th European Cup final – an accomplishment that allowed Ancelotti to give his players some rest as they go into the final with no major injury concerns.

They face a Liverpool side that came up just short in their race with Manchester City for the Premier League title, ending their dream of an unprecedented quadruple after they lifted the FA Cup and League Cup with shootout wins over Chelsea.

Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah, Virgil van Dijk, Fabinho and Thiago have suffered with injuries over the last few weeks and there are questions over how fit they will be for the big game.

Salah has said he will be seeking revenge for the “worst moment of his career” when he came off injured early in the 2018 final defeat by Real – words that were noted by Real’s players and have given them added motivation to lift the trophy.

-Reuters

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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

David strikes as Lille end Real’s long unbeaten run

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Champions League - Lille v Real Madrid - Decathlon Arena Stade Pierre-Mauroy, Lille, France - October 2, 2024 Lille's Jonathan David scores their first goal from the penalty spot REUTERS/Stephanie Lecocq

A first-half penalty earned Lille a shock 1-0 home victory over holders Real Madrid in the Champions League group phase on Wednesday, ending the 15-times European Cup winners’ 14-game unbeaten run in the competition.

Jonathan David converted from the spot three minutes into first-half stoppage time to hand Real, who had not lost in their previous 36 matches in all competitions, their first defeat since January.

The result put Ligue 1 side Lille on three points from two games in the new format of Europe’s premier club competition.

Real, who won their opening match against VfB Stuttgart, are also on three points.

“On the penalty, I try to focus, to keep calm to take a good shot but I’m confident when it comes to taking penalties,” David said. “It has not sunk in yet but it’s a memorable night.”

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Real keeper Andriy Lunin said his team had lacked their usual aggression.

“It’s difficult to analyse right after. (We lacked) aggression, creativity, in the end, what we always have,” he said.

“To fight a bit more. In the second half we showed more desire, but in the first half we were worse, that’s obvious. We want to win because we know what colours we’re playing in. But that’s OK. Courage, keep working and prepare for the next game.”

Carlo Ancelotti’s side started with Kylian Mbappe, who joined from Ligue 1 champions Paris St Germain in June, on the bench after the France captain picked up a muscle injury last week.

Real’s Vinicius Jr. had the first chance with a low shot in the sixth minute as the visitors controlled the pace and the second came when Endrick’s close-range attempt was blocked by Lucas Chevalier.

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Lille went close to opening the scoring after 26 minutes when Andriy Lunin made a spectacular double save to deny David, first from the forward’s header, then by tipping away the Canadian’s follow-up shot.

Their relentless pressure paid off in stoppage time when Eduardo Camavinga handled Edon Zhegrova’s free kick.

A VAR review ensued and David confidently converted the resulting penalty.

The hosts continued to apply pressure in the second half, refusing to sit back and wait as Real enjoyed possession, cutting off the supply to England midfielder Jude Bellingham.

Ancelotti sent Mbappe and Luka Modric on to replace Endrick and Eder Militao and Lille survived a late Real onslaught to hang on for the victory.

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-Reuters

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UEFA Champions League

Ancelotti makes no excuses after Real’s shock defeat at Lille

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Champions League - Lille v Real Madrid - Decathlon Arena Stade Pierre-Mauroy, Lille, France - October 2, 2024 Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti before the match REUTERS/Benoit Tessier

Defending champions Real Madrid failed to show the best version of themselves in a shock 1-0 Champions League defeat at Lille on Wednesday and must accept the criticism that comes their way, manager Carlo Ancelotti said.

Lille pressed relentlessly and took the win courtesy of a Jonathan David penalty in first-half stoppage time to hand Ancelotti’s team their first defeat in all competitions since January.

Real Madrid – record 15-times Champions League winners – have three points after two matches following their opening win over VfB Stuttgart.

“Everything was pretty bad. We did badly with the ball, although the team was quite compact in the first half, it was difficult for us to recover the ball, it was difficult for us to make transitions,” Ancelotti told reporters.

“We tried to be a little more aggressive, but it was difficult for us. So… We have to look at things with a cool head, not throw everything away. But obviously we have to improve.

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“I am very sincere. The criticism for today’s game is fair, correct and we have to accept it because it is like that. We have not shown a good version in this game.”

Ancelotti said Lille “deserved” to win despite Real’s improved showing in the second half of the match.

“It was difficult for us to get into the game at the level of intensity, at the level of duels, at the level of clarity of play,” the Italian added.

“Obviously, the game could have been tied because we had opportunities at the end, but it wasn’t deserved.

“So we have to learn, as it happened the last time we lost a game, learn from what we have to improve, which is quite clear. I think it’s not very complicated.”

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Real, who are second in the LaLiga standings with 18 points, next host third-placed Villarreal on Saturday.

-Reuters

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UEFA Champions League

Lookman shines as Atalanta outclass Shakhtar

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Champions League - Shakhtar Donetsk v Atalanta - Veltins-Arena, Gelsenkirchen, Germany - October 2, 2024 Atalanta's Ademola Lookman in action with Shakhtar Donetsk's Alaa Ghram REUTERS/Piroschka Van De Wouw

Ademola Lookman scored one goal and was heavily involved in the other two to drive Atalanta to a 3-0 win over Shakhtar Donetsk in the Champions League on Wednesday as the Italians outclassed their Ukrainian opponents in Gelsenkirchen.

Atalanta have four points from two games, having held Arsenal to a 0-0 draw in their opening match, and Shakhtar remained on one point, after they played out a scoreless draw in the first game against Italian side Bologna.

Atalanta went ahead in the 21st minute when Lookman curled a cross into the area which found Berat Djimsiti in front of goal and he controlled the ball before poking it past the keeper.

Atalanta doubled the lead a minute before the break when Sead Kolasinac squared a pass to Lookman in the middle of the area and the Nigerian struck a first-time shot through the legs of his marker Marlon Gomes into the bottom corner of the net.

The game was all but over as a contest three minutes into the second half after Lookman played the ball out wide to Davide Zappacosta and his cross into the six-yard box was headed home by Raoul Bellanova.

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At 3-0, Lookman, who also hit the crossbar in the first half, was taken off with over half an hour to play, his work done for the night and the tie ended with the same scoreline as the last time the sides met in the Champions League in 2019.

-Reuters

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