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UEFA Champions League

CAF Awards  hopeful, Lookman and Zaniolo fire Atalanta to 2-0 win over Stuttgart

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Second-half goals from Ademola Lookman and Nicolo Zaniolo earned Atalanta a 2-0 win at VfB Stuttgart in the Champions League on Wednesday and the Italian side are still yet to concede a goal in this season’s competition.

The opener came in the 51st minute when Ademola Lookman tapped in a cross from Charles De Ketelaere and, with the home side struggling to find a way through, Zaniolo struck the decisive second two minutes from time.

The defeat ended Stuttgart’s impressive home record of not losing a game in any competition for more than a year, while Atalanta continued their excellent form, unbeaten in their last eight matches.

Atalanta moved up to ninth in the standings on eight points, with Stuttgart dropping out of the playoff zone as they slipped to 27th with four points.

“We came here with ambition but from there to winning is a long way off,” Atalanta coach Gian Piero Gasperini told Sky Sport.

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“These are difficult pitches, Stuttgart had won in Turin against Juventus. It is the way this victory came that gives us confidence. We won with personality.”

The visitors had the bulk of the possession in the opening half but it was Stuttgart who looked the more likely to score, with Anthony Rouault heading over from inside the six-yard box.

Stuttgart’s best chance of the half came right at the end when Chris Fuhrich’s pass set Deniz Undav up for a shot from close range but he hit the side netting.

Atalanta sent De Ketelaere on at the start of the second half and it was his silky skills which led to the breakthrough as he went past two defenders and his ball across the goal gave Lookman the easiest of tap-ins.

Stuttgart, who had beaten Juventus 1-0 in their last Champions League game, could not find a way past the Atalanta defence, and the visitors wrapped up the win near the end.

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Substitute Zaniolo pounced on sloppy Stuttgart defending and in a one-on-one with the keeper he coolly slipped the ball past Alexander Nubel.

Atalanta and Inter Milan are the only two sides in the competition who have not conceded a goal after four games, and Gasperini’s side have put themselves in an excellent position at the halfway stage of the league phase.

“In all the games we have played we have shown solidity and we haven’t suffered much,” Gasperini said.

“We were able to have a good defensive phase and we built the points on that.”

-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.

UEFA Champions League

Diaz treble leads Liverpool to 4-0 win over Leverkusen on Alonso’s return

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Champions League - Liverpool v Bayer Leverkusen - Anfield, Liverpool, Britain - November 5, 2024 Liverpool's Luis Diaz celebrates scoring their third goal REUTERS/Molly Darlington

 Liverpool’s Luis Diaz scored a hat-trick as they maintained their perfect Champions League campaign with a barnstorming second-half display in a 4-0 victory over Xabi Alonso’s Bayer Leverkusen at Anfield on Tuesday.

Arne Slot’s men, who top the Premier League table, provisionally lead the standings of Europe’s elite club competition with their fourth win in four matches, with Aston Villa, the only other team with a 100% record, playing Club Brugge in their fourth game on Wednesday.

Leverkusen’s loss spoiled the return of manager and former Liverpool hero Alonso, who hoisted the Champions League trophy with the Reds in 2005.

“It’s painful the result more than the performance, probably,” Alonso told Amazon Prime. “But this is the Champions League, this is the highest level, and today it wasn’t enough for us.

“I tried to separate the game and the pain from the result from the nice feelings to come back. I’m really happy and thankful for that reception,” he added on the warm greeting he received from the Anfield crowd.

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Alonso was heavily touted as a replacement for former Liverpool manager Juergen Klopp before ruling himself out of the running. Slot, however, has proved a worthy replacement for Klopp, and his halftime team talk certainly did the trick as they went on to record their 14th win in 16 games this season.

“We took more risk (in the second half),” Slot told Amazon Prime. “They overloaded the midfield a lot and we adjusted at halftime and took the risk to play one v one all over.”

The Dutchman played Diaz as a centre forward and it proved to be a masterful move, as the Colombian broke the deadlock of what had been a sluggish affair in stunning fashion in the 61st minute, timing his run onto Curtis Jones’ pinpoint pass through the heart of Leverkusen’s defence before lifting the ball over keeper Lukas Hradecky.

Cody Gakpo doubled the Reds’ lead two minutes later when he dived to head Mohamed Salah’s cross home at the back post. The goal was initially ruled offside but the decision was overturned by VAR.

Diaz netted his second in the 83rd minute when he latched onto a cross from Salah, and then held off a challenge before slotting past Hradecky.

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He completed his hat-trick with a tap-in from close range in stoppage time after Darwin Nunez’s shot was blocked in a statement victory for the six-times winners of Europe’s top competition against the Bundesliga champions who lost just once in all competitions last season.

“We have top quality players all over the pitch, but actually, I really enjoyed playing in that position today, and wherever I’m playing on the pitch, I’m going to work hard, and I hope I can help the team,” said Diaz, adding he planned to go and search for the match ball.

Both teams were lacking quality in the final third in a dull first half. Leverkusen’s Jeremie Frimpong had an effort shortly before halftime chalked off for a handball in the build-up, while Gakpo squandered a terrific chance for Liverpool, shooting straight at Hradecky after working the ball up the left side.

Alonso’s Leverkusen are provisionally 11th in the Champions League standings with a pair of wins, a draw and a loss.

The 42-year-old Alonso played 210 games for Liverpool in a five-year spell from 2004, and was part of the side that completed a miraculous comeback in their Champions League final win over AC Milan in Istanbul.

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-Reuters

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UEFA Champions League

Ancelotti concerned over Real Madrid’s poor form after defeat by Milan

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 Champions League - Real Madrid v AC Milan - Santiago Bernabeu, Madrid, Spain - November 5, 2024 Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti before the match REUTERS/Susana Vera

Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti said he was worried about their performance in a 3-1 Champions League loss to AC Milan at the Bernabeu on Tuesday as they suffered back-to-back defeats in all competitions for the first time in over three years.

Real hosted Milan after a humiliating 4-0 home defeat by Barcelona in the Clasico over a week ago and they were again dominated at their own ground in a display that exposed last season’s champions for poor defending and lack of firepower.

Ancelotti urged his players to react quickly so they don’t fall too far behind in the hunt for a top eight finish in the 36-team Champions League table as they currently languish in 17th place with six points after four games.

“We have to be concerned, the team is not playing well,” Ancelotti told a press conference on Tuesday.

“The team is not compact, we need to be more compact, more organised, we’ve conceded a lot of goals … The team is not well organised on the pitch and we need to work on this.

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“We have to focus on what we have today, which is a team that is not at its best, and get back to our level so we can fight for all competitions.”

Ancelotti acknowledged Real’s lack of balance and struggles defending, as they have conceded nine goals in their last three games – all at home.

He downplayed the crowd booing players like Aurelien Tchouameni and Kylian Mbappe, who have been heavily criticised by fans and pundits over their latest performances, saying his side’s issues are collective rather than individual.

“It is not an issue of motivation or attitude, it’s a collective thing that we need to fix quickly,” Ancelotti said.

“On the pitch something is missing and we have not been able to show our best version. We have to fix this, but the nights are going to be very long and we have to recover the solidity that we are lacking.

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“That’s the problem above all, we’ve conceded too many goals for a team that is built on solidity.

“We have to accept criticism and accept reality. We want to do better because it’s very difficult to get to the end of the season like this. We have to defend better and we have to look for solutions, without going crazy after drastic changes.

“It’s good that the players are down like I am. We can all think about how to improve our version. We are confident that this team will improve.”

-Reuters

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UEFA Champions League

Amorim signs off in style to leave Sporting and Man Utd fans smiling

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Champions League - Sporting CP v Manchester City - Estadio Jose Alvalade, Lisbon, Portugal - November 5, 2024 Sporting CP coach Ruben Amorim and players celebrate after the match REUTERS/Pedro Nunes

As Ruben Amorim was being hoisted into the air by his Sporting players after an outstanding 4-1 victory over Manchester City in the Champions League on Tuesday, fans of Manchester United would have had double reason to be smiling broadly.

Any City defeat these days acts as a crumb of comfort for the Old Trafford faithful whose club have fallen from grace since the departure of serial trophy winner Alex Ferguson in 2013.

But the fact that Sporting’s victory was masterminded by Amorim, the coach who will begin his Manchester United reign next week after agreeing to become Erik ten Hag’s replacement, will have made it extra special.

Amorim’s Sporting side were outplayed for the opening 35 minutes by City but showed great resolve, flair and intelligence to hit back from a goal down to sweep to victory and move into second place in the Champions League group phase.

It was a magical way for the 39-year-old to mark his final home game in charge and he will bid a final farewell at the weekend away to Braga as Sporting try to make it 11 wins from 11 in the Portuguese top flight.

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“Looking at the game, it was written on the wall,” Amorim, who has won two Portuguese titles in four years at Sporting, told reporters. “The opponent missing a penalty. There are days when things have to happen in a certain way.

“I couldn’t ask for a better farewell. I’m very happy for this moment. It will still be better if we win in Braga, but I don’t think I could ask for better.

“The result helped with the farewell. Everyone deserved this moment. We were very happy here in the (Jose) Alvalade (Stadium). We’ve been through difficult times and to finish like this is special.”

Tuesday’s win would have already earned him some kudos among the Manchester United fans but he faces a huge test of his credentials with the club languishing in 13th place in the Premier League table after 10 games.

His first game in charge will be against Ipswich Town after the international break and he will be up against Pep Guardiola and Manchester City again in December. He knows the challenge will be a bigger one to that in Lisbon where he says he has enjoyed the “best phase of his life”.

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“When I’m at the next club, the approach will have to be different. Not much is taken from here because we will have to play differently in the future,” he said.

“Both are historic clubs. It will certainly be a different game.”

Amorim has jokingly been referred to as the next Ferguson and if he turns out even half as good as the Scot then United’s long-suffering fans will be ecstatic.

He said he is not interested in comparisons though and vowed not to read the newspapers once he arrives in England.

“I’m certainly not going to read anything for six months. I did the same at Sporting. I’m not going to read anything or have access to anything. It’s the only way to do my job.” he said.

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And on the future for Sporting, he said his replacement will inherit a strong foundation.

“The coach who comes will have a good legacy. Above all, there will be a structured club, which has won in recent years, and an intelligent audience that will realise that it will be necessary to give the next coach time to fine-tune some things.”

-Reuters

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