Header Ads Widget

Responsive Advertisement

Champions League Results: Porto 2-1 Juventus, Sevilla 2-3 Dortmund, RB Leipzig 0-2 Liverpool, Barcelona 1-4 PSG




Porto 2-1 Juventus: 

Early goals in either half gave Porto advantage in Champions League first leg. Federico Chiesa scores the away goal, becoming the first Juventus player apart from Cristiano Ronaldo to score in a Champions League knockout game since Blaise Matuidi in 2018; second leg: March 9, Juventus Stadium (8pm)
Champions League Results: Porto 2-1 Juventus, Sevilla 2-3 Dortmund, RB Leipzig 0-2 Liverpool, Barcelona 1-4 PSG


Early goals at the start of each half from Mehdi Taremi and Moussa Marega saw Porto beat Juventus 2-1 in their Champions League last-16 first-leg tie on Wednesday.

Taremi gave Porto the lead after just 63 seconds when a defensive mix-up from the visitors gifted him an easy finish. Moussa Marega then netted 19 seconds into the second half.

Federico Chiesa scored what could prove to be a vital away goal for Juventus in the 82nd minute.

Juve forward Cristiano Ronaldo was kept quiet on his return to his homeland as the visitors struggled to make an impact.

Juventus beat Porto home and away without conceding a goal the last time the two sides met at the same stage four years ago.

But they gifted Porto the lead after barely a minute when midfielder Rodrigo Bentancur attempted to play a back pass to goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny, not realising Taremi was right behind him to intercept and slot home from six yards.

Juve appeared to lack energy and ideas and their night got worse in the 35th minute when captain Giorgio Chiellini limped off with a calf injury.

Porto were even quicker off the mark at the start of the second half when Wilson Manafa ran down the right before rolling across for Marega to turn in at the near post.

Juve coach Andrea Pirlo brought on forward Alvaro Morata shortly after the hour mark. Morata had scored six goals in as many Champions League appearances this season and his side looked more dangerous after he came on.

Porto hadn't conceded a goal at home in the Champions League this season but that streak came to an end when Adrien Rabiot burst down the left and crossed for Chiesa to fire into the far corner.

Chiesa became the first Juventus player apart from Ronaldo to score in a Champions League knockout game since Blaise Matuidi in 2018.

The second leg will be on March 9 in Turin.


Sevilla 2-3 Borussia Dortmund: 


Erling Haaland's relentless Champions League goalscoring record enhanced with deadly double.
The reigning Europa League champions took the lead but were met by an Erling Haaland double; Second leg: March 9, Signal Iduna Park (8pm)
Champions League Results: Porto 2-1 Juventus, Sevilla 2-3 Dortmund, RB Leipzig 0-2 Liverpool, Barcelona 1-4 PSG



Erling Haaland scored twice as Borussia Dortmund ended Sevilla's nine-game winning streak with a 3-2 victory in the first leg of the round of 16 of the Champions League.

The hosts took the lead early through Suso Fernandez but Dortmund rallied with a goal by Mahmoud Dahoud and Haaland's double before half-time at the Ramon Sanchez-Pizjuan Stadium. Luuk de Jong scored Sevilla's late second goal to improve the Spanish team's chances in the return leg.

The win ended Sevilla's strong run and put Dortmund back on track after a series of poor results that had left coach Edin Terzic under pressure in Germany. Before this win, Dortmund had won only one of their last six German league matches. Meanwhile, Sevilla's last loss in all competitions had been a 2-0 defeat to Atletico Madrid on January 12.

Suso opened the scoring for Sevilla in the seventh minute with a shot from outside the area that deflected off two defenders before finding the net. The visitors equalized when Dahoud fired a right-footed, long-range shot into the top corner.

20-year-old Haaland put the visitors ahead in the 27th minute from inside the area after a nice give-and-go exchange of passes with Jadon Sancho, then added to the lead in the 43rd minute from close range after a fast breakaway for his 18th goal in 13 Champions League games.

The Norwegian forward only trails Kylian Mbappe as the player with most Champions League goals before his 21st birthday. 22-year-old Mbappe, who scored a hat-trick in Paris Saint-Germain's 4-1 win at Barcelona on Tuesday, scored 19 goals before turning 21.

De Jong pulled Sevilla closer with a goal from a set piece in the 84th minute.



RB Leipzig 0-2 Liverpool: 


Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane put Reds in control of Champions League tie. Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane fired Jurgen Klopp's side to impressive last-16 away victory in Budapest; Alisson keeps his first clean sheet for Reds in nearly a month. Liverpool will take a big advantage back to Anfield for the second leg.


Champions League Results: Porto 2-1 Juventus, Sevilla 2-3 Dortmund, RB Leipzig 0-2 Liverpool, Barcelona 1-4 PSG
Image: Liverpool will take a big advantage back to Anfield for the second leg

Liverpool broke a run of three straight defeats and put one foot in the last eight of the Champions League with a 2-0 victory over RB Leipzig.

In the first leg of a last-16 tie taking place in Budapest due to German authorities not allowing any foreign teams to enter the country, Liverpool hit their opponents with a quickfire double after half-time with Mohamed Salah (53) and Sadio Mane (58) punishing some inexplicable defending from the Bundesliga side.

It looked to be a tricky encounter for Jurgen Klopp's men against a Leipzig side that had already beaten both PSG and Manchester United on their way to the knockout stages, but they met a Liverpool side full of energy in midfield and ruthlessness in attack.

Leipzig will travel to Anfield for the second leg on Wednesday, March 10.

Player Ratings

RB Leipzig: Gulacsi (6), Klostermann (6), Upamecano (5), Mukiele (5), Angelino (6), Olmo (7), Sabitzer (5), Haidara (6), Kampl (6), Adams (6), Nkunku (7)

Subs: Poulsen (6), Orban (6)

Liverpool: Alisson (7), Alexander-Arnold (8), Robertson (7), Kabak (7), Henderson (7), Jones (8), Thiago (7), Wijnaldum (7), Mane (8), Salah (8), Firmino (7)

Subs: Shaqiri (6), Williams (6), Oxlade-Chamberlain (6)

Man of the match: Trent Alexander-Arnold



Barcelona 1-4 PSG: 


Kylian Mbappe's hat-trick inspires Mauricio Pochettino's side to big win. Kylian Mbappe's hat-trick inspires PSG to Champions League victory at Barcelona; Lionel Messi opened scoring from penalty spot; Mbappe's treble plus Moise Kean's header stunned Barcelona; Mauricio Pochettino's side take big advantage into last-16 second-leg tie on March 10
Champions League Results: Porto 2-1 Juventus, Sevilla 2-3 Dortmund, RB Leipzig 0-2 Liverpool, Barcelona 1-4 PSG


Kylian Mbappe's hat-trick inspired Paris Saint-Germain to an emphatic 4-1 victory at Barcelona in the first leg of their Champions League last-16 tie.

In what was an open first half at the Nou Camp, Lionel Messi (27) gave Barca the lead from the penalty spot after Frenkie de Jong had his heels clipped by Layvin Kurzawa before Mbappe responded five minutes later for the visitors, who were without Neymar and Angel Di Maria.

After the break, PSG took over and Mbappe (65) added his second of the night before Moise Kean, who is on loan from Everton, stretched the French side's advantage.

Mbappe (85) then produced a brilliant curled finish to leave Barcelona stunned, rounding off a stunning evening for Mauricio Pochettino's side.

It leaves Barca requiring another considerable comeback heading into the second leg at the Parc des Princes on March 10, four years on from the sides' memorable last-16 clash in which the La Liga outfit recovered from a 4-0 first-leg loss in France by winning the second 6-1 at the Nou Camp.


Man of the match - Kylian Mbappe

Of players with 20 or more goals in the UEFA Champions League, Paris Saint-Germain's Kylian Mbappe has netted the highest proportion in away matches (71 per cent - 17/24).

Mbappe was then denied a third by a smart block from Ter Stegen but again, he was powerless to prevent PSG's third as Kean ran through unmarked to head home Paredes' free-kick.

Barca had absolutely no answer to PSG's dominance and Mbappe rounded off a perfect night for Pochettino's men with a curled finish after a swift counter-attack from the visitors.

Many a Champions League night at the Nou Camp has been about the irrepressible Lionel Messi, but, against PSG, he was well and truly upstaged by Kylian Mbappe's stunning performance.

As early as the second minute, the French forward was giving the Barcelona defence a fright with his pace and from then on, every time he got the ball, he caused Ronald Koeman's side problems.

It was a performance that drew special praise from Barca forward and international team-mate Antoine Griezmann. "Kylian Mbappe had a great night," he said. "PSG has a great star for the future, who will be at the level of Leo Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo."

Mbappe went on to produce three fine finishes to become only the third player to score a treble in the competition against Barcelona, after Faustino Asprilla for Newcastle and Andriy Shevchenko for Dynamo Kiev (both in 1997) and the first player to score a hat-trick against the Spanish club in the knockout phase.

But on what was a truly special night for PSG, he could have had more goals but for some fine saves from Marc-Andre Ter Stegen.

With 110 goals now to his name, the 22-year-old is already PSG's third-highest goalscorer in all competitions, overtaking Pauleta (109). Now only Edinson Cavani (200) and Zlatan Ibrahimovic (156) have netted more for PSG, but, if he stays at the club, those records will not be intact for long.

He has also drawn level with Zinedine Zidane with eight goals in the list of the top goalscorers in the Champions League knockout stages, with just Thierry Henry (12) and Karim Benzema (18) ahead of him.

The sky is the limit for Mbappe, who confirmed himself as football's best young player with an astonishing performance that Messi himself would have been proud of.


Opta stats:

 - Barca's dismal night

In what is their 151st home match in the European Cup/Champions League, Barcelona have lost consecutive matches for the very first time.

Barcelona have played 278 home matches in all European competitions and have lost by a 3+ goal margin only six times - the last two occasions have come in successive games at Camp Nou (0-3 vs Juventus, 1-4 vs PSG).

Paris Saint-Germain became just the second French side to beat Barcelona at Camp Nou after Metz also won 4-1 in the 1984-85 Cup Winners' Cup. French sides were winless in 10 subsequent visits (D2 L8).

Coming into this game Barcelona were unbeaten in their last 15 UEFA Champions League knockout stage matches at Camp Nou (W13 D2) since losing 0-3 to Bayern Munich in 2012-13 in the semi-final.

Messi on target on bad night for Barca
Lionel Messi's opener was his 20th goal of the season for Barcelona in all competitions; it's the 13th consecutive campaign he's scored 20+ goals for the club.

Messi has scored in the UEFA Champions League in each calendar year since 2005. This run of at least one goal in 17 consecutive years is the joint-longest run in the competition's history alongside Raul (1995-2011).

The second leg of this Champions League last-16 tie takes place on March 10 at the Parc des Princes; kick-off 8pm.



Champions League key dates:

Round of 16 first legs: February 17/23/24

Round of 16 second legs: March 9/10/16/17

Quarter-final and semi-final draws: March 19

Quarter-finals first legs: April 6/7

Quarter-finals second legs: April 13/14

Semi-finals first legs: April 27/28

Semi-finals second legs: May 4/5

Final: May 29 (Atatürk Olympic Stadium)



Buy Luxury Apartments on the Island, Lagos

  •  Readers Comments desired,  Share Your Story in comment box below;


Post a Comment

0 Comments