..::Football III::..

[Wolverine GTR]

Steaua Bucharest 0-0 Schalke: Keller's side slip up in race for next round

Steaua Bucharest put a huge dent in Schalke's hopes of reaching the knockout phase of the Champions League after a 0-0 draw in Romania on Tuesday.

The result, combined with Chelsea's 1-0 defeat in Basel, means Schalke go into their final Group E fixture at home to the Swiss champions needing a win progress to the knockout stages.

In a game of few chances, the closest the hosts came was when Christian Tanase struck the woodwork with a late free kick, while the visitors had a goal disallowed 10 minutes before the break when Christian Fuchs tapped home, only to see the goal chalked off after the officials ruled the ball had gone out of play.

Steaua's defeat, which eliminates them from the competition, also means they equalled an unwanted Champions League record of 22 matches without a win, matching the mark set by Spartak Moscow.

The hosts made three changes from their 1-1 draw in the league on Saturday, while Schalke made five alterations, including goalkeeper Ralf Fahrmann making his competition debut in place of Timo Hildebrand (hip). Julian Draxler (flu) was only fit enough for the bench.

In a quiet first half, Schalke were the first to threaten in the 18th minute when Ciprian Tatarusanu held Dennis Aogo's close-range effort after the ball had ricocheted around the Steaua box.

Steaua’s response was immediate, though, as Federico Piovaccari lobbed his effort over the bar from 25 yards after being played in by Alexandru Bourceanu.

Piovaccari then went even closer on the half-hour mark, with his acrobatic effort from eight yards being beaten away by Fahrmann after the striker had got on the end of Lukasz Szukala's knock down.

The visitors thought they had broken the deadlock a minute later when Fuchs tapped home Jefferson Farfan's cutback, but the Peruvian was adjudged to have let the ball roll out of play as he reached the byline.

Both sides went close from set pieces midway through the second half, as Fahrmann tipped Szukala's header over the bar before Jermaine Jones flashed a header wide of the post from Aogo's left-wing corner.

Tanase almost won it for the home side with 14 minutes remaining, his curling 25-yard free-kick shaving the outside of the post before Adam Szalai's flicked header four minutes later went narrowly wide at the other end.

The last chance of the game fell to Piovaccari, but the striker headed straight at Fahrmann from 10 yards out when totally unmarked as both sides had to settle for a draw.

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Arsenal 2-0 Marseille: Wilshere puts Gunners on the brink of qualification

Jack Wilshere's double saw Arsenal beat Marseille 2-0 and move to the brink of reaching the Champions League round of 16.

Arsenal – who are aiming to qualify for the tournament's knockout stages for the 11th year in a row - were thoroughly dominant at the Emirates Stadium on Tuesday, with Wilshere's goals in the first and 65th minute enough for their fourth Group F win in five attempts despite Mesut Ozil's saved first-half penalty.


Only profligacy and the efforts of Marseille goalkeeper Steve Mandanda kept the scoreline respectable for the visitors, who have lost all five of their group matches.

Qualification to the last 16 – in what was described as the pre-tournament group of death – can be achieved by Arsene Wenger's side if they win a point in their final fixture in Napoli next month.

Unable to reach the next stage, Marseille made six changes, as the likes of Mathieu Valbuena and Florian Thauvin dropped to the bench, while Tomas Rosicky, Mathieu Flamini and Nacho Monreal returned for Arsenal.

Arsenal burst out of the blocks and took just 27 seconds to open the scoring, as Bacary Sagna's pass down the right played in Wilshere, who ran into the area, sidestepped a challenge from Lucas Mendes and curled a left-foot effort into the top corner.

It was a delightful start and Arsenal should have doubled their lead in the sixth minute, but Aaron Ramsey shot straight at the legs of Mandanda when played through by Wilshere, while Andre-Pierre Gignac headed wide at the other end.

The hosts dropped off the pace significantly after Ramsey's effort, with their lull highlighted by a sloppy first touch from Ozil in the penalty area following a delightful lofted ball from Ramsey.

Arsenal goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny was quick off his line to deny Gignac as he tried to round him, and eight minutes before the break, Wenger's men won a penalty when Ramsey was brought down by Nicolas N'Koulou after an excellent flick.

The initial contact appeared to be outside the area and Ozil failed to convert from the spot, stuttering before hitting a low left-foot effort that was comfortably beaten away by Mandanda.

Arsenal ramped up the pressure after the break, with Olivier Giroud shooting straight at Mandanda before the same player had an effort nearly creep in following a Kassim Abdallah deflection.

Ozil was next to test Mandanda with a stabbed effort, but they finally extended their advantage when the German's neat ball from the right was steered in by Wilshere from close range.

Thauvin had three chances for the visitors in the space of six minutes, one of which was cleared off the line by Monreal with 16 minutes left, while another forced a top near-post save from Szczesny, but it was too little too late for the French outfit.

Substitutes Santi Cazorla and Theo Walcott also missed late chances at the other end, but two goals were enough for Arsenal.

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Zenit 1-1 Atletico Madrid: Courtois howler gifts Russians a point

An error from Thibaut Courtois saw Atletico Madrid gift Zenit St Petersburg a point as they drew 1-1 with Atletico Madrid.

The goalkeeper misjudged a deflected cross from Igor Smolnikov in the 74th minute and let the looping ball drop into the net, with that strike cancelling out Adrian Lopez's 54th minute goal for the visitors.

Hulk and Aleksandr Kerzhakov both wasted chances for the hosts, who struggled to carve out clear-cut chances despite having plenty of possession.

The visitors – who had already qualified for the knockout stages prior to kick-off – were not at their fluent best but remain unbeaten in Group G with one game remaining.

Zenit's fate will be decided in the final round of fixtures when they travel to Austria Vienna.

Atletico made four changes, as Diego Simeone opted to rest Diego Costa, Arda Turan, Tiago and David Villa.

Zenit fielded their strongest possible side, including Hulk and Axel Witsel, although Danny and Cristian Ansaldi missed out through injury.

Hulk and Kerzhakov provided the biggest threat as the hosts started at a high tempo and the Brazilian forced the first save of the match in the 14th minute.

He unleashed a powerful strike from long range after receiving the ball midway inside the Atletico half, but Courtois punched the effort to safety.

Los Rojiblancos only managed to test Yuri Lodygin in the final seconds of the half, the goalkeeper comfortably dealing with Koke's volley from the edge of the penalty area.

Chances continued to be at a premium after the break, but the lively Hulk was again denied by Courtois after a neat lay-off from Roman Shirokov.

Kerzhakov was also guilty of missing a good opening and his lack of quality in front of goal was punished as Atletico took the lead from their best chance of the game.

Having been released on the left by Raul Garcia, Adrian cut inside his marker and fired through the legs of Lodygin for his first goal in the competition.

Shatov wasted a great chance just after the hour mark but his blushes were spared when Zenit equalised somewhat fortuitously.

Smolnikov's cross from the right flicked off the head of Toby Alderweireld and looped over Courtois, who misjudged the flight of the ball.

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Mancini reluctant to risk Sneijder against Real Madrid

Galatasaray coach Roberto Mancini has admitted that he is reluctant to risk Wesley Sneijder in Wednesday's crucial Champions League clash with Real Madrid.

The Netherlands international has been struggling with a niggling thigh injury of late and his Italian coach is considering keeping the playmaker out of harm's way, with next month's potentially decisive Group B showdown with Juventus in mind.

"Sneijder is not 100 per cent," the Italian said. "He's been working with the team over the last four or five days, and [on Wednesday] we'll make a decision for him.

"But it's important that we can't take any risks with Wesley, because he's very important for us."

Galatasaray currently sit second in Group B, level on points with Copenhagen and just one ahead of Juventus.

Mancini expects the Bianconeri to defeat the Danes in Turin on Wednesday night and, therefore, feels that his side's qualification hopes hinge on their matchday six meeting with Antonio Conte's side, as he feels a Gala victory at the Santiago Bernabeu is unlikely.

"It is mathematics. This doesn't change if we lose or if we take one point [against Madrid]," the former Manchester City boss reasoned.

"In my opinion, the last game will be the key game against Juventus - but we have one game [on Wednesday] and even it's difficult in football, you should never say never.

"Anything can happen and we will try to play a good game and try to win if it's possible. We know that it'll be difficult but we want to try."

Despite not wanting to think too far ahead, Mancini's primary focus is on pipping Juventus to second place.

"This is where we are at this moment. I think that also because after the first game in Istanbul [a 6-1 loss to Madrid], for the team it was really difficult to go through to the second stage," he said.

"Now we are alive. We shall play two games. It's difficult that the second game is against Juventus, but we can do anything.

"We can beat Juventus and if we beat Juventus, we go through. But, at this moment in time, we need to think about the Real Madrid game."

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Basel deserved to beat Chelsea, admits Mourinho

Jose Mourinho admitted Basel deserved their Champions League win over Chelsea, adding that he was relieved to qualify from Group F.

Mohamed Salah scored the only goal of the game three minutes from time as the Swiss champions leapfrogged Schalke into second place behind the Londoners.

The German club's draw with Steaua Bucharest ensured the Premier League outfit's place in the last 16, while Basel travel to Gelsenkirchen next month knowing a point will see them through.

Basel had ended Chelsea's 29-match unbeaten home record in the Champions League group stages with a 2-1 win at Stamford Bridge in September and they repeated that feat to raise the roof at St Jakob Park.

Chelsea failed to register a shot on target in a lacklustre display, but manager Mourinho refused to blame his players and felt fatigue played a major part.

The Portuguese went on to say he regretted not making more than one change following the victory over West Ham on Saturday.

"It was a deserved defeat, but because of other results we qualified. That is the only positive thing, now we have to get a result at home [Steaua] be first," the former Real Madrid coach told Sky Sports.

"I didn't like it from the first minute, when there was a defensive mistake immediately. The team only had a little bit of stability and control in the second half.

"The team was tired, they paid the price of the international 15 days. The arrival, the match that followed was crucial against West Ham, where the team played very well in an intense game, but today we paid the price because the players were tired.

"I'm not so sad with them, because I understand. The team was not fresh and maybe I should have made more changes, but there was a temptation to keep the same team because they played so well (at West Ham)."

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Wilshere thinks he can emulate Ramsey, says Wenger

Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger has challenged Jack Wilshere to score more goals and says the midfielder is learning from Aaron Ramsey's feats this season.

The midfielder struck twice in the 2-0 home victory over Olympique de Marseille on Tuesday night to leave the Gunners top of Champions League Group F with 12 points and on the brink of qualification for the knockout stages.

Wenger recently suggested the England international will never be a regular goalscorer but the French coach said he would be happy to be proved wrong after the 21-year-old’s goals against Marseille.

“No [I don’t think he will be a goalscorer] but I have nothing against it. If I'm wrong then I’m happy,” the Arsenal boss said.

“I like his first goal because in the past he has rushed a little bit. He’s starting to think, ‘What Ramsey can do, I can do as well.' He’s calm in front of goal and the first goal shows that.

“It’s a joke about Aaron but it puts in his mind that he has to score goals as well. Certainly, when you’re a midfielder you want to score goals.”

Arsenal will be guaranteed a place in the last 16 of the Champions League as long as they avoid losing by three clear goals to Napoli in their final group fixture, but Wenger confirmed he will field all of his big guns at the San Paolo.

“I will play a full team,” he vowed. “I have to rotate a little bit until then though. We have three league games just before we go to Naples, so I have to use my squad well without dropping points in the league and go there with a strong team.

“It’s unbelievable [not to have already qualified with 12 points] but it’s the reality. It’s the first time I’ve seen that in over 150 Champions League games.

“We have to finish the job. It’s not an easy situation. It’s tricky because you could think ‘just don’t lose big’ but I think it would be a mistake.

"We have to put in our head to play positively and go there to win. To play not to lose would be a gamble.”

 

[Wolverine GTR]

'That Mourinho has had to congratulate me twice is beautiful'

Basel head coach Murat Yakin admitted it was "beautiful" to be congratulated by Jose Mourinho for the second time this season after his side stunned Chelsea on Tuesday.

Mohamed Salah struck late against the Blues to secure a 1-0 win at St Jakob-Park - Basel's second victory over the Londoners in this season's Champions League group phase - and Yakin could not fault the endeavour of his team or the vociferous support from the fans.

"To win twice against Chelsea is something historic. But we have now played four times against them and are therefore not awestruck," he told reporters after the match.

"I'm very happy for the team and for all who witnessed it in the stadium. But that Mourinho has had to congratulate me twice is already something beautiful.

"We fought for every blade of grass. In the second half we controlled play, it took several attempts but in the end it worked out.

"It would have been undeserved had we not won or even lost, which can happen against an efficient Chelsea. The supporters pushed us over the 90 minutes to the end - they wanted us to win just as much as we did."

Yakin went on to pay particular tribute to match-winner Salah for his late run and finish and stressed the Swiss champions were fully deserving of their "final" to come against Schalke on matchday six.

"We are glad that Salah is with us, he builds up a lot of attention when he is in top form. He's an attraction," added the former midfielder.

"The team deserved to reach a final against Schalke and now we've even overtaken them in the table, but it is of course very difficult in Gelsenkirchen. But it feels great that we're still in the race [for the next round]."

Basel's win moves them into second in Group E on eight points, one ahead of Schalke and one behind leaders Chelsea, who have qualified for the next round by virtue of the Bundesliga side's 0-0 draw with Steaua Bucharest.

 

[Wolverine GTR]

'Napoli on the right path' - Benitez upbeat despite defeat

Napoli head coach Rafa Benitez is remaining optimistic despite watching his charges lose 3-1 to Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League on Tuesday.

Marco Reus opened the scoring from the penalty spot before Henrikh Mkhitaryan doubled the lead in a scything counterattack, though Lorenzo Insigne pulled back the deficit to one goal not long afterwards.

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang eased tension at Signal Iduna Park with a BVB third late in the game though and, despite his side sitting third in Group F and facing a mountain to climb to reach the next round, Benitez insists his charges have been unfortunate to face a series of challenging opponents of late.

"The penalty changed everything," the Spaniard told reporters after the clash. "There was character and intensity - we're on the right path for the future.

"The problem isn't our defence, it's the teams we have played against, teams that are very strong. Juventus have been the strongest team in Italy for the last two years and Borussia Dortmund are vice-champions of Europe.

"I never tire of saying it but Borussia Dortmund were runners-up in the competition last season. Our group is tough, there's also Arsenal who are atop of the standings in the Premier League, the hardest one in the world.

"Of course I'm angry, but I have to send a clear message to the team. The road is the right one, today we have seen the character. Now we need to improve on the mistakes made at these levels you have to work to grow."

The Partenopei face the Gunners at the San Paolo in a fortnight and must win to have any hopes of reaching the last 16.

 

[Wolverine GTR]

'Barca defeat a disaster' - Pique

Gerard Pique branded Barcelona's 2-1 defeat to 10-man Ajax on Tuesday "a disaster", as they suffered their first loss under Gerardo Martino.

First-half goals from Thulani Serero and Danny Hoesen allowed deservedly put the Dutch in complete control and, although the Blaugrana threatened a comeback when Xavi scored from the penalty spot following Joel Veltman's red card just after the restart, Frank de Boer's men held on to claim a vital win.

Pique, who started at centre-back alongside Javier Mascherano, with Carles Puyol at left-back, was enraged by the end of Barca's 20-game unbeaten run and insisted that the squad cannot afford a repeat performance if they are to win anything this season.

"We played a horrible first half," the former Manchester United man, 26, told reporters after the match. "There is no excuse - it was a disaster.

"What happened in the first half can't happen again. The attitude wasn't right; the whole team know that."

Although Barca are no longer unbeaten, they can take some solace from the fact that they remain top of Group H ahead of their final match of the round against Celtic, who are doomed to finish fourth, while Ajax and AC Milan will battle it out for second place at San Siro.

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Van Persie & Vidic ruled out of Bayer Leverkusen clash

Robin van Persie has been ruled out of Manchester United's Champions League fixture against Bayer Leverkusen on Wednesday with a groin injury.

The Netherlands international missed United's 2-2 draw against Cardiff City on Sunday and has not travelled with the squad to Germany.

"Robin isn't quite ready yet,” Moyes told reporters.

"It's not long-term, but we're going to keep monitoring him."

United captain Nemanja Vidic was also absent on Sunday as he continued to recover from the concussion he suffered during the 1-0 victory over Arsenal before the international break, and the Serb has been ruled out of the fixture against the German side.

"We just want to give every opportunity to Vida [to recover from concussion]," Moyes added.

A win for United over Leverkusen would ensure their qualification for the knockout stage.

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Ronaldo out of Galatasaray game, confirms Ancelotti

Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti has confirmed that Cristiano Ronaldo will miss Wednesday's Champions League game against Galatasaray due to injury.

The Portuguese attacker picked up a thigh problem in Saturday's 5-0 win over Almeria and was withdrawn nine minutes into the second half.

Ronaldo had scored his 25th goal of the season for Madrid in just the third minute, but will be unavailable for this week's Champions League clash against the Turkish champions, with Angel Di Maria or Jese vying to be his replacement.

"Cristiano won't play tomorrow because he has a small injury. We will need to wait and see if he can play on Saturday," Ancelotti stated at a press conference

"Angel Di Maria or Jese Rodriguez could replace Ronaldo. We have two options and I will decide on Wednesday.

"We won't risk and play Ronaldo on Saturday against Real Valladolid unless he is 100 per cent fit."

The Madrid coach then went on to insist that Galatasaray will not be pushovers in Wednesday's encounter at the Santiago Bernabeu.

Real Madrid top Group B currently and only need a point to secure themselves a place in the last 16 while Galatasaray still have everything to play for, being in a three-way tussle with Juventus and Copenhagen.

"Galatasaray played well against Juventus. They are well-balanced and have dangerous players like Didier Drogba," he continued.

"Roberto Mancini has a lot of experience. He has done a great job in Italy and England where he won the Premier League.

"We want to qualify as group leaders. It will be an intense match."

Madrid beat Galatasaray 6-1 in Istanbul earlier this campaign.

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Manchester United's triumph in 1999 UEFA Champions League final 'was meant to be' - Andrew Cole


Former Manchester United striker Andrew Cole believes that his side's dramatic triumph in the 1998-99 UEFA Champions League was "meant to be".

The Red Devils endured a bumpy ride on their way to the final but injury-time goals from Teddy Sheringham and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer overturned Bayern Munich in incredible fashion to seal a historic treble.

Mario Basler had put the German side in front after six minutes and the game had remained that way for the next 85 before fate changed course, prompting a feeling that Cole admits took "a hell of a long time to sink in".

"When we got the [first] goal you could see how deflated the Bayern Munich players were and it was a case of 'can we try and get another goal before extra time comes?' - and we did just that," he told us in the third episode of MasterCard's Priceless Moments video series.

"It's a great feeling to actually lift that trophy, to know that you've achieved something you've wanted to do since being a kid.

"It took a hell of a long time to sink in, a hell of a long time. I always say we've won it with two of the scruffiest goals in European Cup history but, the season that got us to the final and the way we played and some of the goals we scored in that season ... when you score some scruffy ones like that, when you consider the run we had in that competition, sometimes things like that happen.

"It was meant to be."

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Manchester City can break Chelsea scoring record - Yaya Toure

Manchester City midfielder Yaya Toure believes that his side can break Chelsea's record for the most goals scored in a Premier League season.

The Blues blitzed 103 on their way to the title in 2009-10 but, after Sunday's 6-0 demolition of Tottenham took City's total to 34 after just 12 games - 10 more than anyone else in the division - City are on track to surpass the achievements of Carlo Ancelotti's side.

Asked by reporters if Manuel Pellegrini's men could set a new record, Toure enthused: "I hope so. We have the strikers [to do it].
"The two guys up front [Alvaro Negredo and Sergio Aguero] are unbelievable. They are very confident but it's not just about those two players. It's the whole team. We are very attacking and all the strikers enjoy it, even [Edin] Dzeko and [Stevan] Jovetic.

"The team is concentrated on attacking; it's fantastic. When you win like we did against Tottenham, it's fantastic. They are a serious contender in the Premier League this year."

City's previous fixture before the international break was a 1-0 defeat at the hands of Sunderland, and the midfielder knows the value of getting back on track quickly and addressing their poor away record.

"It was a very important win," he remarked. "Our loss at Sunderland was hard to take. It's always difficult when you lose a game like that.

"We want to regain the Premier League title. We knew it would be difficult and if we are to stand a chance of doing that we have to win away from home.

"We are trying to find a balance. At home, we are prolific. Away, it's more difficult. Either the referee is not fine or the fans or the opponents are making it really hard [but] that's part of football. That's the Premier League.

"We have to start winning away from home. It's not just the big teams who are the problem. It's the normal teams. The manager is working on finding the right balance."

 

[Wolverine GTR]

UEFA Champions League 2013.11.27 Group Stage Fixtures

UEFA Champions League 2013.11.27 Group Stage Fixtures

CSKA Vs Bayern

Shakhtar Vs Real Sociedad

Manchester City Vs Plzen

Leverkusen Vs Manchester United

Real Madrid Vs Galatasaray

Juventus Vs Kobenhavn

Anderlecht Vs Benfica

PSG Vs Olymoiacos

​

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Ada Leverkusen match 1keth mona karaganida danne nahaLeverkusen pattama form 1kaka inne.

Playing for draw unoth nam sorryma thamai

 

[rcccc]

Arsenal 2-0 Marseille: Wilshere puts Gunners on the brink of qualification

 

[Rovin]

kaka

 

[rcccc]

UEFA Champions League 2013.11.27 Group Stage Fixtures

CSKA Vs Bayern

Leverkusen Vs Manchester United

Real Madrid Vs Galatasaray

​

Ajax 2-1 Barcelona: Ten-man hosts end Blaugrana's unbeaten run to keep qualification hopes alive

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Half Time

Leverkusen 0 Vs 2 Manchester United


​

 

[unicornx]

FT: Real Madrid 4-1 Galatasaray (37' Bale, 51' Arbeloa, 63' Di María, 80' Isco | 38' Bulut)

RED card RAMOS at 16th Min, No Ronaldo, No Khedira, No Modric, No Benzema