..::Football IV::..

[Wolverine GTR]

Inter 1 PSV 1: Icardi header not enough for the Nerazzurri

Inter slipped out of the Champions League after they were held to a 1-1 draw by PSV, confirming Tottenham's place as Group B runnersup.

A run of three games without a win in the competition meant Luciano Spalletti's side went into Tuesday's encounter needing to better Tottenham's result against Barcelona, and Mauro Icardi's 73rd-minute header looked to have booked Inter's place in the last 16.

Icardi's effort cancelled out Hirving Lozano's opener after 13 minutes, but it proved insufficient after Lucas Moura earned Tottenham a late 1-1 draw at Camp Nou.


Lautaro Martinez could have salvaged progression for Inter but he headed over unmarked from six yards out in stoppage time as the Nerazzurri slipped into the Europa League.
Icardi started brightly on his 200th appearance for the club and six minutes in he supplied a cross for Perisic, whose powerful header clattered off the upright, with Jeroen Zoet possibly getting a touch.

But Inter were dealt a blow when, having robbed Kwadwo Asamoah of possession, Steven Bergwijn crossed for Lozano and he expertly found the bottom-left corner.Another Asamoah error almost cost Inter again two minutes later, but Samir Handanovic was out swiftly to deny Luuk de Jong.

Icardi looked set to restore parity after the restart, only for Zoet to lunge to his left and tip the striker's venomous effort wide.Inter's captain was not to be denied in the 73rd minute, however, as he headed home from Matteo Politano's floated cross.

With news of Tottenham's equaliser spreading around San Siro the hosts rallied, but Martinez squandered the chance to make himself a hero when he failed to keep his header down, ensuring Inter's Champions League campaign came to an end.

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Liverpool 1 Napoli 0: Superb Salah sends Reds through

Mohamed Salah's wonderful first-half goal gave Liverpool a 1-0 win over Napoli at Anfield, earning the Reds qualification from Group C of the Champions League at the visitors' expense. Napoli needed only a draw to qualify but Carlo Ancelotti's men went down to a narrow defeat on Tuesday, Salah once again proving the Liverpool hero.

Following his hat-trick at Bournemouth at the weekend, the Egypt superstar scored the only goal with a magnificent individual effort, beating two Napoli defenders with a stunning turn of pace before finishing from a tight angle.


Napoli had beaten Liverpool 1-0 at home earlier in the group stage to put themselves in control of their destiny but the Serie A side could not find a decisive equaliser, Jose Callejon firing over and Alisson brilliantly denying Arkadiusz Milik in the closing stages.
Salah and Marek Hamsik wasted early chances before the first major flashpoint, Virgil van Dijk booked for catching Dries Mertens on the ankle after winning the ball with a strong tackle.Liverpool had the ball in the net when Trent Alexander-Arnold squared for Sadio Mane to tap in, but the Senegal forward was offside and the goal was disallowed.

They took the lead in the 34th minute, though, Salah spinning away from Mario Rui to run on to James Milner's pass, then brilliantly beyond Kalidou Koulibaly to finish well through David Ospina's legs.

Salah almost added a second shortly after the restart but aiming for Ospina's near post he could only pick out the side netting, with Raul Albiol then heading a corner at the other end straight at Alisson.Ospina denied both Salah and Mane in a frantic finale, the latter also firing wide a one-on-one chance to clinch the points in added time.

Napoli had chances to snatch qualification but Callejon blazed over Lorenzo Insigne's inviting cross at the back post, while Milik fired straight at Alisson when he should have scored.

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Barcelona 1 Tottenham 1: Lucas rescues Spurs late on to secure progress

Lucas Moura came to Tottenham's rescue with a late equaliser to secure a dramatic 1-1 draw at Barcelona which sent them through to the Champions League last 16 at the expense of Inter.

Mauricio Pochettino's men needed to at least match Inter's result at home to PSV and they looked to be heading into the Europa League, but Lucas struck five minutes from time to turn the situation on its head and send Spurs through as Group B's other match also ended 1-1.In a week which he has been accused of turning up late to training, Ousmane Dembele seemed switched on earlier than anyone else with his seventh-minute opener.

Spurs crafted a host of chances after the break and, just when it looked as though they were never going to find a way past Jasper Cillessen, Lucas – a 71st-minute replacement for Son Heung-min – found the net to complete a great escape.
A woeful start saw Spurs trailing after just seven minutes – Dembele storming past Kyle Walker-Peters after robbing the youngster on the halfway line, before evading a Harry Winks tackle and slotting past Hugo Lloris.

Spurs improved and should have levelled just after the half-hour mark, but Son was thwarted by Cillessen when one-on-one with the goalkeeper.Barca remained a threat, though – Philippe Coutinho striking the post from 20 yards on the stroke of half-time.

The visitors went close twice in the first five minutes of the second period, with Christian Eriksen seeing a shot from the edge of the box saved, before Harry Kane smashed wide under pressure from Clement Lenglet.

Cillessen had to be alert again soon after to keep Son at bay, before producing his best save of the match to keep Lucas' goal-bound header out 14 minutes from the end.

After Coutinho hit the post for the second time, Kane played a teasing ball across goal and Lucas converted from close range in the 85th minute, seeing Spurs through by the skin of their teeth.

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Monaco 0 Borussia Dortmund 2: Guerreiro double snatches top spot from Atletico

Raphael Guerreiro scored twice as Borussia Dortmund pounced on Atletico Madrid's slip-up to advance as Group A winners with a 2-0 victory at Monaco on Tuesday.

Portugal international Guerreiro struck in each half to help the Bundesliga leaders dispose of their hapless hosts and leapfrog Atleti, held to a goalless draw against Club Brugge, thanks to a superior head-to-head record.

Dortmund's largely straightforward win was achieved despite Lucien Favre resting nine members of the team that triumphed 2-1 over Revierderby rivals Schalke on the weekend.


Chances were scant after they went ahead in the 15th minute, but top spot and a fifth clean sheet in six Champions League engagements made for a successful trip to the principality.
Favre's changes eroded none of his team's rhythm and it was no surprise when Maximilian Philipp squared for Guerreiro to tap in the opener.Monaco, though starved of possession and territory, were unfortunate not to be awarded a spot-kick midway through the half, Sofiane Diop's cross striking Abdou Diallo's arm.

They were soon pressed back into defence and ex-Monaco man Diallo should have extended the margin, but the defender steered wide from Guerreiro's first-time ball across the face of goal.Another chance came and went for Thierry Henry's team moments after the restart as Kamil Glik headed Youri Tielemans' corner over the bar at close range.

It proved their final real hope of avoiding a seventh successive European home defeat at the conclusion of a forgettable continental campaign, Dortmund's decisive three points confirmed with Guerreiro sweeping home Christian Pulisic's cut-back via a deft Paco Alcacer touch in the 88th minute.

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Club Brugge 0 Atletico Madrid 0: Simeone's men miss out on top spot

Atletico Madrid were pipped to top spot in Champions League Group A by Borussia Dortmund on Tuesday as they were held to a goalless draw by Club Brugge in Belgium. The Spanish outfit needed a win to guarantee first place, or hope that Dortmund did not win in Monaco.

But Dortmund triumphed 2-0 in the principality as Atleti drew a blank against a lively Brugge side, who very nearly snatched victory 15 minutes from time when substitute Luan Peres had a header saved by the foot of Jan Oblak.


Antoine Griezmann saw Brugge goalkeeper Ethan Horvath make a superb stop to deny him with Atleti's best chance of the game in the first half.

Despite Brugge's fate being settled, they contributed to a fantastic pace at the start of the match, although the first real opening fell to their visitors, with Thomas Partey denied by Horvath from 12 yards.

Stefano Denswil then fizzed a right-footed strike just wide of the left-hand upright at the other end, before Saul Niguez cut the ball back agonisingly behind Thomas Lemar with Horvath beaten.

Lois Openda’s appeals for a penalty on only his third start for the club rightly fell on deaf ears after he went down softly under pressure from Francisco Montero, and Oblak was equal to a curling Denswil free-kick after 24 minutes.Horvath had to be alert a minute later to expertly tip over Griezmann's dipping strike – a fantastic save that even earned praise from the France international.

The energy of the first half disappeared after the break and Atleti frustrations grew as the Brugge defence refused to allow Griezmann to make an impact.

And Peres almost secured a memorable victory for the home side when he met Ruud Vormer's cross with a downward header, only for Oblak's well-placed boot to get in the way, with the ball then bouncing behind off the Brugge player.

Atleti's desperation saw Koke resort to an ambitious shot from distance that missed the target, and substitute Angel Correa failed to get the telling touch in a goalmouth scramble two minutes from time.

 

[Wolverine GTR]

UEFA Champions League Group Stage Fixtures 2018.12.12

UEFA Champions League Group Stage Fixtures 2018.12.12

Viktoria Vs Roma

Real Madrid Vs CSKA

Ajax Vs Bayen

Young Boys Vs Juventus

Benfica Vs Athens

Manchester City Vs Hoffenheim

Shakhtar Vs Lyon

Valencia Vs Manchester United

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[Wolverine GTR]

Good Luck Manchester United!
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[Wolverine GTR]

Valencia Vs Manchester United

Valencia Starting Line-up

&

Domenech
Piccini
Vezo
Diakhaby
Lato
Soler
Kondogbia
Parejo
Cheryshev
Batshuayi
Mina


Manchester United Starting Line-up

Romero
Valencia
Jones
Bailly
Rojo
Fred
Fellaini
Pogba
Mata
Lukaku
Pereira
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[Wolverine GTR]

Mourinho changes godak karala so ada match eka Sunday Liverpool match ekata warm-up ekak wei wage

Good Luck Manchester United!​

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Valencia 2 Manchester United 1: Jones scores own goal as Red Devils limp through

Manchester United failed to snatch top spot in their Champions League group as they slumped to a 2-1 defeat to Valencia on Wednesday.Juventus' shock loss to Young Boys left the door open for United to go through to the last 16 as winners of Group H, but a Carlos Soler strike and a Phil Jones own goal saw them deservedly lose at Mestalla, although Marcus Rashford netted a consolation.

Jose Mourinho made a number of changes to his starting line-up, with their place in the next round secure and a trip to Liverpool on Sunday looming, and the players on show, including Paul Pogba and Romelu Lukaku, did nothing to suggest they will keep their spots for that game at Anfield.


The result means little to Valencia, who were already assured of a Europa League place, but the ease with which they claimed only a second competitive win over United will give them heart in a difficult season.Valencia went ahead with the first shot on target of the match, Soler drilling clinically into the bottom-left corner of Sergio Romero's goal after Jones had headed a cross straight to him.

Juan Mata had United's first effort of the game 26 minutes in and was unlucky not to win a penalty, with Mouctar Diakhaby clearly blocking the goal-bound shot with his arm, before Paul Pogba somehow prodded wide with the goal at his mercy following a corner.

With no shots on target before the break, United would have hoped for a strong start to the second half, but they were 2-0 down 47 minutes in when Jones diverted a throughball past the onrushing Romero.

Substitute Rashford finally tested Valencia goalkeeper Jaume Domenech 72 minutes in, and Andreas Pereira was unlucky to see a stinging effort clawed away by his former team-mate, as United at last put the home side under pressure.

Rashford met Ashley Young's cross with a firm header with three minutes of normal time left, but Juan Mata failed to connect with a clever Pogba chip as the chance to rescue a draw came and went.

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Jones ge own goal eka

Qualified wela thibba nisa hodai ath Valencia match eke Manchester United performance nam anthimaihoda chance ekak miss una group eka win karaganna

& next Liverpool.Good luck for the next match Manchester United!​

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Young Boys 2 Juventus 1: Hoarau double seals famous victory

Guillaume Hoarau scored a double as Juventus slipped to a shock 2-1 defeat at Young Boys in their final Champions League Group H fixture, although the Serie A leaders still topped the pool.

Having already qualified for the last 16, Massimiliano Allegri's side went into Wednesday's encounter needing a victory to guarantee first place in the group, but they were dealt a blow when Hoarau opened the scoring from the penalty spot with his 100th Young Boys goal.

Hoarau proved a thorn in Juve's side again in the 68th minute, with his sublime goal ensuring that Paulo Dybala's exceptional effort was a mere consolation, although Cristiano Ronaldo hit the post before the visitors' scorer had another brilliant strike disallowed.


Fortunately for Juve, their defeat did not cost them the leadership of Group H, as Manchester United slumped to a 2-1 loss at Valencia.
After seeing an early effort blocked on the line, Ronaldo should have done better in the 15th minute, but lashed a low effort wide with just Marco Wolfli to beat, before Douglas Costa failed to turn Mario Mandzukic's cross on target.

It was a risky play from Costa that led to Juve paying for their profligacy. Alex Sandro was unable to control his compatriot's pass across the area before subsequently bringing down Nicolas Moumi Ngamaleu, with Hoarau's subsequent spot-kick going in off the upright despite Wojciech Szczesny's best efforts.

Hoarau nearly restored parity with a sliced clearance against his own crossbar two minutes after the restart, but the striker had his second goal at the right end when he curled in from 20 yards out.

Dybala's wicked strike gave Juve hope with 10 minutes remaining, and – after Ronaldo had headed against the upright – the Argentine thought he had rescued a point in stoppage time.

But, although Dybala's long-range effort had found the top corner, the goal was disallowed, with Ronaldo, who was evidently frustrated at full-time, having moved towards the ball from an offside position.

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Manchester City 2 Hoffenheim 1: City through as group winners after Sane brace

Leroy Sane bagged a brace as Manchester City beat Hoffenheim 2-1 at the Etihad Stadium to ensure they made it through to the last 16 of the Champions League as Group F winners.

City, who had already qualified, needed just a point to be certain of top spot but they fell behind to Andrej Kramaric's 16th-minute penalty. The hosts then twice hit the woodwork before Sane's long-range free-kick just before half-time drew them level.

And he found the net again 16 minutes after the break as Pep Guardiola's side bounced back from their Premier League loss away at Chelsea on Saturday, while Hoffenheim finish bottom of the table to miss out on the Europa League.As they had done in three of their previous five group games in this season’s competition, City fell behind.

Aymeric Laporte was punished for clumsily pushing over Benjamin Hubner as he prepared to shoot when Nico Schulz's scuffed effort dropped into his path, and Kramaric - who had earlier been denied by a brilliant Ederson save - stroked the spot-kick down the middle.

Gabriel Jesus headed against a post from five yards out following a corner before Ilkay Gundogan's free-kick was diverted onto the crossbar by Joelinton's header as City pushed for a response.An equaliser finally arrived from another dead-ball situation as Sane's attempt from a direct free-kick flew into the net from 30 yards out.

City continued to threaten from set-pieces after the resumption and Laporte should have atoned for giving away the earlier penalty but goalkeeper Oliver Baumann denied both his initial header and then also a follow-up attempt from point-blank range.

Guardiola's men were guilty of an even worse miss when Hoffenheim left no one back and Raheem Sterling, Sane and Bernardo Silva led a three-man breakaway but failed to apply the finishing touch, Baumann denying the latter.

Yet they did find the net via a counter-attacking move just after the hour mark, Sane collecting a return pass from Sterling to poke home a left-footed finish, despite appearing to take one touch too many as Baumann closed him down.
Sterling should have added a third late on but missed the target when found by Phil Foden's cross.

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Ajax 3 Bayern Munich 3: Kovac's men clinch top spot in Amsterdam thriller

Bayern Munich secured top spot in Champions League Group E despite letting victory slip away in injury time in an incredible 3-3 draw at Ajax.Ajax went into Wednesday's clash at the Johan Cruijff ArenA needing a win to leapfrog Niko Kovac's Bayern, who went ahead through Robert Lewandowski in the 13th minute.

Dusan Tadic levelled just past the hour mark to set in motion an incredible second half, Ajax's Maximilian Wober and Bayern's Thomas Muller both shown straight red cards before a clumsy Jerome Boateng challenge gave Ajax an 82nd-minute penalty that Tadic converted.


However, Lewandowski levelled from the spot after Nicolas Tagliafico brought down Thiago Alcantara and Kingsley Coman – in his third game back from injury – bent in what looked to be a 90th-minute winner, only for a Niklas Sule own goal five minutes later to at least give Ajax a share of the spoils.
An unsurprisingly open start to a contest between two sides whose qualification was already assured saw Serge Gnabry force a fine save from Andre Onana after Tagliafico squandered possession, but the Ajax goalkeeper was helpless as Lewandowski fired home after being afforded far too much space to latch onto Gnabry's pass into the box.

Only an incredible point-blank save from Onana denied Lewandowski a second after an attack in which the impressive Gnabry was again at the heart, with Ajax frustrated in their attempts to respond until Donny Van de Beek squared for Tadic to tap in at the far post.

It would have been a brief return to parity had Onana not produced a brilliant reaction save from Lewandowski's close-range header, with Wober then dismissed for a rash challenge on Leon Gortezka before Muller was dismissed for a high boot on Tagliafico that left the full-back needing stitches on a nasty head wound.

Tadic dealt what looked a decisive blow with a late penalty after Boateng hacked down Kasper Dolberg, but that was just the first of four goals in 13 minutes.Tagliafico foolishly dove in on Thiago to allow Lewandowski to calmly level again, and Coman's sublime finish appeared to have finally wrapped things up.

There was one more bizarre sting in the tail as Sule bundled into his own net after Noussair Mazraoui had an effort blocked, but the final three of seven added minutes were not enough time for Ajax to find a fourth as Bayern clung on.

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Real Madrid 0 CSKA Moscow 3: Champions humiliated at Bernabeu

CSKA Moscow completed a shock double over Real Madrid by winning 3-0 at the Santiago Bernabeu on Wednesday, but it was not enough to earn them a place in the Europa League.

The Champions League holders had been beaten 1-0 in the Russian capital earlier in their Group G campaign, yet they were already assured of going through as pool winners.

Their visitors, meanwhile, needed to pick up more points than Viktoria Plzen to prolong their European interest, but were denied by a 2-1 win for the Czech side over Roma.


Fedor Chalov, Georgy Schennikov and Arnor Sigurdsson scored the goals for CSKA on a humiliating night for Madrid, who were subjected to whistles from the home fans at full-time.It was a much-changed Madrid side who dominated possession in the early stages, but they found goalscoring opportunities limited, with Marco Asensio seeing a tame low strike comfortably saved by goalkeeper Igor Akinfeev.

Asensio started to prove a nuisance for the CSKA defence and, having earlier clipped the crossbar with a curling strike, saw another effort tipped over before squandering a golden opportunity to break the deadlock when he was sent through one-on-one with Akinfeev only to fire straight into the goalkeeper's clutches.

When the opener arrived in the 37th minute, it was completely against the run of play.Sigurdsson carried the ball goalwards before offloading to Chalov on the edge of the box, the striker steadying himself before placing a shot beyond the reach of the diving Thibaut Courtois.

That lead was doubled to the bemusement of Madrid fans six minutes later, when a Mario Fernandes shot bounced off Courtois and Schennikov raced into the box to finish the job.

Madrid launched a rapid counter-attack 10 minutes into the second half, but Isco's dithering allowed Schennikov to recover from his first attempt at a tackle to block the attacker's eventual strike.

And the points were in the bag for CSKA after 73 minutes, when Sigurdsson swept home from the edge of the box to complete a most unlikely victory.

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Viktoria Plzen 2 Roma 1: Chory winner takes hosts into Europa League

Tomas Chory's winner 18 minutes from time secured Viktoria Plzen a place in the Europa League, as they beat Roma 2-1 to pip CSKA Moscow to third place in Group G.

Although CSKA claimed a remarkable 3-0 win away to Real Madrid, the Czech club just needed to get the same number of points as the Russians due to their superior head-to-head record and they showed admirable character to progress.

Roma, who were already sure of second spot, looked every inch a side with nothing on the line during the first half, as they offered precious little going forward and just about survived falling behind – Jan Kovarik looking particularly lively for the hosts.


Kovarik opened the scoring just after the hour and, although Cengiz Under pegged them back, Chory got what proved to be the winner in the 72nd minute, rendering CSKA's efforts at the Santiago Bernabeu useless.The first half was one of very few chances, as Roma failed to offer much spark despite naming a strong starting XI.

Roma were lucky to not find themselves behind in the 26th minute, but they were let off the hook as Kovarik smashed over from 12 yards after the visitors were unable to clear a right-wing cross.Kovarik threatened again just before half-time, but Chory somehow failed to connect with his brilliant controlled volley across the face of goal.

The lively Kovarik eventually got his goal in the 62nd minute, tapping in Jan Kopic's low cross on the break.Under levelled five minutes later with a neat 20-yard finish into the bottom-left corner after Davide Santon's cut-back, but Plzen had the last laugh.

But, at the other end, Kovarik lashed a half-volley at Antonio Mirante after being released into the box and Chory was on hand to head the rebound beyond the helpless goalkeeper, with a stoppage-time Luca Pellegrini red card for a flailing elbow making things worse for Roma.

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Mourinho: We scored two goals and lost 2-1!


Jose Mourinho bemoaned his side's lack of intensity in Wednesday's Champions League loss to Valencia, one which saw the team undone by an own goal.Carlos Soler opened the scoring in Valencia's 2-1 win with Phil Jones' calamitous second-half own goal proving too much for Mourinho's side.

A late Marcus Rashford strike brought the Red Devils back into the match, but it proved too little, too late for Mourinho and Co.

In spite of the loss, Manchester United move onto the knockout stages in second place behind Juventus, who left the door open for a first-place finish due to a 2-1 loss to Young Boys.However, Manchester United couldn't capitalise, much to the frustration of the Portuguese manager.

"We scored two and instead of winning we lost! But, jokes aside, we were too passive in the first half, comfortable but without intensity and ambition in the second," Mourinho told BT Sport.

"I was pretty sure after speaking at halftime things could be different but we started with an own goal and that gave Valencia a better condition to control the game.

"I made the two changes later and the team improved immediately and we started playing faster and arriving with link play in more dangerous positions."We got to 2-1. We should get to 2-2 because we had a couple of chances to equalise, but, I think we wasted the first half playing too comfortable and not with enough intensity."

The club finished the group stage on 10 points, having won three, drawn one and lost two in a group that included Juventus, Valencia and Young Boys.Manchester United currently sit sixth in the Premier League, eight points behind Chelsea and Arsenal in fourth and fifth place.

Next up for the club is a match against Liverpool, who booked their own knockout round spot with a narrow victory over Napoli on Tuesday to finish second in their Champions League group.

 

[ThisaraMalintha]

Mourinho: We scored two goals and lost 2-1!


Jose Mourinho bemoaned his side's lack of intensity in Wednesday's Champions League loss to Valencia, one which saw the team undone by an own goal.Carlos Soler opened the scoring in Valencia's 2-1 win with Phil Jones' calamitous second-half own goal proving too much for Mourinho's side.

A late Marcus Rashford strike brought the Red Devils back into the match, but it proved too little, too late for Mourinho and Co.

In spite of the loss, Manchester United move onto the knockout stages in second place behind Juventus, who left the door open for a first-place finish due to a 2-1 loss to Young Boys.However, Manchester United couldn't capitalise, much to the frustration of the Portuguese manager.

"We scored two and instead of winning we lost! But, jokes aside, we were too passive in the first half, comfortable but without intensity and ambition in the second," Mourinho told BT Sport.

"I was pretty sure after speaking at halftime things could be different but we started with an own goal and that gave Valencia a better condition to control the game.

"I made the two changes later and the team improved immediately and we started playing faster and arriving with link play in more dangerous positions."We got to 2-1. We should get to 2-2 because we had a couple of chances to equalise, but, I think we wasted the first half playing too comfortable and not with enough intensity."

The club finished the group stage on 10 points, having won three, drawn one and lost two in a group that included Juventus, Valencia and Young Boys.Manchester United currently sit sixth in the Premier League, eight points behind Chelsea and Arsenal in fourth and fifth place.

Next up for the club is a match against Liverpool, who booked their own knockout round spot with a narrow victory over Napoli on Tuesday to finish second in their Champions League group.

typical jose

 

[Wolverine GTR]

typical jose

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Olympiacos 3 AC Milan 1: Rossoneri crash out of Europa League

AC Milan crashed out of the Europa League as Konstantinos Fortounis' late penalty claimed a 3-1 win for Olympiacos, sending the Greek side through to the knockout stages.

Gennaro Gattuso's men required just a point to secure progression from Group F, but they found themselves behind when Pape Abou Cisse headed in on the hour.
With Milan's defence rocking, Olympiacos grabbed a crucial second goal as Cristian Zapata deflected Guilherme's hopeful strike into his own net nine minutes later.


Zapata immediately made amends when he bundled the ball in at the other end to make it advantage Milan courtesy of their improved head-to-head record, but, after Ignazio Abate was penalised for holding onto Vasilis Torosidis, Fortounis kept his cool to book Olympiacos' place in last 32.Olympiacos could have been ahead inside 10 seconds, but Pepe Reina got a vital touch to Miguel Angel Guerrero's scuffed shot.

Jose Sa was on form to deny Gonzalo Higuain, Tiemoue Bakayoko and Patrick Cutrone as Milan gained a foothold, though it was Olympiacos who broke the deadlock 15 minutes after the restart.

Reina was caught in no-man's land from a corner and, despite Higuain making a goal-line block, Cisse was on hand to head home the rebound. Reina atoned for his mistake with a brilliant save from Daniel Podence moments later, only for Milan's goalkeeper to be beaten again when Guilherme's shot looped in off Zapata.But although the Milan defender more than made up for it two minutes later when his header trickled over the line, it was Olympiacos who had the final say.

Abate needlessly dragged down Torosidis and Fortounis duly sent Reina the wrong way from 12 yards to secure the hosts' first competitive win over the Rossoneri.