Skip to main content

Milan eye Europa last eight after Kjaer salvages late United draw, Rangers and Ajax in good shape Paris (AFP) – Simon Kjaer’s last-gasp equaliser gave AC Milan a dramatic 1-1 draw at Manchester United on Thursday, handing the Italian giants a great chance of reaching the Europa League quarter-finals.  Kjaer netted with a bullet header in the final seconds of stoppage time of the last 16, first leg encounter at Old Trafford, levelling the scores after Amad Diallo had opened in the 50th minute with his first United goal. In a sign of the drop in standards at Old Trafford and the San Siro, the first meeting between two of the world’s most historic teams since 2010 was their first outside the Champions League knockout stages. Milan called the shots early on and had two goals disallowed, Rafael Leao’s effort ruled offside and Franck Kessie’s powerful 11th-minute finish chalked off after a VAR review showed the ball had glanced off the midfielder’s arm before his shot. Diallo’s introduction at half-time proved an inspired move from United coach Ole Gunnar Solskjaer as he soon broke the deadlock. Bruno Fernandes unfurled a delightful long pass towards the 18-year-old Diallo, who made an incisive run behind the Milan defence and looped a clever backwards header over Gianluigi Donnarumma. But United failed to build on that lead and Milan’s intelligent play was rewarded with just seconds left when Kjaer powered his header past Dean Henderson from a corner. – Rangers, Ajax well placed – Rangers are well placed to make the quarter-finals after a 1-1 draw away to Sparta Prague. Filip Helander’s close-range finish in the first half left Steve Gerrard’s Rangers in the hunt for a European title with the draw in Prague, days after winning their first Scottish League title in 10 years. Nicolae Stanciu had rewarded the hosts for their stronger start with the opening strike in the seventh minute that fizzed passed Rangers goalkeeper Allan McGregor before the Scotsman even knew it had been hit. However Rangers levelled against the run of play nine minutes before the break when Helander pounced to tap home the easiest of opportunities amid chaos in the Sparta box following Borna Barisic’s free-kick. Ondrej Kolar made a super save to stop the away side from getting a second away goal when he stretched out a hand to push away Ryan Kent’s mishit shot that nonetheless was looping towards the top corner. It was McGregor who pulled off the save of the match however when he somehow saved and held on to Lukas Masopust’s thumping header, which looked destined for the bottom corner. Four-time European champions Ajax are almost guaranteed a place in the last eight after thumping Young Boys 3-0 in Amsterdam through goals from Davy Klaassen, Dusan Tadic and Brian Brobbey. Klaassen put the Eredivisie leaders ahead in the 62nd minute by firing home after the ball bobbled to him following a quick exchange of passes with Tadic. Tadic made Ajax overwhelming favourites to qualify with eight minutes left by coolly slotting home the second following another fortunate ricochet in the box. Their passage was then more or less secured in stoppage time of a dominant performance, 19-year-old Brobbey tucking home from a tight angle after brilliantly collecting Ryan Gravenberch’s quick through ball. Villarreal also look good to make the quarters thanks to a 2-0 win at Dynamo Kiev. A Pau Torres tap-in on the half-hour mark and Raul Albiol’s strike six minutes after the break gave La Liga outfit Villarreal a comfortable lead going into next week’s second leg in Spain.


Paris (AFP) – Simon Kjaer’s last-gasp equaliser gave AC Milan a dramatic 1-1 draw at Manchester United on Thursday, handing the Italian giants a great chance of reaching the Europa League quarter-finals. 

Kjaer netted with a bullet header in the final seconds of stoppage time of the last 16, first leg encounter at Old Trafford, levelling the scores after Amad Diallo had opened in the 50th minute with his first United goal.

In a sign of the drop in standards at Old Trafford and the San Siro, the first meeting between two of the world’s most historic teams since 2010 was their first outside the Champions League knockout stages.

Milan called the shots early on and had two goals disallowed, Rafael Leao’s effort ruled offside and Franck Kessie’s powerful 11th-minute finish chalked off after a VAR review showed the ball had glanced off the midfielder’s arm before his shot.

Diallo’s introduction at half-time proved an inspired move from United coach Ole Gunnar Solskjaer as he soon broke the deadlock.

Bruno Fernandes unfurled a delightful long pass towards the 18-year-old Diallo, who made an incisive run behind the Milan defence and looped a clever backwards header over Gianluigi Donnarumma.

But United failed to build on that lead and Milan’s intelligent play was rewarded with just seconds left when Kjaer powered his header past Dean Henderson from a corner.

– Rangers, Ajax well placed –

Rangers are well placed to make the quarter-finals after a 1-1 draw away to Sparta Prague.

Filip Helander’s close-range finish in the first half left Steve Gerrard’s Rangers in the hunt for a European title with the draw in Prague, days after winning their first Scottish League title in 10 years.

Nicolae Stanciu had rewarded the hosts for their stronger start with the opening strike in the seventh minute that fizzed passed Rangers goalkeeper Allan McGregor before the Scotsman even knew it had been hit.

However Rangers levelled against the run of play nine minutes before the break when Helander pounced to tap home the easiest of opportunities amid chaos in the Sparta box following Borna Barisic’s free-kick.

Ondrej Kolar made a super save to stop the away side from getting a second away goal when he stretched out a hand to push away Ryan Kent’s mishit shot that nonetheless was looping towards the top corner.

It was McGregor who pulled off the save of the match however when he somehow saved and held on to Lukas Masopust’s thumping header, which looked destined for the bottom corner.

Four-time European champions Ajax are almost guaranteed a place in the last eight after thumping Young Boys 3-0 in Amsterdam through goals from Davy Klaassen, Dusan Tadic and Brian Brobbey.

Klaassen put the Eredivisie leaders ahead in the 62nd minute by firing home after the ball bobbled to him following a quick exchange of passes with Tadic.

Tadic made Ajax overwhelming favourites to qualify with eight minutes left by coolly slotting home the second following another fortunate ricochet in the box.

Their passage was then more or less secured in stoppage time of a dominant performance, 19-year-old Brobbey tucking home from a tight angle after brilliantly collecting Ryan Gravenberch’s quick through ball.

Villarreal also look good to make the quarters thanks to a 2-0 win at Dynamo Kiev.

A Pau Torres tap-in on the half-hour mark and Raul Albiol’s strike six minutes after the break gave La Liga outfit Villarreal a comfortable lead going into next week’s second leg in Spain.



from World Soccer Talk https://ift.tt/3bzF2nI
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Xavi under no illusions ahead of fairytale on Barcelona return Barcelona (AFP) – Xavi Hernandez said he is prepared for the “biggest challenge of his career” before leaving Qatar for Spain on Saturday, as Barcelona’s legendary former midfielder returns home to take over as coach. Xavi’s appointment was confirmed by Barca in the early hours of Saturday morning and the 41-year-old will be presented to fans at Camp Nou on Monday. “I’m very happy as you can imagine, it’s the biggest challenge of my career,” Xavi told Spanish journalists at Doha airport. “I’m going home and I am very happy.” Xavi faces a huge challenge, with Barcelona adrift of La Liga’s top four, struggling to make the knock-out stages of the Champions League and grappling with debts of more than a billion euros. “I have also experienced bad situations,” Xavi said. “It’s not the best moment in the history of the club but I want to explain what my idea is and to work hard, to make a team. Obviously the first thing is to talk to the players to see how they are.” Xavi left Camp Nou to play for Qatari club Al Sadd in 2015, after making 767 appearances for Barcelona, with eight La Liga titles and four Champions Leagues among his 25 trophies. “It’s time to come home. Welcome, Xavi,” Barca tweeted in the early hours of Saturday morning, as Spain slept.  “It wasn’t goodbye, it was see you later,” it wrote, along with a video montage of the player’s departure in 2015. Barcelona said in a statement they had reached an agreement with Xavi to become first-team coach for the rest of the season and two more seasons, replacing the sacked Ronald Koeman. “It is expected that Xavi Hernandez will arrive in Barcelona this weekend and that on Monday 8, November his presentation as new FC Barcelona first team coach will take place in an event open to the public at Camp Nou,” it said. Nicknamed the “Maquina” (the Machine), Xavi is widely considered one of the club’s greatest players and there is huge excitement about his potential as a coach after his influence on the iconic Barca team managed by Pep Guardiola. His passing style was seen as the embodiment of Guardiola’s “tiki-taka” team that won the treble in 2009. “One of the greatest midfield maestros of all time, he helped redefine the art with his creative mind, pinpoint passing and sublime ability to read the game,” Barca said in their statement, heralding the return of “an absolute legend”. Al Sadd, which Xavi had coached since 2019, hours earlier said they had reached an agreement with Barca and posted photos on social media of the Spaniard saying goodbye to the players and staff. – ‘The dream’ – Barcelona’s attempt to appoint Xavi as Koeman’s successor had been held up on Friday over his Al Sadd release clause, with Xavi and Barca considering splitting the payment to complete the deal. Al Sadd said Barca had agreed to pay the clause in Xavi’s contract, which is reportedly set at around five million euros ($5.8 million), but Barcelona did not give any details of the deal in their statement. Spanish sports daily Marca headlined the club hero’s return and estimated the cost to Barca of sacking recent managers Ernesto Valverde, Quique Setien and Koeman at 32 million euros. Xavi had made no secret of his desire to return to Barcelona, which he joined through the club’s La Masia academy at the age of 11. “My main objective, when I can do it, is Barca,” Xavi told Marca last year. “It’s my home, that’s the dream.” Barcelona sat ninth in La Liga on Saturday morning, with concerns growing they might not qualify for next season’s Champions League. The club are also in dire financial straits, having posted debts of 1.35 billion euros. They could not afford to renew Lionel Messi’s contract in the summer, and the Argentine left for Paris Saint-Germain. Xavi will also be charged with improving the team’s style of play, which was a key criticism during the tenure of Koeman, another former Barca player. Xavi’s flight is due to touch down as Barca take on Celta Vigo in La Liga in Juan Barjuan’s last game as caretaker coach before he hands over to the man the fans are pinning their hopes on to turn the club around.

Barcelona (AFP) – Xavi Hernandez said he is prepared for the “biggest challenge of his career” before leaving Qatar for Spain on Saturday, as Barcelona’s legendary former midfielder returns home to take over as coach. Xavi’s appointment was confirmed by Barca in the early hours of Saturday morning and the 41-year-old will be presented to fans at Camp Nou on Monday. “I’m very happy as you can imagine, it’s the biggest challenge of my career,” Xavi told Spanish journalists at Doha airport. “I’m going home and I am very happy.” Xavi faces a huge challenge, with Barcelona adrift of La Liga’s top four, struggling to make the knock-out stages of the Champions League and grappling with debts of more than a billion euros. “I have also experienced bad situations,” Xavi said. “It’s not the best moment in the history of the club but I want to explain what my idea is and to work hard, to make a team. Obviously the first thing is to talk to the players to see how they are.” Xavi left...
Post a Comment
Read more

Bayern down Mainz to go six points clear in the Bundesliga Berlin (AFP) – Defending champions Bayern Munich extended their lead at the top of the Bundesliga to six points on Saturday after coming from behind to seal a 2-1 home win against Mainz. Second-half goals by Kingsley Coman and 18-year-old Jamal Musiala sealed the victory behind closed doors at Munich’s Allianz Arena after Mainz had taken a shock lead. Bayern remain firmly on course to win the German league for the tenth straight season after stretching their lead at the top of the table as second-placed Dortmund were held 1-1 at Bochum. 

Berlin (AFP) – Defending champions Bayern Munich extended their lead at the top of the Bundesliga to six points on Saturday after coming from behind to seal a 2-1 home win against Mainz. Second-half goals by Kingsley Coman and 18-year-old Jamal Musiala sealed the victory behind closed doors at Munich’s Allianz Arena after Mainz had taken a shock lead. Bayern remain firmly on course to win the German league for the tenth straight season after stretching their lead at the top of the table as second-placed Dortmund were held 1-1 at Bochum.  from World Soccer Talk https://ift.tt/3lVLPNa
Post a Comment
Read more

Rangers brush aside title rivals Hearts Glasgow (AFP) – Alfredo Morelos and Joe Aribo fired Rangers to a 2-0 win at Hearts on Sunday as the Scottish Premiership leaders extended their strong start under new boss Giovanni van Bronckhorst. Van Bronckhorst has won four successive league games since replacing Steven Gerrard after his predecessor’s move to Aston Villa. Morelos and Aribo scored in the early stages at Tynecastle, giving Rangers six consecutive league victories encompassing the end of Gerrard’s reign. Hearts had Josh Ginnelly sent off late on as they squandered a chance to close the gap on the champions. Rangers are 12 points clear of third placed Hearts and seven ahead of second placed Celtic, who host Motherwell later on Sunday. Van Bronckhorst made six changes to the Rangers side that began Thursday’s 1-1 draw at Lyon in the Europa League. Liam Boyce had a great chance to open the scoring for Hearts in the third minute when he ran on to John Souttar’s clipped ball over the top, but the Northern Ireland striker saw his lob tipped over by Allan McGregor. It was Rangers who scored with their first chance of the match after nine minutes when Ryan Kent’s cross reached Fashion Sakala and the Zambian cut the ball back to Morelos, who fired home from six yards out. Sakala shot just wide from close range moments later before Morelos headed wide from James Tavernier’s corner. Rangers’ second goal came in the 13th minute when Aribo ran on to a brilliant long diagonal from Connor Goldson and fired an angled low shot beyond the exposed Craig Gordon. Gary Mackay-Steven saw his angled shot pushed behind by McGregor early in the second half. Rangers had a let-off in the 53rd minute when Calvin Bassey knocked a Ginnelly cross off the underside of his own crossbar. Rangers remained a threat, however, and Scott Arfield and Sakala were both denied by saves from Gordon. Boyce fired over from close range after being set up by Mackay-Steven before Stephen Kingsley cracked a free kick off the bar from 30 yards out. In the 80th minute, Ginnelly was sent off after being shown a second yellow card for squaring up to Borna Barisic.

Glasgow (AFP) – Alfredo Morelos and Joe Aribo fired Rangers to a 2-0 win at Hearts on Sunday as the Scottish Premiership leaders extended their strong start under new boss Giovanni van Bronckhorst. Van Bronckhorst has won four successive league games since replacing Steven Gerrard after his predecessor’s move to Aston Villa. Morelos and Aribo scored in the early stages at Tynecastle, giving Rangers six consecutive league victories encompassing the end of Gerrard’s reign. Hearts had Josh Ginnelly sent off late on as they squandered a chance to close the gap on the champions. Rangers are 12 points clear of third placed Hearts and seven ahead of second placed Celtic, who host Motherwell later on Sunday. Van Bronckhorst made six changes to the Rangers side that began Thursday’s 1-1 draw at Lyon in the Europa League. Liam Boyce had a great chance to open the scoring for Hearts in the third minute when he ran on to John Souttar’s clipped ball over the top, but the Northern Ireland stri...
Post a Comment
Read more