Champions League: Chelsea first in the Salzburg group after beating Milan Nonne, Juve before the end
Chelsea took a big step towards promotion to the round of 16 in the Champions League with an away win at Italian soccer champions AC Milan. The Londoners prevailed 2-0 (2-0) against the Milanese in the top game of Group E on Tuesday evening and were outnumbered from the 18th minute. The “Blues” take the lead in Salzburg Group E after four games, one point ahead of the Mozart city-dwellers, three ahead of Milan and Zagreb.
Former Chelsea pro Fikayo Tomori saw a controversial red card after an alleged emergency brake in the penalty area. “For me, that was not a penalty and never, ever a red card,” said Sky expert Andreas Herzog. The German referee Daniel Siebert had not looked at the video images despite urgent requests from the Milan players, Mason Mount had previously fallen to the ground after slightly touching Tomori. Jorginho converted the penalty kick that was due (21′), followed shortly afterwards by Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (34′).
ÖFB star David Alaba meets Real Madrid in the last second of a defeat. The “Royal” came after three wins in a row thanks to a headed goal by Antonio Rüdiger (95th) to a 1-1 (0-0) against the Ukrainian champions Shakhtar Donetsk, whereby the defending champion booked the ticket for the round of 16. Rüdiger crashed into his goal with Shakhtar goalie Anatolij Trubin and lay on the lawn with his face covered in blood. Oleksandr Zubkov had given the Ukrainians the lead with the first attack in the second half (46th).
David Alaba came on as a substitute at Real
Alaba came on as a substitute in the 68th minute and played at left-back. With a view to the upcoming “Clasico” on Sunday in the league against FC Barcelona, the Madrilenians rested some regular players. In the second game of Group F, RB Leipzig celebrated a 2-0 win at Celtic Glasgow thanks to goals from Timo Werner (75′) and Emil Forsberg (84′), Xaver Schlager played through to the winners.
Manchester City is already in the round of 16. The English champions were handed a 0-0 draw at FC Copenhagen, which meant the “Citizens” lost their first point. Coach Pep Guardiola did without Erling Haaland, who was probably rested in advance of the Premier League hit on Sunday at Anfield against Liverpool.
Without the goalgetter, the game took an unfortunate turn for the guests. First, the video assistant failed to recognize Rodri’s long-range goal because of a previous handball by Riyad Mahrez (11th), then a Mahrez failed with a hand penalty to Copenhagen goalie Kamil Grabara (25th) and finally City left-back Sergio Gomez saw through Goal robbery Red (30th). With a majority, the Danes were able to keep the party open and bring the tie over time. In the first match of the season without Haaland, City delivered the first zero number of the season.
Borussia Dortmund secured second place in the group with a 1-1 win against Sevilla a few days after the furious 2-2 win against FC Bayern. The lead over the Spaniards and Copenhagen is five points. Tanguy Nianzou scored for Sevilla (18′), Jude Bellingham equalized for BVB (35′).
Juventus blamed themselves in Israel
Juventus, on the other hand, are likely to see the round of 16 after a 2-0 loss at Maccabi Haifa. Juve put on an extremely poor performance in the first half and were punished for this with goals from Omer Atzili (7′, 42′). Only after the change of sides did the Italian record champions improve, but they were unable to turn the tide. With only three points from four games, Torino’s entry into the round of 16 seems a long way off. Coach Massimilian Allegri ruled out a resignation after the final whistle. For Haifa it was the first win in the premier class in 20 years.
Paris Saint-Germain were held to a 1-1 draw by Benfica. Kylian Mbappé, who was said to be willing to change, scored a penalty for the French (40th), Joao Mario (62nd) also equalized from the point for the Portuguese. Juve are now five points behind PSG and third-placed Benfica.