Tag: pitch invader

Erling Haaland ended his Champions League goal drought as Manchester City extended their perfect start to the tournament with a 3-1 win at Swiss side Young Boys.

Haaland arrived in rain-lashed Bern without a goal in his previous five Champions League matches.

The City striker had scored 35 goals in his first 30 Champions League appearances and he got back on track in the competition with a second-half double at the Wankdorf Stadium.

Haaland’s penalty restored City’s lead after Meschack Elia had cancelled out Manuel Akanji’s second-half opener for the holders.

Switzerland defender Akanji’s first goal for City this season came on his return to his homeland, just days after he was sent off in the treble winners’ victory over Brighton in the Premier League.

Haaland struck again in the closing stages to wrap up the points and take him to 11 goals in all competitions this term.

Pep Guardiola’s side sit top of Group G after a third successive victory following their wins against Red Star Belgrade and RB Leipzig.

Another success against Young Boys at the Etihad Stadium next month would ensure City qualify for the knockout stages with two matches to spare.

Guardiola has admitted City are suffering a mild hangover from winning the treble, with consecutive Premier League defeats against Wolves and Arsenal recently following a League Cup loss to Newcastle.

But City are unbeaten in their last 16 Champions League matches and even the unique challenge posed by Young Boys’ synthetic pitch could not derail their dominance in the tournament.

They remain a potent force even at less than 100 percent and should have taken an immediate lead against Young Boys when Rodri stooped to head just wide from Matheus Nunes’ corner.

Young Boys keeper Anthony Racioppi repelled Jeremy Doku’s blast after the City winger was set up by Jack Grealish.

As City’s pressure mounted, Grealish’s shot was dropped by Racioppi, but Nunes’s close-range effort was cleared off the line by Loris Benito.

Despite their dominance, Guardiola’s men were almost caught by a pair of sucker punches.

Nathan Ake’s last-ditch tackle stopped Sandro Lauper in his tracks as he prepared to shoot, while Cedric Itten’s header looped onto the roof of Ederson’s net.

Racioppi came to the hosts’ rescue on the stroke of half-time with a fine save from Doku’s curler and then another impressive stop to keep out Rodi’s flicked effort.

City finally made the breakthrough in the 48th minute when Ruben Dias’s header was pushed onto the bar by Racioppi and Akanji was on hand on to poke home from close range.

Their advantage lasted only four minutes as Cheikh Niasse’s defence-splitting pass from deep inside his own half sent Elia sprinting clear.

Ederson raced off his line in a bid to avert the danger but Elia lofted a superb chipped finish over the Brazilian from the edge of the area.

Having unexpectedly squandered the lead, City quickly went back in front after 67 minutes.

Rodri was sent crashing in the area by Mohamed Ali Camara and Haaland stepped up to smash home the penalty.

Julian Alvarez’s 74th-minute goal was disallowed for a handball by Grealish in the build-up.

But Haaland ensured City would head home with their 100 percent start intact, taking a touch from Rodri’s pass before whipping a fine finish into the far corner from just inside the area in the 86th minute.

BARCELONA CONTINUE WINNING WAYS

Elsewhere, Barcelona continued their perfect start in the Champions League and warmed up for the Clasico at the weekend with a 2-1 win over Shakhtar Donetsk.

The Spanish champions held off their Ukrainian visitors to take their third win from three games and put one foot into the knock-out stages after failing to progress in the past two seasons.

Ferran Torres opened the scoring for Barca with 20-year-old midfielder Fermin Lopez smashing home the second from the edge of the box.

After 17-year-old debutant Marc Guiu struck the winner against Athletic Bilbao at the weekend, Lopez’s display meant it was another fine night for Barcelona’s La Masia talent factory.

Heorhiy Sudakov pulled one back for Shakhtar after a Barca defensive lapse, creating a nervy finale for the hosts, but they held on to the three points.

Barca took forward Joao Felix off hurt in the final stages, with another injury to add to a long list the last thing they need.

Barcelona were already without several key players, including Robert Lewandowski, Pedri and Frenkie de Jong, leading Xavi to deploy winger Torres in the middle of the attack.

The former Manchester City player said he was ready to step up a level in an important week for the club, with Real Madrid visiting on Saturday.

He started brightly and hammered home before the half-hour mark after Ilkay Gundogan sweetly teed up Lopez, whose effort came back off the upright.

The goal was initially ruled out but VAR showed Lopez had timed his run to perfection to reach the German midfielder’s nicely weighted chip over the top.

Lopez, who made his debut in August, rescued Barcelona a draw earlier this season at Real Mallorca and staked his claim for a start against Madrid with his best performance to date, in for the suspended Gavi.

Dmytro Riznyk had saved well from the midfielder early on but could do nothing about his goal, a cannonball strike, in off the post to shore up Barca’s position.

Riznyk did well to save a Felix header early in the second half and was relieved to see the offside flag up against Torres as he clipped home after an hour.

Just a couple of minutes later, Shakhtar earned a foothold in the game. Joao Cancelo did not get back into position after yet another foray forward, and Oriol Romeu was left in the dust by Sudakov, who finished well at the near post.

It was the first goal Barcelona have conceded in the campaign. Lopez hit the post with another long-range effort and then had a header ruled out for offside as he continued his all-action display.

Barcelona wound down seven minutes of stoppage time to take the points as supporters in the stands turned their attention to the impending Clasico.

Shakhtar are third, provisionally level with second-placed Porto on three points, who visit bottom side Antwerp later, while Barcelona lead with nine.

BORUSSIA DORTMUND BLOW GROUP OF DEATH WIDE OPEN

Borussia Dortmund blew the Champions League’s group of death wide open as Felix Nmecha’s goal beat Newcastle 1-0 at St James’ Park.

Newcastle twice hit the woodwork in the closing stages through Callum Wilson and Fabian Schar, but now have work to do to reach the last 16 on their return to the competition after 20 years.

The German giants’ first win in Group F lifts Dortmund above Newcastle on head-to-head record with both sides on four points.

Paris Saint-Germain lead the section on six points with last season’s semi-finalists AC Milan bottom on two.

Newcastle had announced their return to the Champions League stage in style with a 4-1 demolition of PSG three weeks ago.

But the Magpies were handed a deserved reality check after a surprisingly flat performance.

Dortmund had failed to score in their opening two games in the toughest group in the draw.

But their defeat by PSG last month was the only time they have lost in 12 games so far this season.

Dortmund dominated the opening 45 minutes, but should still have fallen behind when Anthony Gordon fired straight at Gregor Kobel with just the Swiss goalkeeper to beat.

Newcastle were then dealt a major blow when former Dortmund striker Alexander Isak was forced off with injury.

Donyell Malen and Niclas Fullkrug tested Nick Pope but it was an inspired piece of play from a centre-back that eventually helped Edin Terzic’s men break their duck.

Nico Schlotterbeck robbed Gordon of possession in midfield and burst forward before crossing for Nmecha to stroke into the far corner in first-half stoppage time.

Sandro Tonali is expected to be handed a 10-month ban in the coming days for alleged breaches of betting rules during his time with AC Milan.

However, Eddie Howe still turned to the Italian international off the bench to try and inspire a turnaround.

Newcastle were left to rue one huge missed opportunity when Isak’s replacement, Wilson, fired into Kobel’s legs with just the goalkeeper to beat.

Wilson then saw a flicked header come back off the crossbar. Howe’s men came even closer in the dying seconds of stoppage time as Schar’s deflected effort looped over a helpless Kobel and bounced kindly back off the bar for Dortmund into the path of a covering defender.

But the visitors clung on to leave the group delicately poised heading into another clash between the sides in Dortmund on November 7.

PITCH INVADER’S CHEEKY ACT AS PSG STORM TO BIG WIN

Kylian Mbappe, Randal Kolo Muani and Lee Kang-in were all on target as Paris Saint-Germain got back to winning ways in the Champions League with an impressive 3-0 home victory against AC Milan.

PSG were eager to bounce back from their 4-1 defeat away to Newcastle United three weeks ago and they ultimately had too much attacking quality for their Italian visitors at the Parc des Princes.

Mbappe opened the scoring with a lethal finish just after the half-hour mark for his 10th club goal this season, and his France teammate Kolo Muani added another shortly after half-time.

Lee Kang-in then came off the bench to net the third late on, the South Korean star’s first for the club.

PSG thoroughly deserved their win, with the Ligue 1 side a completely different proposition from the disjointed team that was overloaded with forwards and overrun in midfield in the defeat by Newcastle.

Having started their European campaign with a 2-0 home win against Borussia Dortmund, Luis Enrique’s PSG side top Group F at the halfway stage with six points ahead of a trip to Milan early next month.

Milan, the seven-time European champions, are bottom of the group with two points and a big concern for Stefano Pioli’s side will be that they have yet to score a goal in the competition this season.

This game saw French international brothers Lucas Hernandez, the PSG defender, and Theo, the Milan captain, come up against each other for the first time.

It also saw PSG goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma and his Milan counterpart Mike Maignan come up against the clubs with whom they started their careers.

But the stars of the show were elsewhere, with Mbappe — who was hugged by a pitch invader in the first half — looking arguably sharper than he has done at any point up to now this season for PSG.

Meanwhile, the 17-year-old Warren Zaire-Emery was exceptional in the PSG midfield and his latest impressive performance will not have gone unnoticed by France coach Didier Deschamps, who was watching from the stands.

There were seven current full French internationals on the field at kick-off and it was national team captain Mbappe who opened the scoring in the 32nd minute.

Zaire-Emery collected possession just inside his own half, burst away from Tijjani Reijnders and found Mbappe, who advanced into the box before beating Maignan with an early, low shot into the corner.

That was a blow to Milan, who had started well and upset the Paris defence with their high pressing, and also saw Rafael Leao curl an effort not far wide shortly before the goal.

It was not just Zaire-Emery who impressed in the home midfield, with Vitinha continuing his fine form this season in a position close to Mbappe on the left.

Meanwhile Manuel Ugarte is the man who holds it all together, but his physical approach denied PSG a second goal three minutes into the second half.

Ousmane Dembele thought he had scored his first goal for the Qatar-owned club since signing from Barcelona in the close season, as he ran through to plant a low shot beyond Maignan into the far corner.

However, Slovenian referee Slavko Vincic disallowed the goal following a VAR review for a foul by Ugarte on Yunus Musah in the build-up.

PSG didn’t have to wait long to make it 2-0 though, as Kolo Muani turned the ball into an empty net in the 53rd minute after Maignan had pushed out a Dembele shot.

Milan tried unsuccessfully to find a way back into the game, while Maignan intervened more than once to stop Mbappe scoring again, notably touching a shot onto the outside of the post.

But the home side made it three in the 89th minute as the outstanding Zaire-Emery powered forward down the right and set up Lee to score with a first-time strike.

CELTIC HOLD OFF 10-MAN ATLETICO

Celtic earned their first Champions League point of the season but were left to rue twice letting a lead slip in a pulsating 2-2 draw against Atletico Madrid.

The Scottish champions struck after just four minutes through Kyogo Furuhashi before Antoine Griezmann levelled on the rebound after his penalty was turned onto the post by home goalkeeper Joe Hart.

Luis Palma restored Celtic’s lead before half-time, but Alvaro Morata’s header ensured Atletico’s unbeaten run stretches to eight games.

The Spanish giants had Rodrigo De Paul sent off in the closing stages. Celtic, though, could not make the man advantage count in the final eight minutes plus stoppage time as their 10-year wait for a Champions League group-stage win at home goes on.

A draw takes Atletico to within a point of Group E leaders Feyenoord, who beat Lazio 3-1.

Celtic remain bottom, three points adrift of the third-placed Italians. There could also be further ramifications from the match for Celtic after fans defied a club plea by waving Palestine flags in a show of support to people in Gaza during the war between Israel and Palestinian militants Hamas.

A leading Celtic fans’ group announced they would distribute flags outside the stadium.

In a statement before the match, Celtic asked for “banners, flags and symbols relating to the conflict and those countries involved in it are not displayed at Celtic Park at this time”.

Once the action got underway, the home side were inspired by the hostile atmosphere.

Matt O’Riley’s through ball sliced open the Atletico defence for Kyogo to dink home his seventh goal of the season.

But Brendan Rodgers’ men have found the step up to Champions League level tougher defensively and a naive challenge from Greg Taylor on Nahuel Molina handed the visitors a glorious chance to equalise.

Hart tipped Griezmann’s spot-kick onto the woodwork, but the ball bounced back kindly for the French international to roll into an empty net.

Celtic hit back within three minutes when Palma blasted into the far corner from Daizen Maeda’s cross.

Atletico thought they had levelled again before half-time only for Axel Witsel’s header to be ruled out for offside.

Diego Simeone’s men did not have to wait long after the break to equalise when Morata stooped to divert a brilliant header high past Hart from Marcos Llorente’s cross on 53 minutes.

Atletico then looked set to go on and win the game as Celtic paid for their first-half efforts by tiring in the second period.

But De Paul dived in on Paulo Bernardo to earn a second yellow card and at least give the hosts some breathing space in the closing stages, even if they failed to find a winner.