Round-up Champions League – Okafor scores again – Juve blunder again – Sport

  • Switzerland’s Noah Okafor scored the valuable 1-1 at Stamford Bridge for Salzburg.
  • Juventus Turin also loses their 2nd group game and is far behind a place in the last 16.
  • Real Madrid defeats Leipzig and remains without a loss.
  • The match reports for ManCity-Dortmund and Copenhagen-Seville can be found here.

Group E: Okafor saves Salzburg a point

Raheem Sterling put the Londoners ahead shortly after the break with a shot into the far corner of Swiss goalkeeper Philipp Köhn. Noah Okafor equalized after 75 minutes. He converted a Junior Adamu cross. Okafor scored last week in the 1-1 draw against Milan. Despite clear possession advantage for Chelsea, the point was not stolen. For Chelsea’s new coach Graham Potter, on the other hand, it was a mixed start. The 47-year-old followed Thomas Tuchel in the “Blues”, who was released after the 0-1 draw in Zagreb.

  • AC Milan 3-1 Dinamo Zagreb

Like Okafor, Milan’s Alexis Saelemaekers scored for the second time in a row. The Belgian headed in 3-1 over Dinamo Zagreb shortly after the break to make it 2-0. Mislav Orsic brought the Croatians closer again (56′), but with Tommaso Pobegas 3-1 via the bottom of the bar (3-1) the game was over. Olivier Giroud had given the «Rossoneri» the lead from the penalty spot just before the break. Milan leads Group E with 4 points. Swiss striker Josip Drmic came on at Dinamo in the 78th minute.

Group H: Juventus under massive pressure

2 games, 0 points, 6 points behind a place in the round of 16: Juventus is threatened with an early Champions League out. Despite an early lead (Arkadiusz Milik headed in after 4 minutes), they suffered a defeat against Benfica Lisbon. Joao Mario from the penalty point (after VAR intervention) and David Neres turned the game in favor of the guests. Juve captain Leonardo Bonucci found no explanation after the game in which the Italians were whistled: “We have no consistency. I don’t know if it’s physical or mental reasons.”

For a while, the Sammy Ofer Stadium in Haifa smelled like a sensation: the Israelis took the lead through a goal from Tjaronn Chery – and then found the net again shortly afterwards. However, the supposed 2-0 was annulled. As a result, the three biggest PSG stars turned the game around: Lionel Messi from close range, Kylian Mbappé in the far corner and Neymar, who was completely free, ensured the befitting victory. Messi broke two records: he also scored in his 18th CL season and is now the sole leader in this statistic ahead of Karim Benzema (17). He was also successful in the CL against 39 different clubs (Cristiano Ronaldo: 38).

Defending champions Real Madrid lacklusterly beat Leipzig at the Bernabeu. The guests were the better team, especially in the first half, but didn’t use their chances (Christopher Nkunku, Timo Werner, Emil Forsberg). Two strong actions by Fede Valverde (80th) and Marco Asensio (91st) then gave Real a late victory. At the break, the Madrilenians were even whistled at by their own fans. Leipzig, for the first time in the CL with Marco Rose on the sidelines, remains pointless at the bottom of the table.

In exile in Warsaw, Shakhtar Donetsk played his first Champions League home game since the beginning of the Ukraine war. And the Ukrainians scored after that Coup again a week ago in Leipzig. Coach Igor Jovicevic’s team scored both goals themselves in the 1-1 draw against Celtic Glasgow. Artem Bondarenko found his own net after just 10 minutes. 19 minutes later, Mykhaylo Mudryk equalized with a powerful shot. Celtic keeper Joe Hart seemed to duck away slightly. Shakhtar’s supposed winning goal was disallowed for razor-thin offsides.

Group A: Napoli wins with initial difficulties

The 3rd penalty brought the favored guests on course. Glasgow’s 40-year-old keeper Allan McGregor had twice parried an attempt by Napoli’s Piotr Zielinski from 11 meters (57′). Matteo Politano then broke the ban 10 minutes later. Because the hosts James Sands lost after 55 minutes to a yellow-red card, this meant the decision. The late goals from Giacomo Raspadori and Tanguy Ndombélé were bonuses. The game in Scotland had been postponed by one day due to the funeral ceremonies for Queen Elizabeth II.

“God Save the King”: Rangers vs. Uefa


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Before the game against Napoli, Glasgow Rangers played the British national anthem “God Save the King” in honor of the royal family – despite a ban by Uefa. The European association had only allowed a minute’s silence and the wearing of a black ribbon. The club must expect a penalty.

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