Unheralded sides CFR Cluj and Anorthosis Famagusta earned valuable points on Wednesday in their unlikely quest to qualify for the knockout rounds of the Champions League.
Cluj, who had opened their Champions League group campaign with a stunning win over AS Roma, held English Premiership side Chelsea to a 0-0 draw in Romania while Anorthosis walloped Greek giants Panathinaikos 3-1.
Chelsea’s former handler Jose Mourinho, endeavoring to deliver Inter Milan Champions League glory in his first campaign in charge, had to make do with a 1-1 draw against in-form German outfit Werder Bremen.
PHOTO: EPA
Other underdogs also went close to famous wins as Ukrainian side Shakhtar Donetsk led Barcelona 1-0 till three minutes from time but the 2006 champions bit back through a double from Argentine maestro Lionel Messi.
French side Bordeaux, humiliated 4-0 by Chelsea in their opening match, also looked well in control of their clash with AS Roma leading 1-0 until Brazilian central defender Henrique was harshly red-carded in the 36th minute for an alleged elbow.
From there on the Italians ran the show ending up 3-1 winners thanks to a double by former Real Madrid and Arsenal striker Julio “The Beast” Baptista.
PHOTO: EPA
Liverpool, though, kept the estalished order in top spot with a commanding 3-1 win over Dutch side PSV Eindhoven, Robbie Keane scoring a first goal for the club since signing from Spurs while longtime servant Steven Gerrard notched up his century of goals for the team with a stunning effort.
Cluj may have ridden their luck at several points in Transylvania but the side made up largely of South American unknowns left their owner beaming with pride.
“It is an important point,” said Cluj owner Arpad Paszkany. “No matter who the team they would find it difficult to get a point off Chelsea.”
Anorthosis’ Georgian coach Temur Ketsbaia said afterwards: “This is an historic day ... my players gave everything they had, we also had some luck on our side but we didn’t allow them to create chances.”
Messi was delighted to have been the provider of Barcelona’s remarkable victory over Shakhtar.
“It is an important win,” Messi said. “It was not one of our better performances, but we showed that we are a team that continues to try things when the match is not going well.”
Roma coach Luciano Spalletti did not believe that Henrique’s sending-off was crucial to the ultimate result against Bordeaux. “In my opinion, we deserved the victory,” he said. “We didn’t play that well for the first hour while Bordeaux were playing good football and they even scared us a bit.”
Bordeaux counterpart Laurent Blanc disagreed as he saw not only Henrique expelled but he also had to take off attacking midfielder Jussie when he suffered a hamstring injury at the same time.
“From then on the match became more difficult, and there were still 50 minutes left to play 10 against 11,” said the former stalwart French international central defender. “Would we have done better at 11 against 11? I think yes, of course.”
In other matches Sporting Lisbon beat Swiss side Basel 2-0, while at the Vicente Calderon Atletico Madrid were 2-0 winners over Olympique Marseille.
A runner who stopped during a marathon in China to pose doing the splits and another who hoarded energy gels have been banned for two years, the local athletics association said yesterday. The incidents happened during Sunday’s marathon in Sichuan Province’s Chengdu and were widely shared online. Videos showed a female runner stopping suddenly and dropping to the ground in the splits position, holding up her arms in a heart shape as she apparently posed for a photograph. She “committed obstructive fouls during the race, affecting the safe participation of other runners,” the Sichuan Athletics Association said in a statement, which identified
Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli yesterday vowed to “keep raising the bar” after winning the Japanese Grand Prix to become the youngest driver in Formula One history to lead the championship standings. The 19-year-old Italian took advantage of a mid-race safety car to jump into the lead after a dreadful start from pole position, crossing the line ahead of McLaren’s Oscar Piastri and Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc. Antonelli’s Suzuka victory came two weeks after the first grand prix win of his career in China, and sent him top of the championship standings after three races, nine points ahead of team-mate George Russell. Mercedes are struggling to
Teng Kai-wei, the only Taiwanese player on an opening-day roster in this year’s Major League Baseball (MLB) season, took his first win of the year with the Houston Astros in his season debut. Teng entered in relief in the top of the fifth inning against the Los Angeles Angels on Saturday, with the Astros trailing 5-0. He pitched 2-1/3 scoreless innings with two strikeouts, as Houston scored 11 runs during his outing to snatch an 11-9 comeback victory. The win is the Astros’ first of the season and the third of Teng’s MLB career. “It’s my first time pitching for the Astros, so
Workers are hammering, cranes are swinging and seats are being bolted into place — but the clock is ticking. Mexico City’s famous Azteca stadium, reborn as Estadio Banorte, is in a frantic race to be ready for its grand reopening on Saturday. Drone footage showed crews installing seats and attaching the new stadium name to the facade, with cranes looming overhead 48 hours before the gates are due to open for a high-profile friendly between Mexico and Portugal. For residents, the breakneck pace of construction has done little to inspire confidence. “I know they are working practically seven days a week, 24 hours
RSS