Real Madrid and Lyon reached the knockout stage of the Champions League with victories on Tuesday.
Playing in Group F, Lyon won at Olympiakos 4-1 -- the fourth victory in four games for the French champions. Nine-time winner Real Madrid won 2-0 at Rosenborg, improving to nine points.
Rosenborg and Olympiakos were eliminated from reaching the next stage.
PHOTO: AFP
Real Betis pulled off the shock of the night, upsetting English champion Chelsea 1-0. It was Chelsea's first lost in the competition and only its second in 16 games overall this season.
Chelsea was ousted from England's League Cup last week, losing to Charlton on a penalty shootout following a draw in regulation and extra time.
Thoroughly beaten 4-0 at Chelsea two weeks ago, Betis notched the victory on Dani Martin's goal in the 28th minute at Seville's Manuel Ruiz de Lopera stadium.
"We have nothing to argue with, we have no defense because the performance in the first half was too bad," Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho said. "Betis deserved the victory because of their attitude in the first half, and how they defended in the second half.
"We are a great team," he added. "We weren't a great team tonight, but if we are a great team we have to return to our standards."
In the other Group G game, defending champion Liverpool beat Anderlecht 3-0 on goals from Fernando Morientes, Luis Garcia and Djibril Cisse.
Liverpool improved to 10 points to lead the group. Chelsea, the league leaders in England, stayed on seven points with Betis moving up to six. Had Chelsea won, both Liverpool and the Blues would have reached the knockout stage.
Two games remain in the group stage. The top two teams in each of the eight groups advance to the knockout round of 16.
Also, it was: PSV Eindhoven 1, AC Milan 0, and Schalke 2, Fenerbahce 0 in Group E; Artmedia Bratislava 2, Rangers 2, and Inter Milan 2, FC Porto 1 in Group H.
Lyon is the only team to win all four of its game. Arsenal and Bayern Munich could match the French club's feat on Wednesday. Norway international John Carew scored two with Juninho and Mahamadou Diarra scoring the others for Lyon.
Real Madrid went ahead 1-0 on an own-goal by Mikael Dorsin in the 26th, with Guti making it 2-0 in the 41st.
Martin was the hero in Seville, scoring just three minutes after replacing fellow striker Ricardo Oliveira. He took a pass from Jesus Capitan, beat Chelsea defender William Gallas and then scored behind goalkeeper Petr Cech.
Chelsea has failed to win in six straight away games in the Champions League.
Struggling in the English league, Liverpool's Morientes, Garcia and Cisse scored to overwhelm Anderlecht. Liverpool dominated every phase of the game and probably should have scored more.
In Group E, PSV took the lead over AC Milan on Jefferson Foran's early goal. PSV moved up to seven points and Milan stayed on five.
Schalke also moved up to five points, beating Fenerbahce 2-0 on Kevin Kuranyi's goal in the 32nd, and a second-half injury-time clincher by Ebbe Sand. Fenerbahce stayed on four points.
In Group H, Inter Milan neared the second stage with a 2-1 victory over Porto in an empty San Siro stadium. Inter leads the group with nine points.
Substitute Julio Ricardo Cruz scored twice to rally Inter to the victory after Hugo Almeida gave Porto a lead in the 16th. Porto stayed on three points.
The match was played behind closed doors as Inter served the third of a four-match ban. Its Champions League quarterfinal with AC Milan last season was suspended when a fan threw a flare that hit Milan goalkeeper Dida.
Rangers drew 2-2 at Artmedia Bratislava with both improving to five points. Dado Prso and Steven Thompson scored for Rangers, and Balazs Borbely and Jan Kozak answered for Artmedia.
On Wednesday, it's: FC Brugge vs. Rapid Vienna, and Juventus vs. Bayern Munich in Group A; Arsenal vs. Sparta Prague, and FC Thun vs. Ajax in Group B; FC Barcelona vs. Panathinaikos, and Werder Bremen vs. Udinese in Group C; Benfica vs. Villarreal, and Lille vs. Manchester United in Group D.
Brazil has four teams, more than any other country, in the expanded Club World Cup that kicked off yesterday in the US, but for SE Palmeiras, the competition holds a special meaning: winning it would provide some redemption. Under coach Abel Ferreira since 2020, Palmeiras lifted two Copa Libertadores titles, plus Brazilian league, cup and state championships. Even before Ferreira, it boasted another South American crown and 11 league titles. The only major trophy missing is a world champions’ title. Other Brazilian clubs like Fluminense FC and Botafogo FR, also in the tournament, have never won it either, but the problem for Palmeiras
Lionel Messi drew vast crowds and showed flashes of his brilliance when his Inter Miami side were held to a goalless draw by African giants Al-Ahly as the revamped FIFA Club World Cup got off to a festive start on Saturday. Fans showed up en masse for the Group A clash at the Hard Rock Stadium, home to the NFL’s Miami Dolphins, but Messi could not fully deliver, his best chance coming through a last-second attempt that was deflected onto the crossbar. Inter Miami next face FC Porto on Thursday in Atlanta, while Al-Ahly, who benefited from raucous, massive support, are to
Twelve days after winning her second Grand Slam title at the French Open, Coco Gauff fell at the first hurdle on grass in Berlin on Thursday as beaten Paris finalist Aryna Sabalenka advanced to the quarter-finals. Recipient of a first round bye, American Gauff lost 6-3, 6-3 to Chinese qualifier Wang Xinyu as world number one Sabalenka beat Rebeka Masarova 6-2, 7-6 (8/6) in her second round tie. Winner of 10 main tour titles, including the US Open in 2023 and the WTA Finals last year, Gauff has yet to lift a trophy in a grass-court tournament. “After I won the first
Sergio Ramos on Tuesday outfoxed two Inter players and artfully headed home the first goal for Monterrey at the FIFA Club World Cup. The 39-year-old Ramos slipped through the penalty area for the score just as he did for so many years in the shirts of Real Madrid and Spain’s national team, with whom he combined smarts, timing and physicality. Ramos’ clever goal and his overall defensive play at the Rose Bowl were major factors in Monterrey’s impressive 1-1 draw against the UEFA Champions League finalists in the clubs’ first match of the tournament. “There is always a joy to contribute to the
RSS