Celtic failed to make a winning return to the Champions League after a four-year hiatus as they were held to a goalless draw by Group G rivals SL Benfica at Parkhead on Wednesday.
Despite a frantic start, the home side failed to test Benfica goalkeeper Artur Moraes and it was the Portuguese who came closest with Fraser Forster doing well to deny Moreno Rodrigo’s shot.
The ’keeper had to be sharp to deny Ezequiel Garay at the start of the second half, while Celtic had a penalty appeal turned down after James Forrest fell in the box as neither side could make the breakthrough.
Favorites Barcelona top Group G after coming from behind to claim a 3-2 win over Spartak Moscow at the Camp Nou.
“I think a draw was probably a fair result. We didn’t work their goalkeeper as much as I would have liked,” Celtic manager Neil Lennon said. “Having said that I was very pleased with the team performance tonight. We played with real zest and no fear against a class side, so it’s a decent start for us.”
Benfica coach Jorge Jesus felt his side should have won.
“We knew it wasn’t going to be easy game. Celtic are a hard team, but we deserved a victory,” Jesus said.
In a frenzied start Celtic had a chance immediately when Kris Commons sent a chipped effort over the bar. The game was barely 90 seconds old when Miku set Commons up for another effort, but his shot was blocked and the danger cleared. Celtic were pinning Benfica back in their own half, but despite their dominance of possession they failed to test the Portuguese ’keeper.
However, Benfica, who topped a group containing Manchester United on their way to last season’s quarter-finals, fired a warning shot in the 32nd minute when Rodrigo chased a long ball behind the Celtic defense, but Forster rushed from his line to block the Spaniard’s shot.
Moments later Benfica launched a quick counterattack from a Celtic corner, but Kelvin Wilson made an important tackle to stop Nicolas Gaitan just over the halfway-line.
Benfica came close to opening the scoring in the 62nd minute when Garay stooped low to get his head on Gaitan’s corner, but Forster dived low to turn it round his near post.
The Portuguese side sensed an opportunity and Cardozo was soon off the bench to replace captain Pablo Aimar in a bid to get the winner.
In an attempt to reclaim the initiative Celtic replaced the ineffectual Emilio Izaguirre with Hooper in the hope Moraes would finally be tested.
The game became more stretched with Benfica’s Eduardo Salvio sending a long-range shot harmlessly over the bar, before substitute Bruno Cesar curled his effort just over the upright.
Commons tried his luck with an audacious chip from the half way line, but Moraes was equal to it before referee Nicola Rizzoli waved away their penalty claims when Forrest went down in the box under the challenge of Lorenzo Melgarejo.
Bologna on Thursday advanced past Empoli to reach their first Coppa Italia final in more than half a century. Thijs Dallinga’s 87th-minute header earned Bologna a 2-1 win and his side advanced 5-1 on aggregate. Giovanni Fabbian opened the scoring for Bologna with a header seven minutes in. Then Viktor Kovalenko equalized for Empoli in the 30th minute by turning in a rebound to finish off a counterattack. Bologna won the first leg 3-0. In the May 14 final in Rome, Bologna are to face AC Milan, who eliminated city rivals Inter 4-1 on aggregate following a 3-0 win on Wednesday. Bologna last reached the
If the Wild finally break through and win their first playoff series in a decade, Minnesota’s top line likely will be the reason. They were all over the Golden Knights through the first two games of their NHL Western Conference quarter-finals series, which was 1-1 going back to Minnesota for Game 3 today. The Wild tied the series with a 5-2 win on Tuesday. Matt Boldy had three goals and an assist in the first two games, while Kirill Kaprizov produced two goals and three assists. Joel Eriksson Ek, who centers the line, has yet to get on the scoresheet. “I think the biggest
From a commemorative jersey to a stadium in his name, Argentine soccer organizers are planning a slew of tributes to their late “Captain” Pope Francis, eulogized as the ultimate team player. Tributes to the Argentine pontiff, a lifelong lover of the game, who died on Monday at the age of 88, have been peppered with soccer metaphors in his homeland. “Francisco. What a player,” the Argentine Football Federation (AFA) said, describing the first pope from Latin America and the southern hemisphere as a generational talent who “never hogged the ball” and who showed the world “the importance of having an Argentine captain,
Noelvi Marte on Sunday had seven RBIs and hit his first career grand slam with a drive off infielder Jorge Mateo, while Austin Wynn had a career-high six RBIs as the Cincinnati Reds scored their most runs in 26 years in a 24-2 rout of the Baltimore Orioles. Marte finished with five hits, including his eighth-inning homer off Mateo. Wynn hit a three-run homer in the ninth off catcher Gary Sanchez. Cincinnati scored its most runs since a 24-12 win against the Colorado Rockies on May 19, 1999, and finished with 25 hits. Baltimore allowed its most runs since a 30-3 loss to
RSS