Seven-time French champions Olympique Lyonnais progressed to the Champions League playoff round on Tuesday with a 2-0 aggregate victory over Swiss side Grasshopper Club Zurich following a 1-0 second-leg win in Zurich.
Lyon entered Tuesday’s second leg at the Letzigrund Stadium with a one-goal advantage after a narrow win in France last week, and Remi Garde’s side moved a step closer to a return to the group stage as Clement Grenier struck a late winner to cement their place in the next round.
Michael Lang had the best chance of a quiet first half, but the defender was thwarted by a combination of Bakary Kone and goalkeeper Anthony Lopes, having initially breached the Lyon backline.
Photo: AFP
Nzuzi Toko then tested Lopes with an angled strike just prior to halftime, while Alexandre Lacazette fired low at Roman Buerki after wriggling free on the edge of the box in what represented Lyon’s best effort prior to Grenier’s goal eight minutes from time.
Samuel Umtiti intercepted a loose pass, picking out Gueida Fofana, who set Lisandro Lopez free before the Argentine squared for Grenier to slot past Buerki to cap off a clinical counterattack.
Earlier, Fenerbahce clinched their place in the final qualifying round after coming from a goal down to beat Austria’s Red Bull Salzburg 3-1 in Istanbul for a 4-2 victory on aggregate.
Jonathan Soriano put the visitors into a fourth-minute lead, but Raul Meireles leveled for Fenerbahce shortly after before Moussa Sow and Pierre Webo gave the Turkish giants to a two-goal lead that they would not relinquish.
Meanwhile, Basel played out a thrilling 3-3 draw with Maccabi Tel-Aviv in Israel, a result that put the Swiss champions through 4-3 on aggregate.
Fabian Schaer handed Basel an early lead from the penalty spot with subsequent strikes from Mohamed Salah and Marcelo Diaz putting the visitors in firm control.
However, they were made to face an anxious final half-hour after Schaer first put through his own net before both Eran Zahavi and Maharan Radi got on the scoresheet to haul Maccabi level on the night.
In Tuesday’s other second-leg games: Steaua Bucharest drew 1-1 with Dinamo Tbilisi to win 3-1 on aggregate; Maribor and APOEL drew 0-0, for 1-1 on aggregate, with Maribor winning on away goals; Skenderbeu beat Shakhter Karagandy 3-2, but Shakhter won 5-3 on aggregate; and Ludogorets beat Partizan Belgrade 1-0, to win 3-1 on aggregate.
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
Paris Saint-Germain’s Lee Kang-in has pleaded with South Korea fans to get behind the team at the 2026 FIFA World Cup after more boos were aimed at coach Hong Myung-bo despite leading them to qualification. South Korea reached next year’s finals in North America without losing a game, but that does not tell the whole story. The country’s soccer association has been in the firing line, having scrambled about to find a successor after sacking the unpopular Jurgen Klinsmann in February last year. They eventually settled on Hong, the decorated former skipper who had an unsuccessful stint as coach in 2013-2014, during which
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
Ferrari’s F1 fortunes might be flagging, but the Italian team start this weekend’s 24 Hours of Le Mans as favorites, targeting a third consecutive triumph in motorsport’s fabled endurance classic. Roger Federer is acting as celebrity starter with the tennis icon getting the 93rd edition of the jewel in four-wheeled endurance racing’s crown under way tomorrow. Twenty-four hours later, through daylight, darkness and dawn, the 21 elite hypercars are to battle it out over 300 laps (more than 4,000km) in front of a sold-out 320,000 crowd burning the midnight oil with copious quantities of coffee and beer. Ferrari made a triumphant return after
RSS