Holders Liverpool on Tuesday began their defense of the Champions League trophy with a defeat against SSC Napoli, while one missed spot-kick condemned Chelsea to defeat against Valencia and another came to Barcelona’s rescue.
Liverpool last season survived a 1-0 defeat in Naples in the group stage to go on and win their sixth European Cup, and this time a 2-0 reverse at the San Paolo made them the first reigning champions to lose their opening game in the competition since 1994.
Both sides had chances in the Group E clash before the hosts won a late penalty with barely 10 minutes remaining when Jose Callejon went down under an Andy Robertson challenge.
Photo: Reuters
Dries Mertens beat Adrian from 12 yards and substitute Fernando Llorente — who played for Tottenham Hotspur against Liverpool in last season’s final — then took advantage of a rare defensive lapse by Virgil van Dijk to make it 2-0 in stoppage time.
“I don’t think it’s a penalty. What can I say, for me, it is clear and obvious no penalty,” Liverpool boss Juergen Klopp said of the spot-kick to BT Sport. “We played a lot of good football, but didn’t finish it off.”
Liverpool must now bounce back in two weeks when they host Austrian champions RB Salzburg, who made a stunning return to the group stage as teenage forward Erling Braut Haaland netted a hat-trick in a 6-2 demolition of KRC Genk.
Salzburg had fallen in the qualifying rounds in the past seven campaigns, but finally progressed this season to the group stage for the first time since 1994-1995.
Haaland, the English-born Norwegian striker whose father, Alf-Inge, played for Manchester City, gave Salzburg a lead in the second minute and netted twice more before halftime.
Aged just 19 years and 58 days, Haaland is the third-youngest player to score a Champions League hat-trick behind Wayne Rooney and Raul, according to sports statisticians Opta.
South Korean Hwang Hee-chan and Dominik Szoboszlai also struck before the break for Salzburg, while captain Andreas Ulmer completed the rout in the second half.
Jhon Lucumi and Tanzanian striker Mbwana Samatta scored for the Belgian champions.
Last season’s Europa League winners Chelsea ensured it was two defeats out of two on the night for English sides as they lost 1-0 at home to Valencia.
The Spaniards scored in the 74th minute when a Dani Parejo free-kick was converted by Rodrigo Moreno.
Chelsea were given a chance to rescue a draw when Daniel Wass was penalized for handball in the box, but Ross Barkley’s 87th-minute penalty hit the bar and went over.
“It’s a harsh lesson of Champions League football, a game we’ve played pretty well in and we lose it,” Chelsea boss Frank Lampard said. “The good thing is we have five more games to turn it around.”
Also in Group H, last season’s semi-finalists Ajax claimed an impressive 3-0 home win over Lille with two of their newest signings among the goals.
Quincy Promes headed the Dutch champions in front and the Mexican Edson Alvarez doubled their lead early in the second half before Nicolas Tagliafico sealed the win.
After a patchy start to the season, Barcelona are to be relieved to escape from their trip to Borussia Dortmund with a 0-0 draw as Lionel Messi returned from injury as a second-half substitute.
The home side will feel they should have won, but Marco Reus had a second-half penalty saved before Julian Brandt hit the bar late on.
“We played brilliantly in the second half and it feels a bit like we have lost two points,” Dortmund defender Mats Hummels told Sky.
Those two appear well placed already to progress from Group F after Inter needed a stoppage-time Nicolo Barella goal to rescue a 1-1 draw against Slavia Prague.
Nigerian forward Peter Olayinka put Slavia ahead in the 63rd minute, only for Barella to level in the second minute of stoppage time after a Stefano Sensi free-kick hit the bar.
In Group G, RB Leipzig won 2-1 at Benfica with Timo Werner bagging a brace before Haris Seferovic pulled one back.
Earlier, Memphis Depay’s penalty gave Lyon a 1-1 draw at home to Zenit Saint-Petersburg after Iranian striker Sardar Azmoun opened the scoring.
Santiago Castro on Tuesday had an immediate impact off the bench as he scored the goal to send Bologna into the Coppa Italia semi-finals for the first time in 26 years. Bologna won 1-0 against last year’s runners-up, Atalanta BC, and are to play either holders Juventus or Empoli in the final four. Juventus are to host Empoli in their quarter-final on Feb. 26. The last time Bologna reached the semi-finals was in 1999, when they lost 4-2 to ACF Fiorentina. There were chances for both sides in a high-tempo match in Bergamo, but it was Bologna who broke the deadlock 10 minutes from
After nearly six years away from the NBA, New Taipei Kings player Jeremy Lin (林書豪) is set to participate in the 2025 NBA All-Star Weekend’s Rising Stars mini-tournament as the coach of Team G League. The NBA announced Monday (U.S. time) that the Taiwanese-American player will join a trio of Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Famers – Tim Hardaway Sr., Chris Mullin, and Mitch Richmond – as honorary coaches for four teams featuring 28 rising talents. "See you soon in the Bay," Lin wrote in an Instagram story sharing the news. As the All-Star Weekend will take place at
The former interpreter for baseball star Shohei Ohtani on Thursday was sentenced to nearly five years in prison for bank and tax fraud after he stole nearly US$17 million from the Los Angeles Dodgers player’s bank account. Ippei Mizuhara, who was supposed to bridge the gap between the Japanese athlete and his English-speaking teammates and fans, was sentenced in federal court in Santa Ana to four years and nine months after pleading guilty last year. He was ordered to pay US$18 million in restitution, with nearly US$17 million going to Ohtani and the remainder to the US Internal Revenue Service. He was
The 40-year-old LeBron James on Thursday became the oldest player to score 40 points in an NBA game, putting up a season-high 42 in the Los Angeles Lakers’ 120-112 victory over the Golden State Warriors. James passed the record held by Michael Jordan, his idol and the only other NBA player to score 40 after his 40th birthday. “I’m old, that’s my take,” James said when asked about his latest achievement. “I need a glass of wine and some sleep, that’s what I think.” Jordan did it for the Washington Wizards just three days after turning 40 in February 2003. James is 38