Klopp's 100th match and Holland's achievement
The Liverpool Group E leader once again experienced problems in the confrontation with Napoli. In two previous meetings, the Merseysides lost with a total score of 0: 5 and were close to a fiasco this time. Already in the 21st minute, Dris Mertens broke loose one on one with Alison Becker and sent the ball into the net. True, a few seconds before the strike, the Belgian played tough against Virgil van Dyck, in connection with which VAR had every reason to cancel the goal. But, unlike the referee of the match between Real Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain, the referee decided to score a goal.
The Reds took the initiative into their own hands: they delivered three times more shots on goal (15: 4) and possessed the ball 72% of the time, but they managed to score only once. In the 65th minute, Dejan Lovren excelled after a corner. Moreover, the author of the program was James Milner, who for the 11th time assisted partners for the last two draws of the tournament.
So, “Liverpool” pulled out a draw and for the eighth time in a row did not concede, being in the role of catching up. However, the players could not make a gift to Jurgen Klopp in honor of his anniversary, 100th meeting in European competition. At the moment, the German has 55 victories, 23 draws and 22 losses. It is noteworthy that Napoli extended the unsuccessful series on English soil to 11 games.
“Salzburg” defeated “Genk” on the road and retained the chances of reaching the 1/8 finals. Jesse Marsh's wards sent four goals into the goal of Gaetan Cook, while they themselves conceded only once. Thus, the bulls scored seven points and are only two behind the Neapolitans.
The rout of the “Genka” began in the end of the first half, when Patson Daka and Takumi Minamino sent the goals two minutes apart. Moreover, the Zambian became the first native of his country to score a goal in the main European club tournament. In the second half, Hwang Hee Chan and Mbwan Samat exchanged accurate shots, and the final score on the scoreboard was set by Erling Brout Holland. The Unstoppable Norwegian was the first ever player under 20 to score in five straight Champions League games.
Messi record and Martinez historic double
“Barcelona” on its field easily sorted out the Dortmund “Borussia” and secured first place in Quartet F. During the period from the 29th to the 33rd minute, the Catalans fired a doublet, and on the 67th they guaranteed themselves a victory. Moreover, Lionel Messi participated in all three goals, celebrating the 700th appearance on the field in a blue garnet t-shirt. So, he not only distinguished himself, but also assisted Luis Suarez and Antoine Griezmann.
Moreover, if the Frenchman became the seventh footballer in history to score in the Champions League both for “blaugrana” and for his opponent, then the Argentinean scored a truly unique achievement. Messi became the author of a goal against 34 different teams in the tournament, which no one had previously succeeded.
Jadon Sancho only sweetened the pill to the fans. The midfielder is just getting ready to become a football superstar, but is already entering his name in history. So, thanks to this success, he became only the fourth Englishman to hit the gates of Barcelona at Camp Nou. In addition to this, Andy Cole, Steve McManaman and Frank Lampard have achieved this.
The misfire of Borussia was used by Inter. Wards Antonio Conte not without difficulty prevailed over Slavia and climbed to second place in the standings. Both teams have seven points each, but Italians have an advantage in additional indicators.
Despite the difference in two goals, the match turned out to be tense, and its outcome was decided in the last ten minutes of regular time. The main characters were Romelu Lukaku and Lautaro Martinez. The Belgian chalked up the exact shot and two assists, and the Argentinean scored double. He not only became the fourth Nerazzurri footballer to distinguish himself in four Champions League games in a row, but also only the second author of the away double. Before him, Hernan Crespo succeeded in this in 2002. The only goal of “Slavia” was the result of the exact execution of the penalty, and captain Tomas Soucek approached the “point”.
The incredible comeback "Leipzig"
Wards Julian Nagelsman repeated the feat of “Paris Saint-Germain” in a duel with “Real” and snatched a draw from “Benfica”. Thanks to this, the “bulls” not only extended the unbeaten run to three meetings, but also guaranteed themselves a ticket to the playoffs. Thus, Leipzig became the first team from East Germany in history to reach the Champions League 1/8 finals.
And this despite the fact that at the end of the hour the situation of the owners was critical. They made two gross mistakes in defense, allowing first Pizzi, and then Vinicius Morais to “shoot” Peter Gulachi. For the remaining time, Leipzig frantically attacked, and the denouement came in the end. In the 90th minute, Emil Forsberg sold the 11-meter for the demolition of Patrick Schick, and six minutes later in a spectacular jump, closed the pitch of Timo Werner.
Thriller on "Mestalla" and a quick goal Ziesha
In Spain, relations were sorted out by Valencia and Chelsea. In anticipation of this tour, the teams had seven points each and together with Ajax made up a trio of leaders. At the same time, the fact that they lost in only one of the last 11 away matches of the Champions League spoke in favor of the Londoners.
As a result, they did not concede this time, and this despite the fact that they were forced to recoup. At the very end of the first half, Carlos Soler opened an account, but over the next ten minutes the “aristocrats” not only restored the status quo, but also went ahead. First, Mateo Kovacic scored the first goal for Chelsea, and then Christian Pulisic extended the result line. In his last seven meetings, he scored six goals - the same number of times he scored in 36 games for Borussia.
“Valencia” could equalize in the 64th minute, but Dani Parejo did not realize a penalty. The matter went to defeat, but in the end, Daniel Wass performed an incredibly beautiful blow and caught Kep Arrisabalag by surprise. The Dane struck from the right border of the penalty area and set the final score.
This result helped Ajax break into the lead. The wards of Eric ten Hag confidently prevailed over Lille and secured an advantage in the fight for a ticket to the playoffs. Now it’s enough for them not to concede “Valencia” in the final round of the group stage.
As it turned out, the winning goal was already issued at the 94th second. Hakim Ziesh left Mik Menyang out of work, becoming the author of the fastest goal scoring in the current Champions League draw. Also, the Moroccan extended his productive series in the tournament. He did not leave the field without a ball or pass in the last seven meetings.
Subsequently, Ziesh also acted as a projectile carrier, assisting Quincy Promes. The former Spartak footballer opened great in the penalty area and in the fall closed the pitch for his partner. After joining the “divine sons”, he spent 20 matches, in which he scored 14 goals and four assists.