UEFA Champions League
Champions League: Napoli Plans to Surmount Real Mountain
Almost in similar circumstances like Arsenal, Napoli has a high mountain to climb to reach the quarter finals of the UEFA Champions League. The Italian side carries a 3-1 deficit as it hosts Real Madrid this Tuesday.
UEFA.com’s reporter, Paolo Menicucci reporting from the base of the Italians revealed that Napoli has a plan to fight back and eliminate Real Madrid which has scored in 46 successive matches.
He reports that former Napoli striker; Careca has suggested in the build-up that Napoli need to defend like “11 Neapolitan Mastiffs for the entire 90 minutes”.
Behind those efforts will be goalkeeper Pepe Reina and, judging by his incredible stoppage-time save in Saturday’s 2-1 Serie A victory at Roma, Napoli are in safe hands.
“We can beat Madrid 2-0 at home,” said Reina. “The away goal is important and we are going to put pressure on them from the start. Madrid were favourites before the tie and still are now, but they will be getting a warm welcome at Stadio San Paolo.”
Indeed, the atmosphere at Napoli’s home may even give the Partenopei the edge; just wait until you hear the volume at which “The Champions” is shouted at the end of the official pre-game anthem.
“The whole city is waiting for this game,” skipper Marek Hamšík told the media on Monday. “The fans will give us great support. I’m sure they will be our 12th man.”
Actually, imagine the atmosphere should Maurizio Sarri’s side pull one back early on. “Madrid are used to playing in these kind of environments, so I don’t think it will affect them,” said the coach.
“I just hope it will affect us. I believe the only thing that can scare a man is to see an incredible determination in the eyes of his opponents – that’s what I hope our fans will transmit to the players.”
Possible line-ups
Napoli: Reina; Hysaj, Koulibaly, Albiol, Ghoulam; Zieliński, Diawara, Hamšík; Callejón, Mertens, Insigne.
Doubtful: Allan (thigh)
Misses next match if booked: Koulibaly
Real Madrid: Navas; Carvajal, Pepe, Ramos, Marcelo; Kroos, Casemiro, Modrić; Bale, Benzema, Ronaldo.
Out: Varane (thigh), Coentrão (muscular problem)
Misses next match if booked: Modrić, Ramos
UEFA Champions League
Ancelotti unhappy with Real’s attitude in draw at Bayern
Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti was disappointed with his players’ attitude, calling them “soft” for defending too deep in their 2-2 draw at Bayern Munich in the Champions League semi-final, first leg on Tuesday.
Ancelotti was critical of his team’s commitment after Vinicius Jr’s first-half goal gave them the lead as Bayern struck twice in four minutes early in the second half to turn the game around before Vinicius equalised from the penalty spot.
“The result is good but on a level of play we could have done better. Bayern showed their best version and we didn’t. We have to improve for next week,” an introspective Ancelotti told Movistar Plus+.
“In the first half we defended but with little intensity, in the second half when they took the lead we started to press a bit more, but not enough.
“The feeling was that we were comfortable, but we lacked intensity. We gave them too many chances to take control of the game. We didn’t want to play in a low block and we went on doing that. We were soft.”
Ancelotti defended his decision to substitute midfielder Toni Kroos, who set up Vinicius’ opener with a brilliant pass and was arguably Real’s best player.
The Italian said that he made four substitutions in an effort to shake his team up and was relieved that they ended up scoring the equaliser that he believes “left the tie open” for the return leg in Madrid next week.
“Jude Bellingham had a cramp, Toni Kroos played a spectacular game but the plan was to try to recover the control of the game by putting fresh legs in,” Ancelotti told a press conference.
“As always, at this point in the season we have a great opportunity to play in another final. It’s an even tie against a great team. It will be another 90 minutes of suffering but in an atmosphere that we know quite well. The fans are going to help us.”
-Reuters
UEFA Champions League
Bayern ready for winner-takes-all match at Real, says Tuchel
Bayern Munich were victims of Real Madrid’s lethal efficiency in Tuesday’s 2-2 draw but the Germans are ready to beat them in next week’s Champions League semi-final return leg in Madrid, coach Thomas Tuchel said.
The Bavarians struck twice in four minutes early in the second half with a shot from Leroy Sane and a Harry Kane penalty to turn the game around after Vinicius Jr had put the visitors ahead in the 24th against the run of play.
The Brazilian striker also bagged an equaliser with an 83rd minute spot kick as Bayern were pushing for a third goal.
“The result is what it is and it’s not worth spending any time thinking about it,” Tuchel, who will leave Bayern at the end of the season after a disappointing domestic campaign, told a press conference.
“Real have done it before, to score twice with two chances. We are not the first team to suffer that. They have the finish, they have the quality to do that.
“We had a strong start then we lost a bit our rhythm. We should have scored a third but we were not efficient enough, not cold enough to add a third. Then we gifted them a penalty.”
Bayern enjoyed a strong start and also had chances to score again after going 2-1 up. They will now need to win against Real, who are chasing a 15th European Cup, in Madrid next Wednesday if they are to advance to the final at Wembley.
Borussia Dortmund and Paris St Germain face each other in the other semi-final on Wednesday.
“The situation is now very clear,” Tuchel added. “We go to Madrid and the winner takes it all. We are ready to fight. It is important to believe that.
“It is still possible. It is 50-50. It is one of the toughest places to win but that is also what makes this challenge exciting.”
-Reuters
UEFA Champions League
Premier League left sweating on extra Champions League place after bad night for England
Tottenham Hotspur supporters would have had little sympathy for archrivals Arsenal after their Champions League quarter-final exit at the hands of Bayern Munich but they may not be laughing so hard come the end of the season.
Arsenal’s 3-2 aggregate defeat, combined with holders Manchester City’s penalty shoot-out loss to Real Madrid, did more than just rule out the possibility of an English club appearing in the Wembley showpiece on June 1.
Those defeats also gave Germany’s Bundesliga the edge over England’s Premier League in the race to secure an extra spot in next year’s expanded Champions League.
Until Wednesday’s wipe-out, England were fractionally behind Germany in UEFA’s co-efficient table, opens new tab — the system used to decide how many places a country is entitled to in Europe’s club competitions.
The top two nations in that table will be awarded five places, rather than four, in next season’s Champions League and with Italy secure in first place the battle between Germany and England was, until Wednesday, too close to call.
However, Germany now look favourites with Bayern Munich having joined Borussia Dortmund in the semi-finals. Dortmund edged out Atletico Madrid in a thriller on Tuesday.
Italy are on 18.428 with Germany on 17.642 while England are on 16.875 and that is before Bayer Leverkusen’s Europa League quarter-final second leg against Premier League West Ham United taking place later on Thursday.
Newly-crowned Bundesliga champions Leverkusen lead 2-0 from the first leg and unless West Ham can pull off a shock comeback at the London Stadium, Germany’s advantage over England will be strengthened further, especially with Liverpool facing a 3-0 deficit in their Europa League quarter-final with Atalanta.
All that has huge implications in the Premier League and the battle for fourth place between Tottenham and Aston Villa.
Villa’s superb win at Arsenal last weekend, combined with Tottenham’s thrashing at Newcastle United, left Villa three points clear of the north London club, who until recently might have thought fifth place would be enough to qualify for next season’s Champions League.
That now looks increasingly unlikely, and with a horror run-in that includes games against Arsenal, Manchester City, Liverpool and Chelsea, Tottenham’s hopes of playing among Europe’s elite next season are diminishing.
Tottenham could end up hoping that Aston Villa win the Europa Conference League as they might be the only English club left in Europe come Friday. They lead Lille 2-1 after the first leg of their quarter-final.
There is a similar battle for fourth spot taking place in the Bundesliga between Borussia Dortmund and RB Leipzig, although it now looks as though both could be playing in the Champions League.
UEFA’s coefficient is based on the results from the Champions League, Europa League and Europa Conference League with every win by a club from a nation worth two points and a draw one.
Bonus points are accrued by progressing through various stages of each competition with the total then divided by the number of teams from that nation in Europe.
-Reuters
-
CAF Confederation Cup6 days ago
Nigeria’s Samson Adamu signs Algeria’s USM match forfeiture
-
Boxing3 days ago
Nigeria sports minister set for ’bout’ with Bash Ali
-
Nigerian Football2 days ago
Finidi George becomes Nigeria’s 41st national coach
-
CAF Confederation Cup7 days ago
BREAKING! CAF awards abandoned Confederation Cup semi-finals to Morocco’s RS Berkane
-
African Games7 days ago
BREAKING! Accra 2023 African Games Chieftain is dead
-
Premier League1 week ago
Five-Star Arsenal hammer Chelsea to move three points clear at the top
-
Nigerian Football5 days ago
Remo Stars close to winning their first Nigeria Premier League title
-
Governing Bodies6 days ago
What FIFA frowns at in Africa holds in Spain as government takes over FA