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Xhaka v Xhaka | Who will come out on top in the Champions League?
Celtic hold City in thriller, Atletico sink Bayern
Raheem Sterling netted at both ends as Manchester City were made to fight for a 3-3 draw with Celtic in a Champions League thriller on Wednesday, while Atletico Madrid once again did for Bayern Munich.
While City’s perfect start to the season was ended in Glasgow, their Premier League rivals Arsenal eased to a 2-0 victory against Basel.
Atletico had eliminated Bayern in the semi-finals last season and repeated the trick at the Vicente Calderon to make it a double for Spanish clubs against German opposition as Barcelona downed Borussia Moenchengladbach.
On paper, the Group C clash at Celtic Park appeared to be a bit of a mismatch with City looking to equal Tottenham Hotspur’s English record of 11 successive victories at the start of a campaign from 1960.
But instead Pep Guardiola’s men found themselves having to come from behind three times to claim a point at a raucous Parkhead, with Celtic first scoring in the third minute when an Erik Sviatchenko header went in off Moussa Dembele.
Fernandinho equalised only for a Kieran Tierney cross to go in off Sterling and restore the Scottish champions’ lead.
Sterling’s brilliantly-taken goal at the other end restored parity before the half-hour mark, but Dembele capitalised on an Aleksandar Kolarov error to make it 3-2 just after the break.
However, Nolito got City’s third equaliser and it was the English side who looked more likely to go on and win it.
“I don’t know how many the chances they had after the third goal. We should have won it,” said Guardiola.
It is Barcelona who are top of the section after the Spanish champions followed their 7-0 trouncing of Celtic last time out with a come-from-behind 2-1 victory over Gladbach in Germany.
Thorgan Hazard slotted the Bundesliga club in front in the first half but Arda Turan came off the bench to level after the break before Gerard Pique got the winner on 74 minutes.
“They put in a huge effort in the first half, but overall I think we were better and it is a deserved result,” said Pique.
Five-time European champions Barca, who were without the injured Lionel Messi, can now look forward to a fascinating double-header with their old coach Guardiola’s City.
Meanwhile, Theo Walcott made the difference as Arsenal eased to three points against Basel at the Emirates Stadium.
The Swiss champions have enjoyed excellent results in European competition against English sides in recent years but a first-half brace by Walcott ensured it was a comfortable night for the Gunners.
“We had pace, technical quality and movement. My only regret is we didn’t take all our chances,” said Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger.
PSG COME FROM BEHIND
They are level atop Group A alongside Paris Saint-Germain, who beat Ludogorets 3-1 in Bulgaria.
A Natanael free-kick gave Ludogorets the lead in Sofia, but Blaise Matuidi restored parity before the interval.
Edinson Cavani then grabbed two goals in the second half, either side of a Cosmin Moti penalty miss for the Bulgarian champions, to complete the comeback.
In Madrid, Atletico inflicted Carlo Ancelotti’s first defeat as coach of Bayern as Yannick Carrasco’s first-half strike separated the sides at the Vicente Calderon in Group D.
The Spaniards eliminated Bayern on away goals in the semi-finals of last season’s Champions League and there was to be no revenge for the five-time European champions, who would have lost by a wider margin had Antoine Griezmann not struck the bar with a late penalty.
Atletico have maximum points before a double-header with Rostov, who claimed their first ever point in the competition in a 2-2 draw with PSV Eindhoven in Russia.
All the goals came in the first half, with Dmitri Poloz twice having Rostov in front only for Davy Proepper and Luuk de Jong to score for PSV.
The Dutch champions could have won the game but Proepper saw his second-half penalty saved.
In Group B Napoli continued their excellent start to the season by beating Benfica 4-2 in Italy.
Marek Hamsik gave them a first-half lead at the San Paolo before three goals in seven second-half minutes, a Dries Mertens brace coming either side of an Arkadiusz Milik penalty.
Goncalo Guedes and Eduardo Salvio got goals back for Benfica, but they slumped to a first defeat of the season.
Also in Group B, Dynamo Kiev came back to draw 1-1 with Besiktas in Istanbul, substitute Viktor Tsygankov cancelling out Ricardo Quaresma’s opener.
Champions League group stage results:
Arsenal 2 Basel 0
Ludogorets 1 Paris SG 3
Napoli 4 Benfica 2
Besiktas 1 Dynamo Kiev 1
Celtic 3 Manchester City 3
Monchengladbach 1 Barcelona 2
Rostov 2 PSV 2
Atletico Madrid 1 Bayern Munich 0
Source AFP
Bruno Garcia says goodbye to Việt Nam futsal team
Spanish coach Bruno Garcia has said goodbye to the Vietnamese national futsal team after guiding the team to the round of 16 at the FIFA Futsal World Cup 2016 in Colombia, according to the Việt Nam Football Federation (VFF).
“From bottom of my heart, I thank the VFF—especially to head of the Việt Nam futsal team Trần Anh Tú—who understand and respect my decision as well as support my work. Thank you for letting me be a part of your dream of playing in the World Cup,” said Garcia.
Via the VFF, Garcia also expressed his heartfell thanks to players and fans.
Garcia helped Việt Nam into Asia’s top four teams and into the top 16 of strongest teams in the world. He also helped Thái Sơn Nam futsal club win bronze medal at the 2015 Asia futsal clubs championships and silver medal at the 2016 Southeast Asian futsal clubs championships.
He previously led many futsal clubs in his country. He then coached the Hangzhou Zhejiang Dragons team, which ranked second at the Chinese futsal championships.
Before going to Việt Nam, he was the coach of the Peruvian national futsal squad.
During his coaching career, Garcia won the Ramon Cobo Award for the most excellent futsal coach in the Spanish Football Federation during the 2011-2012 season.
According to Tú, captain Nguyễn Bảo Quân will temporarily replace Gracia at the coming Southeast Asian tournament.
“I will meet many pressures when coaching the Việt Nam team because the squad has recently met such good results. However, I am ready to face the challenges,” said Quân
VN football team fall in world rankings
Việt Nam’s national men’s football team have dropped three spots to 141st place in the latest FIFA rankings.
The team didn’t play any international matches in the last month.
The Philippines rose nine spots to No 125 and lead Southeast Asia. Thailand, who dropped 15 places to world No 135, are second and Việt Nam rank third.
In Asia, Iran, world No 37, is still the top team. With two wins in the World Cup’s qualifying round, Australia jumped 12 places to 45th, second in the region.
Argentina still lead the rankings, followed by Belgium and Germany. — VNS
Referee Châu wins Golden Whistle Award
Referee Nguyễn Ngọc Châu of Bình Dương won the 2016 Golden Whistle Award, the Việt Nam Football Federation announced on September 27.
Châu overcame two candidates Ngô Duy Lân of Long An and Nguyễn Văn Kiên of Thanh Hóa to take the award.
Châu, 37, officiated at 24 of the 26 rounds in the V.League 1, where he was the main referee in 13 matches.
“The prize recorded my efforts during the national premier league. Many referees didn’t supervise well in this tournament so I tried my best to avoid mistakes,” said Châu.
The Golden Flag title for best assistant referee belonged to Phạm Trường Xuân of Hải Phòng.
The winning referee will get a VNĐ30million (US$1,300) bonus, while the most-voted assistant referee will receive VNĐ20million ($900)
Schuerrle frustrates Madrid as Leicester win again
Andre Schuerrle smashed in a late equaliser as Borussia Dortmund held Real Madrid in the Champions League on Tuesday, while Leicester City claimed another famous European victory.
Dortmund’s midfielder Andre Schuerrle reacts after scoring against Real Madrid during a UEFA Champions League match. (AFP/Patrik Stollarz)
Premier League champions Leicester made it two wins from two in their debut Champions League campaign as Islam Slimani’s first-half goal secured a 1-0 win against FC Porto, and it was a good night all round for English clubs as Tottenham Hotspur beat CSKA Moscow in Russia.
Reigning champions Real twice surrendered the lead as they settled for a 2-2 draw against Dortmund to extend their poor record on German soil.
In a tremendous Group F game played at breathless pace, Zinedine Zidane’s side went in front in the 17th minute when Gareth Bale’s back-heel came off Matthias Ginter and fell for Cristiano Ronaldo to fire home.
It was the Portuguese superstar’s 98th European goal but Dortmund had been in fearsome form ahead of this showdown and they drew level just before the interval.
Making his first appearance of the season after injury, Real goalkeeper Keylor Navas opted to punch a Raphael Guerreiro free-kick and the ball struck the face of his team-mate Raphael Varane before rebounding into the net.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang was standing in close quarters, and he was officially credited with the goal by UEFA.
However, French centre-back Varane made up for that by restoring Real’s advantage midway through the second half, following in to score after Karim Benzema’s attempt had hit both the post and bar.
But there was to be no first win in Dortmund for Real as substitute Schuerrle rifled a shot into the roof of the net after a Christian Pulisic cross fell to him on the edge of the box.
Madrid have won just four times in 30 away games against German clubs but this result still leaves them in control of Group F.
In the other game in the section, first-half goals by Bryan Ruiz and Bas Dost gave Sporting a 2-0 victory against Legia Warsaw in Portugal.
Leicester have maximum points after two matches in Group G after edging out two-time European champions Porto at the King Power Stadium.
Algerian striker Slimani, a club record £28 million ($36.3 million, 32.3 million euros) summer signing from Sporting, struck on 25 minutes, heading past Iker Casillas from a Riyad Mahrez cross.
Next up for Leicester will be FC Copenhagen, who were impressive 4-0 winners at home to Club Brugge in the Danish capital.
All the goals came in the second half, with a Stefano Denswil own-goal setting the home side on their way before further counters from captain Thomas Delaney, Federico Santander and Mathias Jørgensen.
JUVE ROMP
Tottenham bounced back from a 2-1 defeat to Monaco in their Group E opener by beating CSKA in Moscow to claim three points from an awkward trip to the Russian capital.
Mauricio Pochettino’s side were without Harry Kane, Mousa Dembele, Eric Dier, Danny Rose and Moussa Sissoko against the Russian champions but the in-form Son Heung-min was there and he made the difference.
The South Korean winger, scorer of a brace in a 2-1 Premier League win at Middlesbrough at the weekend, netted the only goal of the game on 71 minutes at the Arena CSKA, his shot squirming under ‘keeper Igor Akinfeev and in.
It is Monaco who top the section, though, after Kamil Glik volleyed home in injury time to cancel out Javier Hernandez’s opener and secure a 1-1 home draw with Bayer Leverkusen.
Meanwhile, 2015 runners-up Juventus notched their first win in Group H, ruthlessly dispatching Dinamo Zagreb 4-0 in Croatia.
Summer signings Miralem Pjanic and Gonzalo Higuain scored in the first half for the Italian champions before a searing Paulo Dybala strike and a deflected Dani Alves free-kick embellished their lead after the break.
Sevilla, who had held Juve in Turin last time out, beat Lyon 1-0 in Spain as French striker Wissam Ben Yedder headed in the only goal of the game in the second half.
Luciano Vietto later blazed a penalty over, although Nabil Fekir and Corentin Tolisso both hit the bar for the visitors.
Champions League group stage results:
CSKA Moscow 0 Tottenham Hotspur 1
Monaco 1 Bayer Leverkusen 1
Sporting Lisbon 2 Legia Warsaw 0
Borussia Dortmund 2 Real Madrid 2
Leicester City 1 FC Porto 0
FC Copenhagen 4 Club Brugge 0
Dinamo Zagreb 0 Juventus 4
Sevilla 1 Olympique Lyon 0
Source AFP
Players begin intensive training for AFF Cup
National team players gathered yesterday in HCM City, kicking off their preparations for the ASEAN Football Federation Cup in November.
They will begin intensive training in about two weeks, prior to their friendly match against North Korea at Thống Nhất Stadium.
Also, Việt Nam will play two matches with Indonesia on October 11 and 14.
The 30-strong team will take part in a short two-week training course in South Korea, beginning October 15, and are expected to play three games here.
They will be back home on October 30, where they will play two more matches in Hà Nội.
Two weeks later they will leave for Myanmar for the Cup competition, where they have targeted a berth in the final
Source VNS
PSG defender Aurier sentenced to jail for police assault
Paris Saint-Germain defender Serge Aurier was sentenced to two months in jail on Monday (Sep 26) for assaulting a police officer following an incident outside a Paris nightclub in May.
Paris Saint-Germain defender Serge Aurier (R) arrives at the Paris courthouse where he was jailed and fined for elbowing a police officer. (AFP/Patrick Kovarik)
The court heard that the troubled Ivory Coast international refused to cooperate when asked to leave his tinted-glass Porsche Cayenne car which police said was incorrectly parked outside the club in the early hours in an upmarket district of the French capital.
Police said the incident turned violent when an agitated Aurier elbowed one of the officers in the chest, causing him to have to take a day off work.
“The driver got out of the car straight away and apologised but the front passenger (Aurier) refused to show his hands,” the policeman said in court.
He said he had to grab Aurier to make him exit the car, at which point the player elbowed him.
Aurier denied the charge and was allowed to walk free from the court because no order for immediate incarceration was issued, while PSG later confirmed his lawyer had lodged an appeal.
It means the full-back could play for PSG in their Champions League tie against Ludogorets in Bulgaria on Wednesday.
“The club takes note of his condemnation. An appeal has been lodged at the end of the hearing by the player’s lawyer,” said a PSG statement.
“Serge Aurier will continue to benefit from the presumption of innocence ahead of the appeal court’s decision.”
The 23-year-old, who has had recent disciplinary problems with his club, rejected the police account of the incident and said he was the victim of violence. He has filed a complaint against the police.
The court also ordered him to pay 600 euros ($674) in damages and interest as well as 1,500 euros in court costs.
He was described by the public prosecutor as having “lacked lucidity” during the incident and acted in a “puerile and immature” manner.
Aurier, who said in court he earns 200,000 euros a month, was in trouble with his club last season after making derogatory comments about his then-PSG coach Laurent Blanc and other team-mates, including current Manchester United star Zlatan Ibrahimovic, on a social media video post.
He was suspended by his club for five weeks but owned up to having committed “a stupid mistake”.
However, when filming a video to apologise for his comments, Aurier behaved in an “indifferent” manner and needed several takes to get his apology right, according to France Football magazine.
PSG owner Nasser Al-Khelaifi even yelled at him that he would “stay five hours if necessary, but you’ll do what we ask”, added the magazine.
The year before, Aurier copped a three-match ban from UEFA after reacting to a PSG victory in the Champions League by posting a video on Facebook in which he called the referee a “son of a bitch”.
But since returning to pre-season training in July, Aurier has impressed his bosses.
“The club wants to underline the player’s professional attitude shown since his return on Jul 4. At the same time, Paris Saint-Germain reaffirms our affection and respect for the forces of order and the jobs they do.”
However, his court appearance comes on the back of Aurier being sent off in PSG’s 2-0 Ligue 1 defeat at Toulouse on Friday night, their second reverse of the season.
Source AFP
