Guangzhou Evergrande head coach Luiz Felipe Scolari has urged his side to maintain their positive momentum in the first leg of their AFC Champions League semi-final against Gamba Osaka on Wednesday.

Evergrande, who are on a 16-game winning streak, beat J-League side Kashiwa Reysol 4-2 on aggregate in the quarter-finals to book their spot in the last four.
However, Scolari knows that his side cannot underestimate Gamba as they have gone unbeaten in their last eight games and have a distinguished pedigree in continental competition, having won the AFC Champions League in 2008.
“Every second on the field is going to be important in the game on Wednesday,” Scolari told reporters. “We have to try to avoid conceding a goal and ensure we play the second leg with a larger advantage. Gamba are a tough team, their manager Kenta Hasegawa has his own style, and anything can happen in football.
“The team has confidence, though, and the mood among the players is great. We are determined not to let our fans down.”

Source Foxsports

Al Ahli coach Cosmin Olaroiu believes pressure and expectation will weigh heavily on Saudi Arabia’s Al Hilal when the two meet in the AFC Champions League on Tuesday.

Olaroiu, who managed the two-time Champions League winners from 2007 to 2009, says he is uniquely aware of the mental strain Hilal’s players will be under.
“I know them, they know me. We have a special relationship, but the game is the game. They have the pressure of the public and they have a lot of supporters,” he told the AFC website.
“When you play in the league or the Champions League, psychology is important and, it is just as important as the physical side and its part of our job and we have to take this into consideration.
“At this point in the competition nobody is superior to anybody. Whoever performs better in the match will qualify for the final.”
Olaroiu’s side reached the penultimate stage of the competition after 1-0 and 2-1 wins over Iran’s Naft Tehran secured a 3-1 aggregate victory.
They have played two competitive matches since the second leg of that encounter, thrashing Al Fujairah 8-1 and securing a narrow 2-1 win over Al Dhafra in the first two games of their domestic league.
Al Hilal advanced to the semis thanks to a 6-3 aggregate win over Qatar’s Lekhwiya SC, after a 4-1 first leg win and a 2-2 draw in the second leg.
They have since recorded a 1-0 victory against Al Raed and sit at the summit of the Saudi Pro League after three wins in as many games.
Tuesday’s first leg match will take place at the King Fahd International Stadium in Riyadh while Al Ahli will host the second leg at Dubai’s Rashid Stadium on October 20.

Source Foxsports

Borussia Dortmund lost more ground in the Bundesliga title race on Sunday (Sep 27) after being held to a 2-2 draw at home to Darmstadt which left Bayern Munich four points clear.

Having also drawn 1-1 at Hoffenheim on Wednesday, Dortmund fell further behind champions Bayern ahead of next Sunday’s top-of-the-table clash against the Bavarians at Munich’s Allianz Arena.

Bayern are the only team in Germany’s top flight to have won all seven league games so far. Pep Guardiola’s leaders are looking to become the first team to win four consecutive Bundesliga titles.

After Marcel Heller gave Darmstadt a shock lead, Gabon striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang looked to have sealed the hosts’ comeback win with two second-half goals to maintain his record run having scored in each of Dortmund’s first seven Bundesliga games.

With nine goals, Aubameyang is just one behind Bayern striker Robert Lewandowski. But Darmstadt captain Aytac Sulu rescued a point by stabbing home from a free-kick just before the final whistle as the Dortmund defence failed to react in time.

“Our problems came from the final free-kick, there were four or five players just standing around and that was no way to defend against a simple set-piece like that,” fumed Dortmund captain Mats Hummels.

Earlier, midfielder Vladimir Darida rescued a point for Hertha Berlin with the late equaliser in their 1-1 draw at Eintracht Frankfurt after captain Alexander Meier gave the hosts the lead midway through the first half. The point leaves Hertha sixth and Frankfurt 10th in the table.

On Saturday, Bayern took the chance to extend their lead with a 3-0 win at Mainz as Lewandowski’s goal haul continued.

100 goals

Having sent German league records tumbling last Tuesday with five goals in just nine minutes after coming off the bench in the 5-1 rout of Wolfsburg, the 27-year-old claimed two more against Mainz.

Lewandowski scored his 100th Bundesliga goal by heading Kingsley Coman’s cross inside the far post on 51 minutes and pulled up his jersey to reveal a T-Shirt which stated: “100”. “The T-Shirt was my idea, I didn’t know if I’d score today, but you always have to think positively, which is why I had it made,” he told reporters.

An Arturo Vidal pass then put Lewandowski in behind the defence to round the goalkeeper for his 101st on 63 minutes. France Under-21 winger Coman grabbed Bayern’s third five minutes later with a simple tap in from a Douglas Costa cross.

Bayern’s next date is hosting Dinamo Zagreb in the Champions League on Tuesday.

Schalke remain third after Germany Under-21 attacking midfielder Leroy Sane scored for the third game in succession to seal Saturday’s 1-0 win at Hamburg with a superb strike on the hour.

Bayer Leverkusen, who play European champions Barcelona away on Tuesday, romped to a 3-0 win at Werder Bremen with goals by Swiss forward Admir Mehmedi, winger Kevin Kampl and Germany Under-21 talent Julian Brandt.

Wolfsburg, who play Manchester United at Old Trafford on Wednesday in the Champions League, dropped more points in a 1-1 draw at home to bottom side Hanover to stay fourth. Bas Dost’s header was cancelled out by Japan midfielder Hiroshi Kiyotake’s superb volley on 57 minutes.

Borussia Moenchengladbach, who host Manchester City on Wednesday, picked up their second win since Lucien Favre’s shock resignation last Sunday with a 3-1 victory at VfB Stuttgart.

The goals came from Granit Xhaka, a Christian Gentner own-goal and Raffel’s late effort afer Daniel Ginczek slotted a 40th-minute penalty for Stuttgart.

Hoffenheim climbed to 15th with a 3-1 win at Augsburg as Germany international Kevin Volland scored twice, including a second-half penalty.

Source AFP

A hat-trick by Croatia striker Nikola Kalinic inspired Fiorentina to a stunning 4-1 win at the San Siro that ended Inter Milan’s 100 per cent start to the campaign and sent La Viola top of Serie A for the first time in 16 years on Sunday (Sep 27).

Inter, who have not won the scudetto since their treble-winning feat of 2010, had boosted their early-season hopes by racing to a 10-point lead over defending champions Juventus after winning their opening five games.

Juventus were at risk of being left 13 points in arrears but a stunning first-half performance from Paulo Sousa’s visitors, who had raced to a 3-0 lead by the interval, served a stern reminder that the Serie A season is far from over.

Inter had conceded only one goal in their opening five games but by the 23rd minute goalkeeper Samir Handanovic had picked the ball out of his net three times.

The bulk of the damage had been done, said Inter coach Roberto Mancini, even before then. “The penalty at the start changed the whole game for us,” Mancini told Mediaset Premium.

“On Ilicic’s first shot we conceded the second goal and after Miranda’s sending off the game was over. From two shots, we were three-nil down. But I have to say well done to Fiorentina, who played well and had control of the game.”

It is the first time Fiorentina have been top in Italy since February 1999, when AC Milan went on to beat Lazio to the title.

“The biggest satisfaction is seeing how well the lads played,” said Sousa, who was quick to shoot down suggestions Fiorentina would challenge for the title. “Let’s be realistic. There are teams who have a lot more quality and who have invested a lot in players. We have to keep on fighting with the team we have.”

Fiorentina were gifted the perfect start when the referee pointed to the penalty spot after Handanovic impeded Kalinic in the area and Josip Ilicic stepped up to slam the ball into the roof of the net on four minutes.

Handanovic admitted he had been at fault on several occasions, but said: “I accept that part of the defeat was down to me, but it should not have been a penalty. Kalinic fell to the ground as soon as I touched him, then the sending-off changed everything.”

If the early opener shellshocked the Nerazzurri, they were ill-prepared for what was about to follow. Barely 15 minutes later Handanovic was beaten again, although this time the Slovenian ‘keeper could justifiably apportion some of the blame to Inter’s sloppy defence.

Handanovic could only parry a powerful dipping drive from Ilicic and as he and Brazilian defender Miranda waited for the ball to land, Kalinic wasted no time in running in to tap the ball home at the near post.

Four minutes later Kalinic had doubled his tally for the night, the Croatian sliding in from close range to meet Marcos Alonso’s sweeping drive from the left flank.

By now, Inter were all at sea and their night went from bad to worse on the half hour when Miranda was shown a straight red card for tugging on Kalinic as the striker ran down towards goal.

Coach Roberto Mancini replaced the ineffective Geoffrey Kondogbia at half-time, the French midfielder making way for defender Andrea Ranocchia.

But although Inter reduced the arrears on the hour mark, Mauro Icardi picking up his own rebound from an Alex Telles’ free kick to beat Ciprian Tatarusanu, it was a rare bright spot in an otherwise forgettable performance.

Fiorentina looked dangerous on almost every opportunity and Kalinic secured his hat-trick on 76 minutes when he beat Handanovic down low after a superb one-two with Ilicic.

Thanks to La Viola’s superior goals difference, they went top ahead of Inter, who also have 15 points, with Torino two points off the pace in third. Lazio sit fifth, one point ahead of Roma, with champions Juventus in 15th place following a 2-1 defeat to Napoli on Saturday as they reel from their worst start to the season in decades.

Source AFP