Flamengo cruise past Barcelona to reach Libertadores final

Guayaquil (Ecuador) (AFP) – Flamengo are just one win away from a second Copa Libertadores title in two years after defeating Ecuador’s Barcelona SC 2-0 on Wednesday to set-up an all-Brazilian final against holders Palmeiras.

Two goals from Bruno Henrique — who also bagged a double in last week’s first leg win in Rio — fired Flamengo into the final, the Brazilians completing a 4-0 aggregate victory.

It means that the November 27 final of South American club football’s showpiece tournament will be an all-Brazillian affair for a second straight season after Palmeiras faced Santos in the 2020 tournament.

Flamengo will be chasing a repeat of their triumph in the 2019 final when the Brazilians defeated Argentina’s River Plate in Lima.

On the evidence of the semi-finals, Flamengo will fancy their chances of lifting the Libertadores for the third time in the club’s history.

The Rio club produced another clinical performance at Barcelona SC’s Estadio Monumental in northern Ecuador.

Flamengo effectively killed off the tie midway through the first half when Henrique scored his first of the night.

A perfectly weighted pass from Everton Ribeiro split Barcelona’s defence and Henrique, timing his run to perfection, latched onto the through ball, rounded Javier Burrai and coolly stroked his finish into the empty net.

That left Barcelona needing to score four goals to have a chance of progressing, which always looked unlikely against a technically superior Flamengo side.

Mario Pineida squandered a golden chance to pull a goal back for Barcelona on 20 minutes when he shot straight at Flamengo goalkeeper Diego Alves.

At the other end, Flamengo almost doubled their lead when Andreas Pereira, on loan from English giants Manchester United, lashed a long range shot against the post.

Another Barcelona chance went begging on 24 minutes when Luis Leon’s free-kick was saved by Alves, only for Leandro Martinez to lash the rebound over the bar.

Flamengo then sealed victory on 50 minutes, when a slick counter-attack saw Ribeiro break forward and slide a pass to Henrique who once again delivered the finish for 2-0.

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Benfica loss leaves Koeman on brink at Barcelona

Madrid (AFP) – Ronald Koeman said “I don’t know” three times when asked if he has the support of the Barcelona board after a 3-0 defeat at Benfica in the Champions League left the Dutch coach on the brink of the sack.

Any credit gained from the morale-boosting victory over Levante on Sunday evaporated in Lisbon, where Barca were subjected to yet another European humiliation that puts their hopes of reaching the knock-out stage in doubt.

Club president Joan Laporta will hold a meeting on Thursday morning, according to reports in the Catalan press, in which it will be decided whether Koeman should remain in charge for Saturday’s crunch La Liga game against Atletico Madrid.

That a change is even being considered before one of the most important games of the season, and with an international break coming up immediately after, shows how little confidence in Koeman there is left.

“I feel like I have the support of the players,” said the 58-year-old. Asked if he felt supported by the club, Koeman said: “I don’t know, I don’t know, I don’t know.”

When Koeman, who played for Barca in 1989-1995, was appointed by Laporta’s predecessor Josep Maria Bartomeu in August 2020 the club beamed “welcome home!” and called him “a legend”.

But after an encouraging first season in which Barcelona won the Copa del Rey and in the end were disappointed not to win the league, Koeman’s homecoming has quickly turned sour.

He has never enjoyed the backing of Laporta, who tried to find a replacement in the summer but was unable to find a suitable successor or more likely persuade them to join.

For a while it was a marriage of convenience, but the relationship has grown bitter in recent weeks, with Koeman’s demands for support and attempts to lower expectations received with increasing irritation at the club.

“What I don’t like is an attitude of acceptance, a certain defeatism,” Laporta said last week.

Barcelona’s dire financial situation would hamper any coach as a string of senior players have left and inferior ones been brought in. Lionel Messi and Antoine Griezmann were allowed to depart, replaced by Memphis Depay and Luuk de Jong.

Koeman has emphasised the point repeatedly that this team is not the Barcelona of old and expectations have to be adjusted accordingly.

“We have changed many things and we are missing some soldiers,” said Koeman. “I’m tired of always repeating the same thing. We have lost the players who made the difference. For me it is clearer than water.”

– ‘Critical situation’ –

For a long time, many subscribed to Koeman’s mantra as a 1-1 draw with Paris Saint-Germain in last season’s Champions League was hailed as a sign of progress, even though it came after a 4-1 loss in the opening leg.

But the excuses have worn thin, in part because of results -– Barcelona have won only once in their last five games -– but also performances, which have been increasingly devoid of creativity or identity.

When Barcelona were held by Granada earlier this month it was not so much the draw as the fact they finished with defenders Gerard Pique and Ronald Araujo up front.

“If you look at the list (of players), what are you supposed to do?” asked Koeman. 

Koeman will also know that, despite the upheaval, a squad that boasts Pedri, Frenkie de Jong, Depay, Sergio Busquets, Pique and Marc-Andre ter Stegen should be doing better than bottom of their Champions League group and sixth in La Liga.

Koeman said he thinks he has the support of the players, but when Busquets was asked if changing coach would help, he did not raise much of a defence. “We are in a critical situation,” Busquets said. 

Besides, it will be Laporta and the board that make the decision on Koeman’s fate — and it looks increasingly a case of when he goes, not if. 

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‘Anything is possible’ for Man Utd as Ronaldo papers over the cracks

Manchester (United Kingdom) (AFP) – Cristiano Ronaldo’s record 178th Champions League game had been one of his quietest for 94 minutes until the ball broke kindly for him to break Villarreal hearts at Old Trafford on Wednesday.

Manchester United’s returning hero rode the rescue just in time to salvage a 2-1 win from another performance which cast more doubt over where the Red Devils are headed under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.

The Norwegian badly needed three points after a run of three defeats in four games and got it with seconds to spare.

However, Solskjaer himself conceded United had “got lucky” and were “saved” by goalkeeper David de Gea as Villarreal enjoyed the overwhelming majority of the chances.

The difference between the sides was in who was on the end of those opportunities.

De Gea denied Arnaut Danjuma, Paco Alcacer, Moi Gomez and Boulaye Dia either side of Alcacer’s deserved opener for the visitors on 53 minutes.

Alex Telles’ spectacular strike from distance quickly restored parity, but it was not for another half an hour that the all-time top goalscorer in the Champions League took centre stage.

“Cristiano Ronaldo only got one chance and, well, he’s Cristiano Ronaldo,” said Villarreal defender Juan Foyth, who had kept United’s most expensive summer signing Jadon Sancho quiet all night.

Sancho and Raphael Varane’s arrival in the transfer window had already raised expectations of what to expect from United this season before Ronaldo’s stunning second coming in Manchester.

In Ronaldo’s five games since returning to the club, he’s scored five times. But he has also already been on the losing side twice and twice more United have needed late winners to dig themselves out of trouble.

A 2-1 defeat to Swiss champions Young Boys on matchday one left the English giants facing another embarrassing early Champions League exit had they failed to win.

“I made history in this club, and I want to do it again,” said Ronaldo, who won his first of five Champions League titles during a six-year spell at United between 2003 and 2009.

“If we hadn’t got three points today it would have been tough to get through to the next stage. But now anything is possible for us, everything is open and we believe we can go through.”

United move level on three points with Young Boys, one behind Group F leaders Atalanta.

– ‘Best goalkeeper in the world’ –

However, that there is even any doubt over United’s progress to the last 16 speaks volumes for Solskjaer’s inability so far this season to get the best out of a stellar cast.

Ronaldo, Sancho, Mason Greenwood, Bruno Fernandes and Paul Pogba all started in an offensive-minded team selection.

But Villarreal cut through the United midfield with ease on the counter-attack to expose a defence missing the presence of three of the first-choice back four due to injuries to Harry Maguire and Luke Shaw and Aaron Wan-Bissaka’s suspension.

“Thankfully we had the best goalkeeper in the world tonight,” said Solskjaer. “David was fantastic.”

The United boss continued to unload his artillery from the bench as Edinson Cavani and Jesse Lingard were sent on in search of a winner.

And finally the home side’s depth of talent paid off as Lingard calmly rolled the ball into Ronaldo’s path to smash home his 136th Champions League goal as Old Trafford erupted.

“What a game @ManUtd. Epic winner by @Cristiano,” tweeted Usain Bolt, who had been watching from the stands.

But it was a get out of jail free card for Solskjaer to buy him some time rather than a vindication of his credentials to lead United back to the status they enjoyed during Ronaldo’s first spell at the club under Alex Ferguson.

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Ronaldo rescues ‘lucky’ Man Utd from more Villarreal misery

Manchester (United Kingdom) (AFP) – Ole Gunnar Solskjaer admitted Manchester United “got lucky” after Cristiano Ronaldo marked his record-breaking 178th Champions League appearance with a 95th-minute winner to beat Villarreal 2-1 at Old Trafford on Wednesday.

The five-time Ballon d’Or winner had barely threatened until he fired past Geronimo Rulli for his fifth goal in as many games since returning to United.

Solskjaer’s men were staring down the barrel of another embarrassing group stage exit from the Champions League after deservedly falling behind early in the second half to Paco Alcacer’s smart finish.

Alex Telles’ stunning strike quickly levelled, but they looked set to drop more points in Group F until Ronaldo’s late intervention.

Despite the result, there was little in the performance to quell the growing questions as to whether Solskjaer is the man to get the best out of a squad of supremely talented individuals that are yet to click as a collective.

“That’s what happens at Old Trafford, we had to throw caution to the wind and got lucky in the end,” said Solskjaer.

“When you’ve got Cristiano on the pitch there is always a chance.”

Ronaldo’s late show beat Solskjaer’s famous strike to win the Champions League in 1999 as United’s latest winning goal in the competition.

However, for most of the 95 minutes Villarreal were the better side and were left to rue not taking their chances as they sit bottom of the group on one point from two games.

“We’re annoyed. The game was basically over, we just needed to see it out and we didn’t,” said Villarreal defender Pau Torres. “We were impeccable before that. We took the lead, were creating chance and were better than Man United at Old Trafford.”

United were without three of their first-choice back four with Harry Maguire and Luke Shaw sidelined by injury, while Aaron Wan-Bissaka was suspended after being sent off in the 2-1 defeat to Young Boys on matchday one.

A makeshift defence looked as such in the first half as Villarreal wasted a host of chances to inflict more misery on the Red Devils after beating them in May to win the Europa League.

De Gea was the fall guy in the Europa League final as he was the only player of the 22 on both sides to fail to score in a marathon penalty shootout.

However, he has started the season in supreme form and made brilliant saves from Arnaut Danjuma and Alcacer to keep the game scoreless at half-time.

– United fall behind –

United did not heed their warnings as eight minutes into the second period another promising break from Danjuma finally got the finish it deserved as Alcacer prodded through the legs of De Gea at the near post.

Telles was at fault for the opening goal as he played Danjuma onside.

But the Brazilian quickly made amends in spectacular fashion as he volleyed home Fernandes’ free-kick from outside the area for his first United goal.

Solskjaer had named an extremely offensive line-up with Ronaldo flanked by Jadon Sancho and Mason Greenwood, and Paul Pogba alongside Fernandes in midfield.

But it was another night to forget Sancho since his £73 million move from Borussia Dortmund in July.

The England winger was easily kept in check by Juan Foyth before being replaced 15 minutes from time by Edinson Cavani.

The Uruguayan had a golden chance to instantly make himself the hero, but somehow headed wide with the goal gaping from Greenwood’s perfect cross.

De Gea saved United once more five minutes from time in a goalmouth scramble to deny Moi Gomez and Boulaye Dia.

And Villarreal’s profligacy in front of goal came back to haunt them as the all-time top goalscorer in Champions League history showed them how to finish.

Jesse Lingard turned a loose ball Ronaldo’s way deep into stoppage time and his effort had too much power for Rulli.

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Barcelona thumped and Chelsea beaten as Ronaldo rescues Man Utd

Paris (AFP) – Barcelona plunged even further into crisis on Wednesday with a thumping Champions League defeat at Benfica while holders Chelsea were beaten by Juventus but Cristiano Ronaldo grabbed a precious last-gasp winner for Manchester United.

Ronald Koeman’s Barcelona side already look at real risk of an early exit from this season’s Champions League after suffering a second 3-0 defeat in as many games in Group E and finishing the match in Lisbon with 10 men.

Uruguayan forward Darwin Nunez starred for Benfica, opening the scoring early on and then hitting the post early in the second half. He later completed the rout from the penalty spot following a handball by Sergino Dest, while in between Rafa Silva also netted for the Portuguese former European Cup winners.

Eric Garcia was sent off for Barcelona, who have now conceded 11 goals in their last two visits to the Estadio da Luz, the scene of their 8-2 annihilation at the hands of Bayern Munich in the 2020 quarter-finals.

Barca are rock bottom of their group while Bayern followed their victory at the Camp Nou a fortnight ago with a 5-0 win over Dynamo Kiev at the Allianz Arena, with Robert Lewandowski’s first-half brace setting the Bavarians on their way.

Lewandowski, who netted the opener from the penalty spot, now has a career tally of 77 Champions League goals, third in the all-time list behind Ronaldo and Lionel Messi.

Serge Gnabry, Leroy Sane and substitute Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting all added further goals after the break for a rampant Bayern.

Barcelona’s defeat leaves coach Ronald Koeman — who took Benfica to the Champions League quarter-finals back in 2006 — in an even more fragile position. They have made it to the knockout rounds in each of the last 17 seasons.

– Juventus impress –

Chelsea will still be expected to qualify for the last 16 despite losing 1-0 to Juventus in Turin with Federico Chiesa scoring the only goal of the game 10 seconds into the second half.

The star of Italy’s Euro 2020-winning side latched onto Federico Bernardeschi’s assist to beat Edouard Mendy and give Massimiliano Allegri’s team a second straight win in Group H.

Juve are still adapting to life since the return of Allegri as coach and the departure of Ronaldo but this could be a formative result for them against the holders.

Chelsea had started their defence of the trophy with a 1-0 win over Zenit Saint Petersburg, and the Russian champions bounced back to beat Malmo 4-0.

Claudinho, who won Olympic gold with Brazil in Tokyo, opened the scoring before Daler Kuzyaev, Aleksei Sutormin and Wendel, another Brazilian, all added second-half goals.

– United bounce back –

Ronaldo popped up in the last of five minutes of stoppage time to score and give United a 2-1 win over Villarreal at Old Trafford.

Jesse Lingard cutely set up Ronaldo to score his record-extending 136th goal in the competition as United bounced back from their last-gasp defeat to Young Boys in Bern last time out.

Alex Telles had earlier hauled the hosts back level on the hour mark with a superb first-time volley from a Bruno Fernandes delivery for his first goal for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side.

Paco Alcacer had given Villarreal the lead in what was a rematch of last season’s Europa League final, won by the Spanish outfit on penalties.

United and Young Boys trail a point behind Group F leaders Atalanta, who defeated the Swiss champions 1-0 in Italy with a Matteo Pessina goal.

Teenage German starlet Karim Adeyemi netted two penalties, one in each half, as Red Bull Salzburg beat French champions Lille 2-1 to go top of Group G on four points.

Burak Yilmaz pulled one back for Lille but they prop up the section, while Sevilla snatched a 1-1 draw away to Wolfsburg after a late Ivan Rakitic penalty cancelled out Renato Steffen’s opener for the Germans, who had Josuha Guilavogui sent off.

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Fulham go third in Championship as Mitrovic treble sinks Swansea

London (AFP) – Aleksandar Mitrovic scored a first-half hat-trick as Fulham won 3-1 at home to Swansea on Wednesday to move up to third place in English football’s second-tier Championship.

The striker’s trio of well-struck finishes came as the London club ended a run of three games without a victory, with Jamie Peterson pulling a goal back for Swansea after the Welsh club had fallen 2-0 behind.

But that was as close as the visitors got as they suffered their first defeat in five league games.

Luton, meanwhile ended a run of six games without a win in spectacular style courtesy of a 5-0 thrashing of Coventry at Kenilworth Road.

It only took the home side two minutes to break the deadlock, with Elijah Adebayo scoring from the penalty spot after being brought down in the box.

Harry Cornick headed in the second, before Luke Berry made it 3-0 on the half-hour mark — after a Coventry fan was carried out of the stands on a stretcher for medical treatment.

Adebayo scored his second goal just before the break before Cornick scored his second goal and Luton’s fifth in the 58th minute.

Elsewhere, Nottingham Forest came from behind to win 3-1 at Barnsley as new head coach Steve Cooper enjoyed his first win in charge of the Midlands club.

Barnsley led through Cauley Woodrow’s first-half penalty before second-half goals from Philip Zinckernagel, Brennan Johnson and Lewis Grabban sealed Forest’s comeback.

Craig Forsyth’s first goal in more than five years earned Derby a vital 1-0 home win against Reading.

The 32-year-old left-back’s first-half header meant the Rams were still bottom of the table but moved Wayne Rooney’s men to within seven points of safety after their 12-point deduction for entering administration.

Draw specialists Millwall picked up just their second league win of the season as substitute Jed Wallace scored the only goal of the game from the penalty spot in a 1-0 victory over Bristol City.

The Lions had drawn six of their previous nine games in the Championship but Wallace’s goal was just enough to secure all three points.

Unbeaten Bournemouth were unable to return to the top of the table with a 0-0 draw at Peterborough.

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Chiesa strikes to give Juve huge win over holders Chelsea

Turin (Italy) (AFP) – Federico Chiesa proved to be a big game player once again with the only goal in Juventus’ 1-0 Champions League win over holders Chelsea which could kick-start their faltering season. 

Sat 10th in Serie A after a succession of unconvincing performances domestically, Juve top Group H with a perfect six points thanks to a superbly taken winner 10 seconds after half-time from Chiesa, one of Italy’s stars at Euro 2020.

Massimiliano Allegri’s side took down the European champions, despite missing starting forwards Paulo Dybala and Alvaro Morata, with a disciplined performance that sucked the life out of the Blues and restricted them to very little in front of goal.

“We showed the Juventus spirit tonight, and that’s what the coach asks of us,” Chiesa, who has been criticised by Allegri this season, told Amazon.

“There has never been any problem between me and the coach, I do what he asks of me. When Juve start off poorly there is always a lot of unnecessary noise: we all want to take the club back to the top.”

Juve are three points clear of both Chelsea and Zenit, who they play in Saint Petersburg in three weeks.

“The players put in a great performance against the European champions. We were solid defensively and conceded very few chances. (Wojciech) Szczesny barely had a save to make,” said Allegri to Amazon. 

“We also missed some really good chances on the counter but I’m happy. We haven’t conceded a goal, we have six points, it’s another step towards qualifying.”

Chelsea dominated the ball in the early stages but it was the home side who had the first real chances of the game, both of which came after pouncing on sloppy passes in midfield.

– Chelsea held at bay –

Adrien Rabiot was barracked by the home crowd in the 16th minute when after sprinting away on a break with almost the entire Chelsea team still upfield, he elected to play a pass to Federico Bernardeschi which was completely mishit and rolled to Edouard Mendy.

Four minutes later it was Chiesa’s turn to show the Blues a clean pair of heels after pinching the ball, only for his low shot from a tight angle to drift just wide.

Juve’s gameplan of sitting in and stopping Chelsea from getting a passing rhythm going worked but they initially lacked a focal point and too often let off the hook a Chelsea team missing the dynamism of N’Golo Kante and Mason Mount.

However they got the goal they deserved immediately after the break through Chiesa, who has had an uncertain start to the season but confidently met Bernardeschi’s through ball to lash home the opener at the near post.

Chelsea responded by again pressing Juve back into their box but again struggled to break through the hosts’ well-drilled backline.

It was Juve who were wondering how Bernardeschi didn’t double their lead in the 64th minute when he tripped over his own feet with the goal at his mercy.

And they were breathing a big sigh of relief with six minutes left when after a prolonged spell of Chelsea dominance Romelu Lukaku thumped wide after being nicely set up by Mateo Kovacic.

The home crowd roared at the poor finish of Lukaku, former striker at their fiercest rivals Inter Milan, and right after Kai Havertz headed over the bar let out another shout of joy at the final whistle.

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