The Champions League: Zenit defeated Benfica (3: 1) St. Petersburg Zenit continues to delight its fans with good performances at the group stage of the Champions League. In the first
Champions League: Zenit defeated Benfica (3: 1)
The St. Petersburg Zenit continues to delight its fans with good performances at the group stage of the Champions League. In the first home match, the team of Sergei Semak beat Benfica. It's nice that the blue-white-blue in a very confident style earned these three points. Yes, the Portuguese delivered problems to the Russian champion, but this was the rare case when our team in the Champions League achieved victory not due to patience in the game in a deaf defense, but showed football very worthy quality, competently dismantling the opponent and playing his weaknesses. In the middle of the first half, the Semak team stepped forward thanks to the effective blow of Dziuba. After that, the Petersburgers predictably gave the territory to the opponent, and they themselves were looking for happiness in frisky counter -excavations. Benfica looked very gray in the attack. The strong flanks of the Lisbon people of Zenit were greatly blocked, and there was no reason for the opening of the opponent’s defense of the opponent, apparently. Only standards performed by guests periodically turned out to be unpleasant. In the course of the second forty-fifth, Benfica had something interesting to loom in front, when Bruna made a few substitutions that really strengthened the game of the Portuguese. But Zenit responded to the activity of the enemy with productive blows. At first, Diash was noted by Avoogol, and soon Azmun brought the case to the defeat. In the end, the guests were repaid by De Thomas’s efforts, but they were not more than more. Two defeats at the start of the group stage suffered Benfica and put herself in a very difficult position. “Zenith” has four points in the asset and shares the lead in the quartet table with Lyon!
The success of the wards of Sergei Semak allowed Russia to break away from Portugal in the struggle for sixth place in the table of coefficients of the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA).
Leipzig – Lyon – 0: 2
Memphis Depay, 11 (0: 1). Martin Terrya, 65 (0: 2).
The favorite in this meeting was Leipzig, which looks much more confident in the German championship than Lyon in France, where he forgot when he won the last time. But the Lyonians competently built tactics for this match and played effectively, losing to Leipzig in pure statistical indicators like the attacks and a percentage of the ball. This turned out to be “Lyon” to open an invoice in a counterattack with a quick goal. Lyon endured the long segments of the match, defended him, and did it unexpectedly calmly and confidently. But Leipzig was unsettled by a quick naked and nervous and nervous all the way, excessively fussing and making hasty decisions, which made the game less combination, more predictable and primitive.All this made it easier for Lyon, who not only did not concede, but also scored the second goal in the middle of the second half to finally calm the situation. Leipzig was not even able to make a dash of despair in the end, which, it seems, any German team is capable of. The hosts suddenly fell into some kind of playing pit with a shortage of interesting football. And Lyon, first of all, added in reliability and composure, which was lacking in recent matches.
LIVERPOOL – SALZBURG – 4:3 (3:1)
Sadio Mane, 9 (1:0). Andrew Robertson, 25 (2:0). Mohamed Salah, 36 (3:0). Hee Chang-hwan, 39 (3:1). Takumi Minamino, 56 (3:2). Erling Haaland, 60 (3:3). Mohamed Salah, 69 (4:3).
Where Salzburg is, there is a hail of goals. This is the law of the current Champions League. In the first round, the Austrians defeated Genk with a score of 6: 2, and in the second they almost took away points from Liverpool, to which they were able to ship three balls. But it all started for the bulls completely hopeless. The Merseysiders opened the score quite easily, doubled it, and then brought the matter to a rout. Mane, Robertson and Salah, it would seem, removed all questions about the outcome of the meeting ahead of schedule. But, as often happens when the score is 3-0, the leading team relaxed and gave the initiative to the opponent. And he took it and enjoyed it. Even before the break, the guests otkvitali one goal through the efforts of the Korean Hwang, and in the second half in 15 minutes they scored twice and restored parity. The most active Japanese Minamino and the young goalscorer of Salzburg Holland made Jurgen Klopp blaze with rage. But the Scousers withstood the hardest psychological blow and eventually managed to tip the scales in their favor. In the 69th minute, Salah, after Soboslai's mistake, scored a brace and recorded on the scoreboard the final result of the rivalry – 4:3. An amazing match was seen by the public at Anfield, and Liverpool scored the first three points in the current Champions League.
GENK – NAPOLI – 0:0
Napoli, after winning the opening round of the Champions League group stage over Liverpool, went to Belgium for a victory. Carlo Ancelotti's team was opposed by Genk, which in the first round suffered a major defeat from Salzburg with a score of 2:6. Napoli entered the match without a couple of key players. Ancelotti gave a chance to prove himself to several players who do not always appear on the field. The meeting started at a calm pace, without dangerous moments. But in the 15th minute, the Neapolitans miraculously did not score. Twice for Genk played the frame of the gate. A few moments later, the hosts answered, but now Napoli were lucky. In general, the first half was held in a completely equal fight, in which no one was going to concede. But still the guests were more dangerous. So in one of the episodes, Milik hit the crossbar, and then Koulibaly was close to hitting the gates of his former team. Genk did not sit back in defense and also threatened the opponent's goal. At the 35th minute, Meret made a great save after Samatta's most dangerous shot.At the break, the teams went to zero on the scoreboard, but the game was spectacular. But in the second half, the players showed not the most meaningful football. Napoli attacked sluggishly, and Genk was focused on defense, only occasionally responding with at least some shots after drawing set pieces. Napoli were a little closer to victory, but in the end there was a goalless draw, which turned out to be generally fair. Usually they say that no one deserved to lose, but in this match, none of the opponents worked to win.
BARCELONA – INTER – 2:1
Lautaro Martinez, 3 (0:1). Luis Suarez, 58 (1:1). Luis Suarez, 84 (2:1).
And the second match in the Champions League group was very difficult for Barcelona. However, unlike the duel with Borussia, in the meeting with Inter, the Catalans managed to noticeably improve already during the match. And in many ways, Ernesto Valverde's replacements played here. The halves turned out to be different in content. Before the break, the game went according to Antonio Conte's plan. The Nerazzurri were helped a lot by a quick goal – Lautaro Martinez scored already in the third minute. Before the break, Inter continued to catch the opponent on the counterattacks and could well strengthen their advantage. In one of the episodes, only the brilliant reaction of Marc-Andre ter Stegen saved the Catalans from the second missed goal – Martinez again threatened the hosts' goal. However, the Catalans also had moments, but Antoine Griezmann and Arthur lacked accuracy. In the second half, the blue garnet no longer allowed the guests to scatter. Ernesto Valverde made the necessary adjustments and released Arturo Vidal instead of Sergio Busquets. And the Chilean six minutes later scored an assist to Luis Suarez, who scored a spectacular blow in the fall. Then the owners appeared on the field and Ousmane Dembele, who added speed and aggression to Barcelona's attacks. The guests, on the other hand, moved away from the scheme with two attackers, but the bet on counterattacks no longer worked for the Nerazzurri – Barcelona acted almost exemplarily in defense in the second half. And in the end, the Catalans put the squeeze on the opponent. This time the goal was named after Lionel Messi, who came out of this meeting from the first minutes. The Argentine left several opponents out of work and gave a pass to Suarez, who scored a double. The Milanese simply did not have the strength to do something in the remaining time. Barcelona won a strong-willed victory and settled in second place in Group F, behind Borussia Dortmund only in additional indicators. In the next two rounds, Ernesto Valverde's team will have a great opportunity to strengthen their positions against Slavia. Inter drove himself into a difficult situation. The Nerazzurri are still without Champions League victories, and ahead of them are matches with Borussia. But in the event of another loss of points, the chances of the Milanese to leave the group will drop noticeably.
SLAVIA – BORUSSIA D – 0:2 (0:1)
Ashraf Hakimi, 35 (0:1). Ashraf Hakimi, 89 (0:2).
Inter need to learn from Borussia Dortmund how to play against Slavia. Bumblebees are not without problems, but dealt with uncompromising Czechs in Prague. The first half was more difficult, after the break the Slavs were visibly tired. The ubiquitous Hakimi, who was both in defense and in attack, with his double removed the competitor from the path, the counterattacks turned out to be more than successful. Helped him in this and Sancho. The home team had moments, but they did not use them. So far, the Bumblebees have taken the first place in the group, because it is still unclear how the Nerazzurri will play with Barça. Wards of Favre interrupted their losing streak, managed to defeat such a difficult opponent even without Alcacer. But the class has affected, the Bundesliga continues to enchant in the Champions League, now Leipzig will also accept Lyon, they will also win, with a high degree of probability. The Czechs, if they sent their balls into the gates of Burka, could count on success. But the visitors' concentration was much better than in their previous confrontations. This is the rhythm that Royce needs to keep with the company, not to relax. Soon we will have to play again in the championship, let's see, now we have a one-time success behind the authorship of the bumblebees or are they ready to gain momentum again, without any stops there.
LILL – CHELSEA – 1:2 (1:1)
Tammy Abraham, 22 (0:1). Victor Osimhen, 33 (1:1). Willian, 78 (1:2).
A historic night for all of Frank Lampard's personal fans as the legendary former Chelsea midfielder took his first league win as manager. It is worth noting that in terms of content, the match of the Blues against Lille is unlikely to live up to expectations. That in the first half, that after the break, the rivals did not act at maximum speed, and they created scoring chances only in those cases when they scored goals. And there were already two of them in the first half: first, Abraham converted a one-on-one exit after a gross mistake by the Lille defenders, and ten minutes later the hosts used a corner kick for their intended purpose thanks to Osimhen's ability to act on the second floor. After the break, Lille started the game more actively, but Chelsea managed to continue it more interestingly, which saved more strength for the ending and snatched the victory. The main hero of the meeting was Willian, who scored a handsome goal in the 78th minute: the Brazilian laid down his body and drove the ball into the far corner with a volley shot. The inexperience of the current Chelsea squad could have affected the end, when, out of the blue, the Londoners gave Lille two opportunities to avoid defeat. But Kepa emerged victorious from both battles with the forwards, and the Blues scored their first points in the current Champions League.
VALENCIA – AJAX – 0:3 (0:2)
Hakim Ziyech, 8 (0:1). Quincy Promes, 34 (0:2). Donny van de Beek, 67 (0:3).
Denis Cheryshev vs Quincy Promes. So it was possible to characterize the match between Valencia and Ajax for a Russian fan. But in fact, this is a game of the leaders of the group N.In the first round, the bats defeated the youth of Frank Lampard, and the wards of Eric ten Hag drove through the dogs from Lille with a skating rink. At the Mestalla, the Dutch also got off to a great start. No jitters due to away match status. Already in the eighth minute there was a goal of the tour, and possibly the goal of the month / autumn. Hakim Ziyech stealthily crept up to the corner of the penalty area and suddenly decided to strike. An incredible trajectory, cutting diagonally into the penalty area, amazed the audience and Cillessen. Jasper jumped, but missed, and the sphere flew right into the nine. Hakim's flight was generally cool that evening. Toward the end of the first half, Ziyech once again gave out a “candy” from 25 meters. Cillessen just watched football in the hope of the crossbar, which saved him in the end. But Valencia did not go well. Dani Parejo smeared the penalty, breaking above the gate, and after a couple of minutes, Ajax put the second one. Quincy Promes, all alone, ended up on the corner of the goalkeeper's area and closed the cross from Donnie van de Beek. For the time, Ajax decided the questions, although Valencia attacked cheerfully. The Dutch looked older, even if in fact they were not. There was also a problem with the implementation. In the second half, the situation repeated itself. Onana incredibly dragged Torres' shot, then sheathed Rodrigo, and Ajax scored in response. Promes was left without a double, forgiving the Spaniards, but van de Beek was not so generous. Tadic left three defenders out of work with one pass, and Donnie converted a one-on-one exit – 0:3. Valencia received a powerful Mestalla.