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Key events
PSG grew into the game with Barkola and Dembele causing some problems. When do you think Harry Kane will score the first goal? I’ll say 56 minutes.
Arsenal almost go in again down the right but the cross is swept away by danger and Saka lurks. At the Etihad, Feyenoord began to make some forays forward after keeping City’s forwards at arm’s length.
GOAL! Young Boys 1-3 Atalanta (Kolasinac 32′)
Who is it that gallops to the finish line like a thoroughbred racehorse? Why, it’s Sead Kolasinac, played cleanly by De Ketelaere. He takes a touch and picks his spot, slotting the ball into the bottom corner.
GOAL! Leverkusen 3-0 Salzburg (Wirtz 30′)
Wirtz gets his fifth goal in the Champions League this season and it’s a thing of beauty as he lifts the ball to the side of goal, weaves past two defenders and rolls it into the far corner.
GOAL! Young Boys 1-2 Atalanta (De Quetelaere 29′)
Atalanta regained the lead when Young Boys goalkeeper David von Balmos cleared Balmos’ right-footed ball from Charles De Quetelaere’s spot-kick, letting the ball curl under his body.
GOAL! Inter 1-0 RB Leipzig (Lukeba and 27′)
Inter took the lead and Federico Dimarco wickedly curled past Castelo Luceba for an own goal.
GOAL! Sporting 0-2 Arsenal (Havertz 21′)
Okay then. It will all go to plan for Arsenal, who once again nullify Sporting’s defense here. Partey’s lofted ball finds Saka, who heads it past goalkeeper Franco Israel, allowing Kai Havertz to tap into an empty net. Not the best from the Sporting stopper, who was also a little hesitant for the opener.
Arsenal had to absorb some pressure since going ahead, but they stood up again here and Party sent a low shot into the keeper’s hands…
After that tumult, a moment of calm – although Bayern were down, Sane’s shot was saved at the near post by Safonov, starting ahead of Donnarumma tonight. At the Etihad, City continue to pour forward, but still without much coherence or conviction.
GOALS! Young Boys 1-1 Atalanta
Atalanta hotshot Matteo Retegui fires the visitors in front, but before I can type it, Silvere Ganvula smashes in an equaliser! This is the first goal that Atalanta has conceded in the match Champions League this season.
GOAL! Leverkusen 2-0 Salzburg (Grimaldo 11′)
Double trouble for Salzburg as Alejandro Grimaldo scored a wonderful free-kick to put Leverkusen in control.
GOAL! Barcelona 1-0 Brest (Lewandowski penalty 8′)
Robert Lewandowski was completely beaten by the Brest keeper, winning a penalty which he converted with incredible ease. With this goal, he joins Ronaldo and Messi in the exclusive club of 100 in the Champions League.
GOAL! Leverkusen 1-0 Salzburg (Wirtz pen 9′)
Florian Wirtz buries the spot-kick and another penalty is to come…
GOAL! Sporting 0-1 Arsenal (Martinelli 7′)
Now we have a goal – and it went to Arsenal! A fine pass sees Rice pick out Timber on the right and his low cross is pushed away by Martinelli at the far post.
Arsenal on the front foot early against a compact looking Sporting defence. No goals anywhere in Europe, although Leverkusen have a penalty awarded after a VAR review one of these ricocheting handballs…
C Camp Nou Montjuic, Ajorque gives Brest a half-decent chance early on. At the Etihad, Gundogan sees his mid-range strike deflected back.
Peep!
We are currently in Barcelona, Bern, Leverkusen, Lisbon, Milan, Manchester and Munich, where Bayern vs PSG started a few minutes late.
It’s dangerously close to the start of seven and eight in the evening Champions League kickoffs. C championshipNorwich lead Plymouth and Sheffield United are a goal ahead at home to Oxford.
“This Arsenal team looks very strong,” writes Bill Hargreaves. “The likes of Nwaneri, Jesus and Sterling on the bench. We can see them doing well tonight and in this competition.”
Charles Antaki says: “This looks like a very good Arsenal team. Declan Rice is back and, of course, the incredible schemer Martin Odegaard is back in top form. Of course, this inevitably means for the ever-anxious Arsenal fan to go home with their tails tucked. So, a tie.”
“Is Ibrahimovic on Bayern’s bench linked to Zlatan?” asks Mike Jakeman. Unfortunately not – but Arion Ibrahimovic could become a star in his own right. The attacking midfielder is one of Bayern’s brightest young prospects and is trying to earn a place in Vincent Kompany’s squad following a recent injury.
It’s done Slovan Bratislava 2-3 AC Milanwith the Slovakian side remaining bottom of the heap without a point from five matches. However, they did it well here – unlike Sparta Praguewho were beaten 6-0 by Atlético Madrid.
These results mean that Atlético and Milan stay ninth and tenth respectivelybreathing down Aston Villa’s neck in the battle for the top eight.
There are also seven Championship games tonight, plus a great League One line-up and Hibs v Aberdeen in the Scottish Premiership. I’ll try to keep you updated, but our feed is live also at your service.
Milan took care of business in Bratislava as Rafael Leao put them 2-1 up before Tammy Abraham pounced on a woeful reverse pass to make it three. Up in Prague, it’s Sparta 0-4 Atletico, Alvarez (again) and Griezmann adding the second-half goals.
More team news starting in Catalunya…
Barcelona vs Brest
Barcelona (4-3-3): Foam; Kunde, Kubarsi, Martinez, Gerard; Casado, Pedri, Fermin Lopez; Rafinha (c), Lewandowski, Olmo.
Subs: Szczesny, Kochen, Balde, Gavi, Torre, Victor, de Jong, Garcia, Fort, Dominguez, Cuenca, Guy Fernandez.
Brest (4-4-2): miso; Lala, Le Cardinal, Chardonnet (c), Haidara; Camara, Fernandez, Magneti, Doumbia; Sima, Ayorke.
Subs: Coudert, Jaune, Niahate Ndiaye, Del Castillo, Camblan, Balde, Faivre, Amavi, Pereira Lage, Martin, Salah.
… While at the San Siro, Leipzig have just six players on the bench amid an injury crisis …
Inter vs RB Leipzig
International (3-5-2): Sommer; Pavard, de Vries, Bastogny; Dumfries, Barella, Calhanoglu, Zielinski, Dimarco; Taremi, Lautaro Martinez.
Subs: Di Gennaro, Josep Martinez, Arnautovic, Thuram, Buchanan, Aslani, Mkhitaryan, Carlos Augusto, Bisek, Darmian, Aidou.
RB Leipzig (4-4-2): Gulachi; Gertrude, Orban, Lukeba, Henrichs; Baumgartner, Haidara, Kampl, Noosa; Andre Silva, Openda.
Reserves: Vandevoord, Seywald, Vermeeren, Wedraogo, Sesko, Goebel.
Bayern Munich vs PSG Teams
Bayern Munich (4-2-3-1): Neuer (c); Laimer, Upamecano, Kim, Davis; Kimmich, Goretzka; Sane, Musiala, Coman; Kane.
Subs: Peretz, Schmidt, Gnabry, Dier, Olisse, Ibrahimovic, Guerreiro, Bowie, Muller, Tel.
Paris Saint-Germain (4-3-3): Safonov; Hakimi, Marquinhos (c), Pacho, Nunu Mendes; Joao Neves, Vitinha, Fabian Ruiz; Zaire Emery, Dembele, Barkola.
Subs: Donnarumma, Tenas, Goncalo Ramos, Asensio, Due, Lee, Muani, Lucas Beraldo, Skriniar, Zaghe.
Sporting vs Arsenal teams
Sporting CP (3-4-3): Israel; Saint Just, Diomande, Inacio; Cuenda, Morita, Hulmand (c), Araujo: Edwards, Gokeres, Trincao.
Reservations: Kovacevic, Kalai, Mateus Reis, Harder, Catamo, Fresneda, Braganza, Ricardo Esgayo, Cotto, Alves, Simoes, Brito.
Arsenal (4-3-3): Paradise; Timber, Saliba, Gabriel, Calafiori; Odegaard (c), Partey, Rice; Saka, Havertz, Martinelli.
Subs: Neto, Setford, Tierney, Gabriel Jesus, Kivior, Zinchenko, Trossard, Jorginho, Merino, Sterling, Lewis-Skelly, Navaneri.
A familiar name on Atletico’s scoresheet: Julián Alvarez, who left Manchester City in the summer but has had a slow start to life in Madrid. He is certainly missed by Pep Guardiola’s side, who are hoping to end a run of five (!) consecutive defeats at home to Feyenoord:
Half time is at 5:45 p.m. (GMT), which takes place in the Czech Republic and Slovakia. Atlético Madrid lead Sparta Prague 2-0 until Slovan Bratislava hold Milan to a 1-1 tie.
Preamble
Arsenal’s last eight away games in Europe have produced one win, three draws and four defeats; they haven’t scored a single goal in their last four trips to the continent. As one of their most famous alumni might say: problem!
Big problem? not yet Arsenal have seven points and are 12th in the giants Champions League table; they will certainly advance, but this game will help them decide if they make it through the playoffs, which makes for more complicated trips. As you may have heard, Sporting lost manager Ruben Amorim, but they are still a free-scoring threat and have previous ones. Arsenal’s first of those eight away games came in Lisbon, a 2-2 Europa League draw that resulted in a penalty shootout defeat at the Emirates.
There can be great fun and relatively low stakes in Portugal, but Bayern Munich vs PSG is another story. The Parisians have been the weakest of the Ligue 1 quartet so far and sit below the red line in 25th (!) place with tough games still to come. Bayern aren’t doing much better, that an opening 9-2 win over Dinamo Zagreb was followed by back-to-back defeats, meaning the Croatian side are now above them in mid-table. Oh Vinnie!
But wait, there’s more. Barcelona host Brest in a battle for the top-6 that no one expected until Leverkusen look to rediscover their buzz against Red Bull Salzburg. Italian outfits Inter and Atalanta – playing to write having not conceded a single goal between them so far – look to continue this against no-nonsense opponents RB Leipzig and Young Boys. Kick-off is 20:00 in these games, but two early games have already started. Eat my target!
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