Champions League – Match 13 of 16: Shakhtar Donetsk vs Lyon

Result: 1 – 1

Goal Scorers:

  • Shakhtar Donetsk: Junior Moraes 22′
  • Lyon: Nabil Fekir 65′

Match Statistics:

Shakhtar Donetsk Team Stats Lyon
6 Shots 17
2 Shots On Target 6
53% Possession 47%
541 Passes 484
82% Pass Accuracy 85%
8 Fouls 12
1 Yellow Cards 2
0 Red Cards 0
0 Offsides 6
4 Corners 5

Highlights:

Champions League

  • Nabil Fekir counterbalanced Junior Moraes’ first-half opener to guarantee Lyon completed second in Group F, in front of Shakhtar Donetsk.
  • Nabil Fekir drove Lyon into the Champions League knockout rounds at Shakhtar Donetsk’s cost with a critical second-half equalizer in a 1-1 draw Ukraine on Wednesday.
  • The Ligue 1 equip realized a point was sufficient to keep the hosts under control in Group F and anchored precisely that because of chief Fekir’s tasteful 65th-minute complete in cold conditions.

  • Lyon entered the match with an outside shot of jumping Manchester City into best spot, yet they were scrambling just to anchor second after Junior Moraes’ opener in the 22nd moment, the Brazilian putting his group in the case seat to progress.
  • Paulo Fonseca’s side were dependably on the back foot, however, and needed to agree to third place and an Europa League compartment after Fekir’s mediation safeguarded his group’s two-point cushion in the last table.

  • Lyon settled the speedier of the two groups and ought to have proceeded when Bertrand Traore misunderstood the side of Taras Stepanenko in the nineteenth moment, yet Andriy Pyatov covered boldly in a one-on-one circumstance.
  • Shakhtar before long made the most of the relief, Ismaily squaring for the plain Moraes – who struck twice in a 2-2 attract the turn around experience – to top a patient assault with a cool complete crosswise over Anthony Lopes.

  • The guests neglected to determine their wickedness before the break as Kenny Tete, Traore and Ferland Mendy all spurned great open doors for an equalizer.
  • The second half unfurled in increasingly passerby design until Fekir, among the guilty parties in the main half, discovered his radar at simply the correct time, mortally lashing past Pyatov from Memphis Depay’s reduced pass.
  • The French national will miss the primary leg of Lyon’s last-16 tie in the wake of intersection the yellow-card limit, yet until further notice that pales out of spotlight of his heroics in securing capability.

*******************

Champions League – Match 14 of 16: Manchester City vs Hoffenheim

Result: 2 – 1

Goal Scorers:

  • Manchester City: Leroy Sane 45+1′, 61′
  • Hoffenheim: Andrej Kramaric 61′ (P)

Match Statistics:

Manchester City Team Stats Hoffenheim
22 Shots 14
8 Shots On Target 5
63% Possession 37%
523 Passes 316
88% Pass Accuracy 79%
11 Fouls 14
0 Yellow Cards 2
0 Red Cards 0
2 Offsides 5
8 Corners 6

Highlights:

Champions League

  • Manchester City stammered however two goals from Leroy Sané gave them a fourth win of the gathering stage and solidified their situation as one of the huge top picks to win the Champions League this season.
  • Guardiola rolled out five improvements to the group that lost at Chelsea on Saturday. Out went the harmed David Silva and Fernandinho, in addition to Riyad Mahrez, Kyle Walker and Fabian Delph, who were all on the seat. Ilkay Gündogan, Nicolás Otamendi, Phil Foden, Gabriel Jesus and Oleksandr Zinchenko came into the side.

  • Having capability previously anchored was lucky for City considering Kevin De Bruyne, Sergio Agüero and Benjamin Mendy were additionally inaccessible. Hoffenheim had 19-year-old Arsenal loanee Reiss Nelson on the seat, having lost October’s turn around installation to a late David Silva goal.
  • Julian Nagelsmann’s side were winless in the stage – having collected just three – and started by means of Leonardo Bittencourt taking a free Otamendi pass. City cleared the peril and Raheem Sterling before long blasted past Nico Schulz and yet straight into Benjamin Hübner. The referee saw nothing not right and Sterling in the end returned to his feet. Foden then played an exact pass to Jesus yet an ungainly touch let the striker down.

  • Andrej Kramaric demonstrated the No 9 what smooth forward play can look like when winding Otamendi back to front before emptying a shot that bowed and appeared to beat Ederson until the goalkeeper’s flying fingertips pushed the ball for a corner.
  • Kramaric would not be denied for long however. Aymeric Laporte pulled Hübner down and the official indicated the punishment spot. Up ventured the Croatian, he gave Ederson minimal shot, and the Germans were ahead as they had been in the past gathering.

  • City nearly balanced in a flash. Sané took a corner after Zinchenko had seemed to put the ball out for a toss. The conveyance was met by Jesus yet his header returned off Oliver Baumann’s left post. Baumann spared his side again when Bernardo Silva’s free-kick from the left was going by John Stones and the attendant made a fine stop low down.
  • City, just like their direction, hoarded the ball and hunt down the brisk passes and development that fixes sides. Foden’s cerebrum and feet inspired – at one point he endeavored a perfect one-two with Sterling that verged on unpicking Hoffenheim.

  • After an entry of City keep-ball that had Hoffenheim pursuing blue shirts Sané won a free-kick down the left. Gündogan crushed the ball in and when Otamendi headed on, the bar this time spared the guests. Next Foden neglected to coordinate a header, Sterling drove in behind however Bauman gathered his cross-shot, and, as the half slowed down, Jesus was left stricken after a Kasim Nuhu challenge.
  • However at the break City were level: Sané bended a peach of a 20-yard free-kick over the divider and past Baumann, and Andreas Ekberg blew for the interim straight after the restart.

  • For the second half Kyle Walker supplanted Stones and Hoffenheim expedited Nelson for Joshua Brenet. Inside seconds Guardiola was scolding his group, as though whatever he instructed them to do amid the break had been overlooked.
  • Walker’s passageway added additional pace to a City side for which Sané was at that point causing issues. Sterling nearly got in however once more the finished result was absent. At the point when Laporte hit a direction pass went for Zinchenko to a maroon shirt Guardiola shook his head afresh.

  • Better originated from Sterling’s solid run that in the end prompted Jesus slipping in and shooting and winning a corner however Otamendi was not able complete from Sané’s conveyance.
  • City were ending up excessively intricate. When they parted from their own punishment territory after a Hoffenheim corner Sterling had just Baumann before him. However he go to Sané who at that point moved the ball on to Silva before the ball was by one way or another cleared for a corner. Sterling, or Sané, should have covered the possibility.
  • Wickedness was infectious: Nelson spurned an overlaid opportunity to put Hoffenheim ahead and Nagelsmann was radiant. Before long, however, City were ahead when Sané traded goes with Sterling and opened home for his second.

  • City’s assignment from here was to repulse Hoffenheim. Ederson spared Schulz’s 30-yard drive however with the insightful Delph on for Zinchenko the guests thought that it was significantly increasingly hard to break England’s heroes. Foden saw a dynamite volley spared by Baumann yet he, similar to the group, finished inclination just fulfillment.

*******************

Champions League – Match 15 of 16: Ajax vs Bayern Munich

Result: 3 – 3

Goal Scorers:

  • Ajax:  Dusan Tadid 61′, 82′ (P), Niklas Sule 90+5′ (OG)
  • Bayern Munich: Robert Lewandowski 13′, 87′ (P), Kingsley Coman 90′

Match Statistics:

Ajax Team Stats Bayern Munich
16 Shots 14
7 Shots On Target 9
54% Possession 46%
553 Passes 470
84% Pass Accuracy 77%
14 Fouls 15
3 Yellow Cards 2
1 Red Cards 1
1 Offsides 1
3 Corners 3

Highlights:

  • Top spot in Group E was chosen in shocking design as Ajax and Bayern Munich shared six goals and two red cards, in what was a riveting Champions League match.
  • Bayern Munich anchored top spot in Champions League Group E notwithstanding neglecting triumph in damage time in a mind blowing 3-3 draw at Ajax.
  • Ajax went into Wednesday’s conflict at the Johan Cruijff Arena requiring a win to jump Bayern, who proceeded through Robert Lewandowski in the thirteenth moment.

  • Dusan Tadic leveled simply past the hour stamp to set in movement a mind boggling second a large portion of, Ajax’s Maximilian Wober and Bayern’s Thomas Muller both demonstrated straight red cards previously an awkward Jerome Boateng challenge gave Ajax a 82nd-minute penalty that Tadic changed over.

  • In any case, Lewandowski leveled from the spot after Nicolas Tagliafico cut down Thiago Alcantara and Kingsley Coman – in his third match again from damage – twisted in what seemed to be a 90th-minute champ, just for a Niklas Sule own goal five minutes after the fact to at any rate give Ajax an offer of the crown jewels.

*******************

Champions League – Match 16 of 16: Valencia vs Manchester United

Result: 2 – 1

Goal Scorers:

  • Valencia: Carlos Soler 17′, Phile Jones 47′ (OG)
  • Manchester United: Marcus Rashford 87′

Match Statistics:

Valencia Team Stats Manchester United
11 Shots 12
3 Shots On Target 5
45% Possession 55%
479 Passes 574
81% Pass Accuracy 86%
6 Fouls 23
1 Yellow Cards 3
0 Red Cards 0
5 Offsides 2
5 Corners 5

Highlights:

Champions League

  • Manchester United are through to the following round of the Champions League, yet then everybody realized that as of now. They are likewise not great, but rather than everybody realized that as well.
  • Switzerland’s Young Boys vanquished Juventus 2-1 to blessing United the opportunity to redesign them and take in front of the pack, yet they did not acknowledge it. Rather, they were beaten by Valencia at Mestalla, limping into the last 16. On this proof, and every one of that has collected this season, it is difficult to envision them getting more remote than that; the shock might be that they got this far.

  • It was striking enough that United had just anchored a place in the thump out stage given how inadequately they have played in this opposition; really winning the gathering would have been excessively. However that, out of the blue, was a plausibility.
  • Mourinho had conceded before this amusement, while Sunday’s gathering with Liverpool – presently 16 points in front of United – was continually going to be progressively huge. Maybe that absence of desire legitimizes this execution, in spite of the fact that for such an extensive amount the night the clarification showed up established in something progressively straightforward, their play.

  • United’s initially shot on target did not come until the 73rd moment and keeping in mind that a Marcus Rashford goal with four minutes to go arose the possibility of another late rebound that could even have been finished by Juan Mata in the last moment, it wasn’t to be.
  • United together, at that point, were vanquished in Spain. Valencia, fifteenth in La Liga, had a little satisfaction. However there was additionally disappointment, a sentiment of what may have been, yet for their very own mix-ups, and the Marouane Fellaini handball that at long last put them out, neither pardoned nor overlooked here.

  • With respect to Marcelino, he conceded that Valencia’s visit to Eibar on Saturday possessed his contemplations. Be that as it may, for a few players, Paul Pogba especially, there were focuses to end up being won. For the directors, as well.
  • Jorge Mendes had demanded Mourinho is glad at United – just for Mourinho to take note of that his operator said that, not him. The word surrender is not in my vocabulary, Marcelino stated, utilizing “surrender”, and his leader distinctly, freely grasped him, yet the white hankies had been out – that exemplary Spanish indication of challenge.
  • Valencia, officially out however fit the bill for the Europa League, have won only three group matches, drawing nine of 15. Nobody in Spain has scored less, with Michy Batshuayi prone to be sent back to Chelsea this Christmas. However they scored here, and quickly.

  • The quarter hour had quite recently passed when Carlos Soler scored the opening goal, with the outside of his boot. Made, as such a large amount of what occurred in the principal half, by Santi Mina and Piccini, it had tumbled to him when Phil Jones endeavored to head clear.
  • Juan Mata had a shot hindered at the close post, the ball appearing to strike Mouctar Diakhaby’s arm, and Pogba some way or another shot past a similar post and wide. There were periodic looks from United, their play enhanced when it went through Mata, however they were brief.
  • They may have been out of the blue noteworthy, as well: soon after Mata’s shot, news got through that Young Boys had scored against Juventus. Whenever United could return they could really win this gathering, most likely helping their errand in the following round.

  • Yet, Valencia looked bound to score and may have added to their lead. Batshuayi headed over Piccini’s cross and just before half-time cut wide from inside the zone. Between those two chances Soler was denied, Diakhaby tumbling as he endeavored to achieve a free ball by the six-yard box, and Dani Parejo turned inside Fellaini just to be ceased by Fred and Eric Bailly making a plunge front of him.
  • The half finished with Mina, Soler and Piccini playing their way in once more, United uncovered to their left side, and with Mestalla remaining to acclaim.
  • The second started with them on their feet once more, talented a second goal, a picture of United, Jones hapless at its core. Soler’s ball was bowed past the backline with the outside of his boot; Batshuayi pursued however was not all that close as to legitimize what pursued, Jones connecting with prod the ball back towards his goalkeeper yet rather prodding it past Sergio Romero and into his very own net.

  • It was the main own goal United had scored in the Champions League since 2011. In those days it was Jones, as well.
  • In any case, this was not simply him, it was every one of them: all in all, independently, completely, United were poor.
  • Mourinho viewed from the seat he never left as Denis Cheryshev’s redirected shot floated wide, and Bailly pounded over. He made changes – Rashford was presented for Fred among others – yet little really changed, even with Young Boys including a second against Juventus. United had been offered an open door there, however here Valencia were agreeable, predominant, and Santi Mina nearly included a third before Ferran Torres, on as a sub, struck over.

Keep visiting allsportspk, for regular updates of Champions League 2018-19.