Benfica sink Barcelona 3-0 to bottom of Group E, Bayern win 5-0 – Newstrends
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Benfica sink Barcelona 3-0 to bottom of Group E, Bayern win 5-0

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3 years ago

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Barcelona have suffered a second defeat in two games and from now on can’t afford any more slip-ups if they are to progress from Champions League Group E. Ronald Koeman’s former club, Benfica, took an early lead and although the Catalans had a host of opportunities to get back into the game, the Portuguese side were eventually able to build on that lead in the second half.

The result leaves Barça bottom of the group for the time being, but there’s a lot more football to be played, beginning with back-to-back games with Dynamo Kyiv on October 20 and November 2.

Buoyed by an infectious atmosphere inside the Stadium of Light, the home side flew at Barça and Darwin Nuñez fired them into the lead after just two minutes. A finely crafted and finished goal by the Uruguayan, but anything but the start that Barça needed.

The blaugrana response was immediate. For all the remainder of the first half the big plays were all in the direction of the Portuguese goal and it is difficult to fathom how not one of them ended with the ball in the back of the net.

Frenkie de Jong, on the night of his 100th appearance for the club, set up his compatriot and namesake Luuk twice to no avail. Frenkie had a couple of pops of his own and there were fine chances for Pedri and Memphis too, but Barça were still trailing at the break.

That wasn’t for lack of chances, but none of them had hit the target, and sadly that statistic wasn’t going to change after the break.

Other than the goal, Benfica may have battled hard and well to keep the Catalans at bay, but they’d created very little threat of their own. They found new verve in the second half and the closest of a number of chances in quick succession came when Nuñez caught Ter Stegen well off his line and ended up hitting the post.

That had been a let-off, but on 68 minutes Benfica did stretch their lead. Barça had lacking their tight shape of the first half and an unmarked Rafa Silva was able to convert the rebound after a previous effort had been cleared.

And there was further woe ten minutes later when Sergiño Dest handled in the area and Darwin Nuñez poked the penalty home. Benfica had only scored once in their last six meetings with Barça, but tonight they had three.

Meanwhile, for Barça it was the first time they had lost their first two games of a European campaign since losing twice to FC Porto in 1972.

To rub salt into the wounds, Barça played the final minutes with ten men after Eric Garcia was red-carded, but by that stage the game was already looking like a lost cause.

Bayern win

In the other game in Group E, Bayern Munich thrashed Dynamo 5-0, with Lewandowski scoring twice in the first half, and Gnarby, Sane and Choupo-Moting adding three more in the second. The result leaves the Germans flying high with six points, Benfica have four, Dynamo one and Barça none.

 

 

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Osimhen scores hat-trick as Galatasaray demolish Antalyaspor

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13 hours ago

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March 15, 2025

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Victor Osimhen

Osimhen scores hat-trick as Galatasaray demolish Antalyaspor

Nigerian forward Victor Osimhen scored a hat trick as Galatasaray defeated Antalyaspor 4-0 on Friday night.

Álvaro Morata scored from the penalty spot, completing the overwhelming victory.

Osimhen opened the goal at Rams Park in the 30th minute, completing Morata’s assist.

Morata scored a penalty in the 45th minute, followed by Osimhen’s second goal assisted by B. Yılmaz three minutes later.

The Nigerian striker completed his hat trick in the 52nd minute, with an assist from Y. Akgün.

The Nigerian striker completed his hat trick in the 52nd minute, with an assist from Y. Akgün.

This hat trick brings Osimhen’s season total to 20 league goals in 22 appearances, making him the leading scorer in the Turkish Süper Lig.

Since joining Galatasaray on loan from Napoli following the fourth game of the season, Osimhen has 26 goals and 5 assists across all competitions in 30 appearances.

Galatasaray’s strong performance cements their place at the top of the Süper Lig.

Prior to this match, they lead the rankings with 68 points from 26 matches, having won 21 and drawn 5.

Their closest competitors, Fenerbahçe, have 61 points after 25 games.

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With this victory, Galatasaray expands their lead to 71 points, increasing their bid for the league championship.
According to a post-match statement on the club’s website, this was Okan Buruk’s 100th game as head coach.

“Galatasaray faced Onvo Antalyaspor in the 28th week of the Trendyol Super Lig. Our team won the match played at Ali Sami Yen Sports Complex RAMS Park with a score of 4-0.

“Our goals came from Victor Osimhen (30′, 45+3′, 52′) and Alvaro Morata (45+2′).

“Continuing their undefeated lead, the team increased its points tally to 71 and increased it to 10 with two games more than its opponent.

“Before the match, our coach Okan Buruk was presented with a plaque to commemorate his 100th match as a coach at Galatasaray,” it read.

Yunus Akgün, Lucas Torreira, and Victor Osimhen were replaced by Roland Sallai, Dries Mertens, and Mario Lemina in the 68th minute.

Muslera blocked Van de Streek’s kick for Antalyaspor in the 73rd minute.

This was Antalyaspor’s only attack in the second half, according to the club’s statement.

Kaan Ayhan replaced Davinson Sanchez in the 77th minute. In the 79th minute, Kaan Ayhan attempted to score from a free kick, but his shot was saved by custodian Piric.

In the 83rd minute, Berkan Kutlu replaced Barış Alper. In the remaining portion, we will travel to Beşiktaş with a 4-0 victory, as the positions we found with Morata and Sara yielded no results.

 

Osimhen scores hat-trick as Galatasaray demolish Antalyaspor

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Fernandes nets hat-trick in Man United big win over Real Sociedad

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2 days ago

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March 14, 2025

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Fernandes nets hat-trick in Man United big win over Real Sociedad

Man United skipper Bruno Fernandes scored a hat-trick to lead his side to victory against 10-man Real Sociedad at Old Trafford and book a Europa League quarter-final encounter with French club Lyon.

Needing a victory to keep alive their hopes of marking Ruben Amorim’s first year in charge with silverware and knowing the tournament is their only realistic chance of securing European football next season, Man United got off to the worst possible start as Mikel Oyarzabal scored from the spot after being brought down by Matthijs de Ligt.

Thankfully for the hosts, the were level within six minutes as Fernandes kept his cool after Igor Zubeldia had taken Rasmus Hojlund down as the Dane was bearing down on the Sociedad goal.

Remarkably, it took a third penalty of the night to get United’s noses in front.

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Aritz Elustondo complained long after it was ruled he had fouled Patrick Dorgu. It made no difference, and for the third time, the goalkeeper went the wrong way as Fernandes found the net for from the spot for his 14th goal of the season.

The Spanish visitors’ last chance seemed to disappear midway through the second half when Jon Aramburu was sent off for hauling down Dorgu, who would have been through.

But just for good measure, Man United struck twice more before the end.

Fernandes completed his second hat-trick for the club with a low finish across goal and into the far corner before fellow Portugal international Diogo Dalot drilled home a fourth in stoppage time.

 

Fernandes nets hat-trick in Man United big win over Real Sociedad

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Real Madrid beat Atletico after bizarre penalty disallowed

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2 days ago

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March 13, 2025

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Real Madrid beat Atletico after bizarre penalty disallowed

Atletico Madrid’s Julian Alvarez had a penalty dramatically ruled out in the shootout as Real Madrid edged out their city rivals to reach the quarter-finals.

They will face Arsenal in the last eight, having kept alive their hopes of winning a record-extending 16th Champions League trophy.

Neither side could find a winning goal before the end of extra time after Conor Gallagher’s strike – just 27 seconds into the game – had levelled the tie on aggregate after Real Madrid’s 2-1 first-leg win.

That meant penalties were needed to determine the outcome and, after the first three had been converted, former Manchester City forward Alvarez stepped up to take Atletico’s second.

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He slipped while taking it, but the ball ended up in the back of the net. While it was initially given, the successful spot-kick was subsequently ruled out by the video assistant referee (VAR), with Alvarez having been deemed to have touched the ball twice as he struck his effort.

Fede Valverde converted his penalty to put Real 3-1 ahead and although Atletico goalkeeper Jan Oblak saved Lucas Vazquez’s spot-kick to briefly give Atletico hope, Marcos Llorente hit the bar.

Antonio Rudiger then stepped up to squeeze home the decisive penalty to send Real Madrid through by a 4-2 margin.

 

Real Madrid beat Atletico after bizarre penalty disallowed

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