Chelsea held to draw in UCL by RB Salzburg – Newstrends
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Chelsea held to draw in UCL by RB Salzburg

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2 years ago

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Graham Potter began his Chelsea reign with a draw against RB Salzburg, leaving his side with an uphill task to qualify for the Champions League knockout stages.

The former Brighton boss picked Raheem Sterling as an advanced wing-back but saw the gamble pay off when the forward curled into the bottom corner shortly after the break.

It was a much-improved performance from Chelsea’s defeat by Dinamo Zagreb in their opening Group E game last week, which spelled the end for former manager Thomas Tuchel.

 

But Matthias Jaissle’s well-drilled Austrian side got an equaliser on 75 minutes when Thiago Silva missed a tackle, allowing Noah Okafor to clip in Junior Adamu’s low cross.

That goal highlighted the risks involved in Potter’s positive approach, with Sterling and Marc Cucurella caught out of position. But the hosts could have earned victory when Reece James fired over from a free-kick and substitute Hakim Ziyech almost headed in at the back post.

Following AC Milan’s earlier 3-1 win over Zagreb, Chelsea sit bottom of Group E after two games with the Serie A champions up next at Stamford Bridge on 5 October.

Potter was appointed six days ago, and following a week which he called a “whirlwind” got his first taste of Champions League football, having never seen the competition before in the flesh.

There have been questions about his credentials, having managed for only three years in the Premier League with Brighton. And although it was a positive display from his side and they wasted several good chances late on with Armando Broja also firing over, he will now realise he has to quickly turn things around in Europe after Chelsea’s poor start to the season.

The 47-year-old, who watched in a black suit as Stamford Bridge observed impeccably a minute’s silence to mark the passing of Queen Elizabeth II, quickly established his own stamp on the team by dropping Wesley Fofana, Kalidou Koulibaly and Ben Chilwell from the side that lost at Dinamo Zagreb last week.

That saw Silva and Cucurella make up a back three with Cesar Azpilicueta, but the biggest surprise was seeing Sterling at left wing-back in a 3-4-3 formation.

That may have been too simplistic, though, as the forward was stationed way up the pitch for the most part and twice wasted good chances at the back post in the first half.

The closest the two teams came to opening the scoring before the break came within a minute of each other. Mason Mount sliced a shot inches wide of the post after another deep run and cross from Cucurella, before Benjamin Sesko had a curling effort tipped around the post by Kepa Arrizabalaga after Sterling gave the ball away.

But the England international made up for that mistake and showed why he was positioned so far up the pitch three minutes after the break.

James started the move on the right flank with a powerful run and fed Mount, whose low cross was miscontrolled by Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. Fortunately, Sterling took a measured touch before finding the inside of the post for his fourth of the season.

At that stage Chelsea began to control the game and looked like they would add to their lead.

However, the desire to play in Salzburg’s half backfired when both Sterling and Cucurella were dispossessed near the halfway line, leading to the equaliser.

Once the ball was played wide of Silva, he seemed as if he would close down Adamu and avert danger.

But the normally reliable Brazilian missed the tackle, with Okafor adding to the goal he scored against AC Milan in Salzburg’s draw last week.

There were plenty of chances for Chelsea to take the lead again as Potter made five substitutes in search of a goal.

But the Austrian champions held on after Ziyech and Broja were wasteful.

-BBC Sport

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Gabriel Jesus shines as Arsenal thrash Palace 5-1 in London derby

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6 hours ago

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December 22, 2024

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Gabriel Jesus shines as Arsenal thrash Palace 5-1 in London derby

Gabriel Jesus struck twice as Arsenal became the first side since Chelsea in 2005 to go a full calendar year unbeaten in Premier League  London derbies, defeating Crystal Palace 5-1 to close the gap on league leaders Liverpool to three points for the time being.

A hat-trick against Palace in a 3-2 EFL Cup victory on Wednesday earned Jesus a starting berth here, and it took just six minutes for him to reward Mikel Arteta’s selection.

A first Premier League goal since January arrived when Bukayo Saka’s cross bounced off Gabriel Magalhães, allowing Jesus to stride towards the ball and side-foot home. A nervy moment for David Raya went unpunished moments later, but just five minutes after going ahead, the Gunners were pegged back as the red-hot Ismaïla Sarr bent an effort around William Saliba and inside the far post.

A breathless start to the contest continued with a third goal in the opening 15 minutes, and perhaps predictably, it came from an Arsenal corner. This time, Gabriel Martinelli’s delivery was partially cleared, but only as far as Jesus, whose controlled finish flew into the corner.

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Another defensive lapse from the visitors almost saw the scores levelled once more, only for Raya to bail out Saliba with a one-on-one stop to deny Jean-Philippe Mateta. At the other end, Gabriel went close from yet another Arsenal corner before the away side extended their advantage through Kai Havertz, who reacted first after Jesus had nodded onto the far post.

Needing a response, the hosts were inches from reducing the deficit straight after the restart when Raya was equal to Sarr’s diving header. The Arsenal shot-stopper was then called into action again, getting behind Mateta’s rifled long-range shot and catching Sarr’s follow-up header.

Those saves kept the Eagles at bay, and with an hour played, the points were all but wrapped up. A well-worked move should have ended with Jesus’ second hat-trick of the week, yet Henderson saved well with his foot only to see Martinelli turn in substitute Declan Rice’s resultant low strike.

Determined to get on the scoresheet, Rice guided in Arsenal’s fifth goal late on, sealing three vital points in an evening where the only major blemish was Saka’s first-half injury.

Despite conceding in a seventh consecutive away league match – their longest travelling run without a PL clean sheet in over five years – Arsenal now find themselves within touching distance of the league summit, albeit having played more games than the sides above them.

Meanwhile, Palace had lost just one of their last eight PL fixtures (W3, D4), but defeat here means they’re yet to add to their solitary home league victory (D4, L4), leaving the Eagles 15th in the table.

 

Gabriel Jesus shines as Arsenal thrash Palace 5-1 in London derby

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Atletico grab late winner at Barcelona to go top of La Liga

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6 hours ago

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December 22, 2024

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Atletico grab late winner at Barcelona to go top of La Liga

Substitute Alexander Sorloth scored an injury-time winner as Atletico Madrid fought back against Barcelona to replace them at the top of La Liga.

Pedri opened the scoring for Barcelona in the 30th minute, linking up with fellow Spain midfielder Gavi before slotting a low strike past Jan Oblak.

Despite their dominance, the hosts couldn’t hold on and Rodrigo De Paul hammered home the equaliser on the hour mark after leaping on a mistake from Marc Casado.

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Barcelona were left to rue more missed chances when Sorloth slammed in Nahuel Molina’s cross in the sixth minute of injury time to give Atletico their 12th straight win in all competitions.

The victory means Atletico will end 2024 as the top team in Spain, three points above Barcelona, who have played a game more.

Hansi Flick’s Barca side could slip to third if Real Madrid beat Sevilla on Sunday.

 

Atletico grab late winner at Barcelona to go top of La Liga

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Oleksandr Usyk beats Tyson Fury to retain heavyweight titles

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7 hours ago

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December 22, 2024

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Oleksandr Usyk beats Tyson Fury to retain heavyweight titles

Oleksandr Usyk defeated Tyson Fury to retain his unified heavyweight world titles and prove his status as a generational great with another close points win in their rematch in Saudi Arabia.

Having inflicted a first career defeat on Briton Fury by split decision in May, Usyk’s astuteness and will to win once again prevailed at Riyadh’s Kingdom Arena – and he retained his WBA (Super), WBC and WBO titles.

Fury, 36, found success in the first half of the fight. Some of the more eye-catching shots came from the Morecambe fighter, but the volume of punches and cleaner work were from Ukrainian Usyk.

All three judges scored it 116-112 to the 37-year-old champion.

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Usyk, an Olympic gold medallist and former undisputed cruiserweight champion, extended his undefeated record to 23 pro wins.

“He [Tyson Fury] is a great fighter, he is a great opponent. An unbelievable 24 rounds for my career. Thank you so much,” Usyk said.

Two-time world champion Fury has only ever lost to Usyk, his two defeats the major blemishes on a record also consisting of 34 wins and one draw.

Fury left the ring without conducting an interview, before IBF world champion Daniel Dubois climbed in and called for a rematch with Usyk.

A visibly frustrated figure in the moments after the scorecards were read out, Fury said backstage he was convinced he won the fight by “at least three rounds”.

 

Oleksandr Usyk beats Tyson Fury to retain heavyweight titles

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