Messi Sting Celtic, Arsenal Held by PSG

By -


Lionel Messi scored twice asBarcelonacruised into the Champions League round of 16 as Group C winners with a2-0 defeatofCelticin Glasgow on Wednesday.Barcelona humiliated Celtic 7-0 in their firstgroup encounter in September, with Messiscoring a hat trick in the one-sided match at the Camp Nou, and it was the Barca No. 10 who opened his side's account at CelticPark, finishing off a sublime move from theCatalans on 24 minutes.The five-time Ballon d'Or winner raced ontoa sumptuous lobbed pass behind the defence from Neymar and lashed his first-time shot past Celtic goalkeeper Craig Gordon at the near post for a deserving 1-0lead.In the second half, Emilio Izaguirre pulled down Luis Suarez inside the Celtic box. Messi then stepped up to the spot and easily put Gordon the wrong way to hand Barca an unassailable 2-0 advantage.The goal marked Messi's ninth in four Champions League matches thus far -- and 92nd overall -- placing the Argentine atop the competition's goal-scoring chartsthis campaign.Messi nearly added a third in the 68th minute, but his right-footed shot slid just wide of the far post, but his effort was enough to ensure Celtic finish last in Group C.

Manchester City also advanced as Group Runners-up after a 1-1 draw against Borussia Monchengladbach, in a match that saw both sides finish with 10 men.It was the hosts who struck first, Raffael firing home from the centre of the penalty area in the 23rd minute to give Gladbach an early 1-0 lead.City would get back on level terms just before the break, though, as David Silva poked home from close range after Kevin De Bruyne played an incisive pass across the six-yard box.Lars Stindl was sent off in the second half after receiving his second yellow card of the match for a hard foul on Nicolas Otamendi. Twelve minutes later, Fernandinho was shown his second yellow card for a foul on Raffael, leaving both teams to finish the match a man down.Neither team could find the winner though,leaving City secure in second place behindBarcelona, while Gladbach move on to the Europa League.

Arsenal and Paris Saint-Germain played out an entertaining2-2 drawin Group A which leaves the top spot up for grabs going into the final round of fixtures in a fortnight.Unai Emery's side controlled the early stages and deservedly opened the scoringin the 18th minute when Blaise Matuidi rolled Shkodran Mustafi and played a ball across the goalmouth for Cavani to slide home.
Arsenal looked out of sorts and failed to respond until the 45th minute when they won what looked like a fortunate penalty with Alexis Sanchez adjudged to have been brought down by Grzegorz Krychowiak, and Olivier Giroud converted from the spot.The Gunners went in front on the hour mark, again in fortuitous circumstances, when Marquinhos' clearance hit Verratti and beat Areola from close range.
The French Giants Refused to give in though and fought back into the game from a Hatem Ben Arfacorner. Moura pulled away from Carl Jenkinson at the back post to direct a header towards goal which was taken away from David Ospina by the head of Alex Iwobi.As it stands Arsenal, who travel to Basel on Dec. 6, have to better PSG's result against Ludogorets in order to win the group. In the event of both teams having the same result, theParisienswill top Group A due to a better head-to-head record because of their two away goals.

Source: Espn


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Women Self Defense Techniques

By -
Image
lot of women feel afraid when walking the streets alone at night - all you have to do is ask around to realise just how many of us are fed-up with walking home clutching our keys between our fingers. Of course, two men can be extremely unequally matched when it comes to strength and size, but the sad truth is that the majority of women can put up little fight against the majority of men purely because of our biological make-up. And that’s a scary thought. Progress certainly needs to be made to reduce attacks - be they sexual assault or robbery - but as that doesn’t look likely any time soon, learning self-defence is a wise move for women of all ages. Top British mixed martial artist Helen ‘Hellraiser’ Harper, who specialises in Jui Jitsu, believes all women should know more self-defence because it brings not only safety but confidence. “In my opinion, women don't have the confidence they should in life let alone in defence,” she told The Independent. “Learning to fend off an at
Read more

Four Feared Dead in Ivory Coast Crash.

By -
Image
A cargo plane has crashed into the sea off Ivory Coast, close to Abidjan airport, killing four people and injuring six. The wreckage of the turboprop plane, which was carrying ten people, was swept toward a beach where rescuers treated surviving crewmen on the sand. All four of the dead are Moldovan while four French nationals and two Moldovans were injured. Local police told AFP the aircraft had been trying to land when it crashed. According to local news site Ivoire Matin one person was taken into custody after the crash. It is unclear if they are a member of the crew. Reuters news agency reports that the plane crashed during a storm with heavy rain and lightning. The plane was a Ukrainian-made Antonov chartered by the French army as part of its anti-jihadist Operation Barkhane, a French military source told AFP
Read more