Dortmund, Chelsea stage big Champions League comebacks

PARIS — On a night of big comebacks in the Champions League, Borussia Dortmund came from two goals down to beat Inter Milan 3-2 Tuesday while Chelsea erased a three-goal deficit to draw 4-4 against nine-man Ajax.

Napoli fluffed a chance to qualify for the knockout stage after drawing 1-1 home at home to Salzburg, while defending champion Liverpool held on for a 2-1 win against Belgian side Genk at Anfield.


Five-time champion Barcelona couldn’t score at all, with star striker Lionel Messi hitting the crossbar and having a late shot saved by standout goalkeeper Ondrej Kolar in 0-0 draw with visiting Slavia Prague.

Barcelona remains top of Group F with eight points and Dortmund is only one behind. But Inter has only four and is facing elimination.

While Messi failed to add to his whopping total of 113 goals in Europe’s top club competition, Salzburg’s 19-year-old rising star Erling Haaland made it seven in four games with an early penalty only for Hirving Lozano to equalize for Napoli just before halftime.

Memphis Depay continued his scoring form as Lyon beat Benfica 3-1 to stay in touch with group rival Leipzig, which tops Group G by two points after winning 2-0 at Zenit St. Petersburg.


Group H is up in the air, with Valencia beating Lille 4-1 to join Ajax and Chelsea on seven points with two rounds remaining.

NOT A BRIDGE TOO FAR

Chelsea fell behind after two minutes, then trailed 4-1 after 55, yet almost won on a wild night at Stamford Bridge.

Chelsea’s comeback charge was helped by Ajax — last season’s semifinalist — playing the final 20 minutes with nine men after defender Daley Blind and Joel Veltman were sent off in quick succession.

Substitute Reece James made it 4-4 with a 74th-minute equalizer for coach Frank Lampard’s side.


Chelsea striker Tammy Abraham’s own goal gave Ajax a second-minute lead before Jorginho equalized with his first of two penalties.

Quincy Promes put Ajax in front with a header while another Chelsea own goal — this time by goalkeeper Kepa — and midfielder Donny van de Beek’s strike gave Ajax a three-goal cushion.

Defender Cesar Azpilicueta pulled a goal back in the 63rd and Jorginho notched his second penalty in the 71st — awarded in the same sequence that saw both Blind and Veltman handed a second yellow card — to set up a rousing finish.

Chelsea even thought it had scored a late winner through Azpilicueta, but the goal was ruled out for a handball by Abraham after a video review.

Valencia won with four goals in the last 25 minutes after trailing to Lille striker Victor Osimhen’s 25th-minute strike.

Valencia equalized with a 66th-minute penalty converted by Dani Parejo — Panenka style — and hosts went ahead with an own goal by defender Adama Soumaoro.

Midfielder Geoffrey Kondogbia and substitute Ferrán Torres added late goals.

KEEPER KOLAR

Kolar kept Barcelona at bay with a string of fine saves, denying Messi with his legs in the 79th having earlier saved from the star forward and from Gerard Pique and Sergi Roberto.

Although Barca extended its record unbeaten streak in Europe’s top club competition to 34 consecutive home matches, the Czech side looked sharp on the counterattack and forced eight corners.

A day after turning 21, defender Achraf Hakimi — who is on loan from Real Madrid — scored twice and grabbed Dortmund’s winner in the 77th minute after Inter led 2-0 at halftime thanks to goals from Lautaro Martínez and Matías Vecino.

Hakimi kick-started Dortmund’s comeback in the 51st minute and Julian Brandt equalized in the 64th.

OXLADE-CHAMBERLAIN AGAIN

After scoring twice in a 4-1 win away to Genk two weeks ago, midfielder Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain scored the winner for group leader Liverpool.

Fellow midfielder Georginio Wijnaldum grabbed Liverpool’s first goal in the 14th and, after Ally Mbwana Samatta leveled with a header shortly before halftime, Oxlade-Chamberlain struck in the 53rd.

In Italy, Haaland’s 23rd goal in 17 competitive matches this season silenced the Napoli crowd. But Lozano then scored his first home goal for Napoli.

LEIPZIG LEADS

Leipzig moved to the verge of qualifying from the group stage for the first time, even with star forward Timo Werner only used as a substitute on a freezing night in St. Petersburg.

Leipzig’s breakthrough came on the stroke of halftime when midfielder Diego Demme hammered in a rebound after Marcel Sabitzer’s free kick hit the wall. Sabitzer made it 2-0 midway through the second half.

Depay went off at halftime with a thigh strain, even though coach Rudi Garcia said he wanted to stay on.

The Netherlands forward volleyed home in the 33rd minute from midfielder Houssem Aouar’s cross from the left to make it 2-0 after imposing center half Joachim Andersen netted an early header.

Benfica striker Haris Seferovic pulled a goal back in the 76th, but Lyon substitute Bertrand Traoré made sure of the win in the 89th.

source: sports.inquirer.net

Chelsea gets 13th straight win, Liverpool maintains pursuit

LIVERPOOL, England—Chelsea fought off a dogged Stoke for a record-equaling 13th successive Premier League win as Liverpool maintained its pursuit of the leaders with a victory over Manchester City.

Thanks to Saturday’s 4-2 win, Chelsea will enter the second half of the season holding a six-point advantage over Liverpool in Antonio Conte’s first season in charge of the London club.

Juergen Klopp is also satisfied with Liverpool’s progress as he looks to deliver the club’s first title since 1990 by chasing down Chelsea over the next 19 games.

“Can you imagine how annoying it is when you have won 13 games in a row and another team is only six points behind,” Klopp said after Liverpool’s 1-0 win over City. “It is unbelievably difficult this league.”

It was Pep Guardiola with little to celebrate on New Year’s Eve as City slipped 10 points behind leader Chelsea.

Chelsea has emulated Arsenal’s 2002 side by reeling off 13 wins in a row in the same season and it’s thanks to Willian’s double.

Goals from Gary Cahill and Willian were canceled out by Stoke duo Bruno Martins Indi and Peter Crouch. When Willian put Chelsea in front for a third time in the 65th minute, Stoke could find no way back this time and Diego Costa added a fourth.

“When you win a lot there is a great danger to be satisfied, to be relaxed, to think, ‘OK, but we won a lot in the past, now if arrive the draw, if we don’t lose, if we don’t win it’s not important,'” Conte said. “No. My players showed me great will, great will to fight, great will to win, great will to take this great achievement for us. I’m pleased for them and they deserved this. I’m their coach, but they deserved this.”

Georginio Wijnaldum’s eighth-minute header secured Liverpool’s fourth successive league win. Wijnaldum will take the plaudits for providing his second goal of the season, but Adam Lallana’s contribution underscored how the midfielder is an essential ingredient in the title bid.

It was Lallana’s seventh assist of the season—he has also scored seven—that set up Wijnaldum. The Dutch midfielder climbed above City defender Aleksandar Kolarov to meet Lallana’s well-placed cross from the left flank before planting a header beyond goalkeeper Claudio Bravo.

“It was kind of a wild game,” Klopp said. “It was intense. It’s not about having a philosophy, it’s about adapting to the quality of the opponent and in this case we needed to defend from a compact formation.”

Anthony Martial and Paul Pogba scored late goals in the 85th and 86th minutes to rescue a fifth successive win for Jose Mourinho’s United.

Grant Leadbitter had given Middlesbrough the lead but United gave the watching former manager Alex Ferguson the perfect 75th birthday gift.

“If the fans remember this not just for Sir Alex’s birthday but for the kind of performance we had, I think it’s a great tribute,” Mourinho said.

United’s in-house television channel received a shock after the game when nine-time Olympic Usain Bolt called in with his analysis.

Leicester moved six points clear of the relegation zone on Saturday after the struggling champions ended a three-game winless streak courtesy of Islam Slimani’s header. Leicester moved up one spot to 15th.

Swansea’s miserable form continued in the first game following Bob Bradley’s firing. Benik Afobe and Ryan Fraser scored first-half goals and substitute Josh King completed a comfortable win for Bournemouth in the 88th minute.

In the final five minutes of the first half, Shane Long put Southampton ahead and Matt Phillips equalized. But Hal Robson-Kanu struck a second-half winner for West Bromwich Albion before Southampton defender Virgil van Dijk was sent off in the 88th for bringing down striker Salomon Rondon.

Burnley moved closer to mid-table safety powered by Andre Gray’s hat trick against relegation-threatened Sunderland.

source: sports.inquirer.net

Chelsea, Conte standing out as normality returns to EPL

MANCHESTER, England — In one sense, normality has returned to the English Premier League after the craziness of Leicester’s improbable surge to the title last season.

The top six on Christmas Day are the teams most pundits predicted would be challenging for the title: Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City, Arsenal, Tottenham and Manchester United.

There’s nothing normal about Chelsea’s current form, however.

After 11 straight wins, Chelsea leads the league by six points from Liverpool, heading into the hectic period of festive fixtures that is unique to British soccer. Only once — Arsenal in 2001-02, with 13 straight wins — has a top-tier club had a longer winning streak in one season since World War II.

In the first year of the “super-coach” era in the Premier League, Chelsea manager Antonio Conte is standing head and shoulders above the rest, although it needed a September switch to his favored 3-4-3 formation to get the team to click.

With a stingy defense (two goals conceded in the last 11 games), a dynamic midfield marshalled by N’Golo Kante and a forward line led by the league’s top scorer, Diego Costa, there are no apparent weaknesses in Conte’s lineup. On current evidence, it’s hard to see how the team from southwest London can be stopped.

One thing is for sure, there’ll be no miracle sequel for Leicester in the Premier League. Languishing in 15th place in the 20-team standings, the reigning champions are closer to the relegation zone than the Champions League qualification spots.

It’s back to the heavyweights challenging for the title. And Chelsea is the big favorite.

Title Race

One factor is particularly helping Chelsea and Liverpool in their quests for the title: No European competition.

Such was the extraordinary nature of last season that neither team qualified for the Champions League or even the Europa League. That failure is now allowing them to focus purely on the domestic games, give their players more rest, and have a full week of preparation for Premier League games.

Chelsea hasn’t dropped a point since a 3-0 loss at Arsenal on Sept. 24, during which Antonio Conte changed formation to a 3-4-3 and hasn’t looked back. Like Chelsea, Liverpool has two losses so far.

Man City is in third place, a point behind Liverpool, as coach Pep Guardiola gets to grips with the physical and non-stop demands of English soccer, including no rest at Christmas. Arsenal is a further two points back on 34 points in fourth, Tottenham has 33 and Jose Mourinho’s Man United has 30. For United, some 13 points behind Chelsea, the target has already switched from winning the league to securing Champions League qualification with a top-four finish.

Chelsea has three tough away games left — at Spurs, Liverpool and United — and is proving adept at eking out 1-0 wins. Four of its last six games have finished with that scoreline, including the last three.

Pick of the Players

While Liverpool playmaker Philippe Coutinho, Man City midfielder Kevin De Bruyne, Chelsea midfielder N’Golo Kante and Arsenal forward Alexis Sanchez have starred in patches, Diego Costa has been the only player to have had a consistent impact this season.

Last season, the Spain striker appeared to be more interested in picking fights than scoring goals. Costa is a changed man, though, and has scored a league-high 13 goals while providing five assists.

Five of the goals were winners (against West Ham, Watford, Middlesbrough, West Bromwich Albion and Crystal Palace), an overhead kick earned a draw at Swansea, and another goal sparked a come-from-behind win at Man City in December.

Emerging Talent

There’s another “Harry” making a splash at White Hart Lane.

The 20-year-old Harry Winks is a central midfielder who is getting a run in Tottenham’s first team, starting four of the past eight games at the expense of internationals like Moussa Sissoko and Eric Dier. He scored against West Ham on his full league debut in November and is an intelligent passer with a good technique.

Mauricio Pochettino is renowned for giving youth players a chance to shine during his time at Southampton and now Tottenham. Harry Kane has matured into one of the best strikers in the Premier League under Pochettino, and Winks could be next in line.

Surprise Team

When it was announced in August that West Bromwich Albion had been bought out by Chinese investors, the future of manager Tony Pulis looked precarious despite his record of never having been relegated from the Premier League.

The new owners were wise to keep hold of the 58-year-old Pulis.

Away from the likely title contenders, West Brom is proving to be the best of the rest in the Premier League and at one point early in December was in the top six.

Known for setting his teams out with a solid defensive structure, Pulis has added some flair up front in forwards Nacer Chadli — a club-record signing in the offseason — and Matt Phillips, who operate behind Salomon Rondon. The Baggies have scored three or more times in four games this season, testament to their new-found attacking approach.

Points to Prove
The season started with rival coaches Pep Guardiola and Jose Mourinho expected to be battling it out for the title. The way things are going, they’ll be fighting just to secure Champions League qualification.

Both coaches have had tough spells in the first season with their respective clubs, with Mourinho in particular criticized for public outbursts against his players and a run of poor results over September and October. United has won its last three league games to get back on track, but a current position of sixth is not good enough.

Guardiola started his City tenure with 10 straight victories but has only won six of his next 17, raising questions about his tactics, the team’s defensive stability and whether Guardiola can get to grips with English soccer.

It will help Guardiola to have Sergio Aguero on the field. The Argentina striker has missed seven of City’s 17 league matches through suspension, and needs to make amends in the second half of the season.

source: sports.inquirer.net

Costa heads leader Chelsea to 11th Premier League win in row

LONDON — Demonstrating their efficient transformation under Antonio Conte, Chelsea’s players reeled off an 11th successive victory in a Premier League season for the first time Saturday.

Diego Costa’s header secured a 1-0 win at struggling Crystal Palace, sending the leaders nine points clear of Liverpool and Arsenal.

It came on the first anniversary of Jose Mourinho being fired with the west London club a point above the relegation zone. Apparent harmony in the dressing room has replaced the “palpable discord” with the players which triggered Mourinho’s exit.

Although the wins are racking up, Chelsea might soon pay for its inability to kill off games with the Palace success completing a hat trick of 1-0 victories.

The defense, though, is watertight under Conte, keeping nine clean sheets in the winning run that started after a 3-0 humbling at Arsenal and the switch to a three-man defense.

“The manager must be a tailor and try and find the right fit for the team,” said Conte, the former Italy and Juventus coach. “For sure, for me, it wasn’t easy to arrive and understand very quickly the characteristics of my players. I needed a bit of time.

“I tried a different solution before changing the formation, but I think the most important thing is the mentality, our strong mentality. Also hard work during the week — tactical work, physical work, analysis.”

With mist descending on the Selhurst Park field, the only goal in the lunchtime kickoff came from Chelsea’s first attempt on target in the 43rd minute.

Costa rose above Scott Dann to meet Cesar Azpilicueta’s cross and net his 13th goal of the season. The Spain forward has eclipsed last season’s haul for Chelsea before the halfway point has been reached.

“If we’d arrived here today without the right concentration and focus, the will to fight and go into battle with your opponents, we’d have lost this game for sure,” Conte said. “Instead, we have great quality but the players are putting that quality into the team.”

Chelsea, though, will have to cope without Costa at home to Bournemouth on Dec. 26. Chelsea’s top-scorer picked up a fifth booking of the season for a tackle on Joe Ledley before scoring.

Midfielder N’Golo Kante, who also accumulated five yellow cards with his second-half caution, also has two weeks off before the New Year’s Eve game against Stoke.

Palace manager Alan Pardew might also have an enforced break — unless results improve. Chelsea condemned Palace to an eighth loss in 10 games to leave the south London club three points above the relegation zone.

“Chelsea are very sound defensively and didn’t really give us any chance to get at them as much as we’d have liked,” Pardew said. “They were confident in their defending, (with) good shape and discipline to their actions, and did enough offensively to edge it.”

Chelsea equaled the 2009 team’s 11-match winning run set across two seasons in 2009.

Arsenal’s 14-match winning run in 2002 remains a Premier League record — for now. –Rob Harris/AP

source: sports.inquirer.net