UEFA Champions League: Group Stage pt 4 🚠

 Matchday 4 ⚽🏆

Here were some highlights of the matchday:

• B. Monchengladbach put 4 past Shakhtar Donetsk, making them the top scorers in Group B with 14 goals.
• Barcelona won away from home with Frenkie De Jong and Lionel Messi rested from the starting 11.
• Atletico Madrid and Lokomotiv Moskva played to a nil-nil draw despite Atletico having a goal disallowed for offside by VAR.
• Cristiano Ronaldo scored his 70th home goal in the Champions League, making him joint-top goal-scorer in the competition for such a feat with Lionel Messi. #🐐s

Hello everyone. Another matchday has passed, another night of star-studded action along with it. Hats off to Barcelona, Juventus, Sevilla, Chelsea, Bayern Munich and Man. City, who secured qualification to the round of 16 knockout  stage. This means that 10 teams are left to fill in the remaining slots, something we'll expect to see come the next matchday. Let's get to it now 🍿.

Tuesday, 24 November 2020

Borussia Dortmund vs Club Brugge 

B. Dortmund's youth-talented team came out on top in this game. Erling Haaland opened the scoring with a left-footed strike in the 18th minute. Dortmund continued with their chances on the Brugge goal and were rewarded with a free-kick in the 45th minute. Up stepped Jadon Sancho who scored a dazzling free-kick to give Dortmund a two-goal advantage. Dortmund went about the second-half similar to the first, looking to put the game to bed. When the 60th minute came, Haaland reacted fastest to a spilled ball to make it three for Dortmund and a brace for himself. That goal took the young Norwegian to 6 goals in this season's competition, making him the current top goal-scorer.

Dortmund were imperious

Manchester United vs Istanbul Basaksehir

What a turn of events😲😂! Man. Utd responded emphatically to their disappointing defeat in Turkey with a dominant display in this game. Bruno Fernandes grabbed a brace in this game as he got onto the scoresheet with a belter for his first goal 💥 and predatory anticipated tap-in goal after an error made by Istanbul's goalkeeper. In the 35th minute, Man. Utd were awarded a penalty which gave Fernandes the chance to secure a first-half hat-trick. However, the Portuguese international unselfishly handed the spot-kick to Marcus Rashford, who duly slotted the penalty away. In the second-half, Istanbul were awarded a free-kick which they scored in extraordinary fashion. Deniz Turuc's shot was parried away by David de Gea only for the referee to confirm that Turuc had scored, thanks to goal-line technology. The Turkish side came close to a second goal when Edin Visca struck the post in the 80th minute. Man. Utd eventually secured the points when Daniel James finished off a counter-attack in the 92nd minute of stoppage time.

Important win for United

Rennes vs Chelsea

The Blues secured qualification to the round of 16 after claiming all three points in this game. It all began when Mason Mount played a good ball in for Callum Hudson-Odoi who managed to guide the ball past the keeper to put Chelsea in-front. Before that happened, Timo Werner had a glorious chance to get on the scoring but he skied his shot over the crossbar. Mason Mount came close himself in the 29th minute but Rennes' keeper, Alfred Gomis, was on hand to clear the shot away. In the second-half, Rennes put the pressure on Chelsea as there were chances from Hamari Traore, Serhou Guirassy and Gerzino Nyamsi. They finally broke through in the 85th minute after a powerful Guirassy header went past Edouard Mendy in goal. To think that the drama ended there, it didn't. Olivier Giroud scored a header in the 91st after Werner was denied by Gomis. A frantic finish, which saw Chelsea through to the round of 16.

Qualification sorted

Wednesday, 25 November 2020

Ajax vs Midtjylland 

Ajax were a joy to watch in this game. They created chances in the first-half but were just not able to put their efforts in the back of the net. In the second-half, the goals started to flood in. Ryan Gravenberch unleashed one from the locker to put the Dutch team ahead. Two minutes later, in the 49th minute, Noussar Mazraoui extended the lead after a well-drilled team move. Ajax were not done from there, as David Neres netted an exquisite goal to put the game beyond reach for Midtjylland. Midtjylland did manage to get a goal back via a penalty. Awer Mabil was fouled in the box and was the same player to take the spot-kick for Midtjylland's consolation in the game. In the 91st minute of injury time, Midtyjlland's captain, Erik Sviatchenko, was shown red after he denied Neres from getting any closer into the penalty area. 

All started with a bang 💥

Liverpool vs Atalanta

A twist of a tale in this one. Atalanta looked the more threatening in the first-half when Robin Gosens had a shot flash past the woodwork. Liverpool failed to create any real threat of their own in the first-half. In the second-half, the Italian team stamped their foot on the game. Papu Gomez crossed one in for Josip Illicic to sneak in, in the 60th minute. 4 minutes later, Robin Gosens finally got a goal in the game, after he side-footed a shot off the head of his teammate. Liverpool struggled to find a way back in the game as Atalanta surprisingly held their defense together. Atalanta eventually held on for a stunning victory which saw Liverpool beaten at Anfield for the first time in 2020.

Atalanta with the upset

Marseille vs Porto

Both teams finished with 10 men in this one. Marseille created a fair amount of good chances in the game but were not able to put their balls in the back of Porto's net. Porto had a similar amount of chances in the first half as well. Porto did break through in the 39th minute when Zaidu Sanusi had a shot saved before hitting the ball back into the net. In the second-half, Marko Grujic was shown a red card by the ref as he got a second yellow card for a foul on a Marseille player. In the 70th minute, Porto were awarded a penalty resulting in the sending off of Leonardo Balerdi. Sergio Olivera took the penalty and scored to ensure that the Portuguese side grabbed the win.

Porto players celebrate

The results for matchday 4 were as follows:

Tuesday, 24 November 2020

Rennes 1-2 Chelsea                   ←Click here to watch this game

B. Dortmund 3-0 Club Brugge  ←Click here to watch this game

PSG 1-0 RB Leipzig

Krasnodar 1-2 Sevilla

Dynamo Kyiv 0-4 Barcelona       ←Click here to watch this game

Man. Utd 4-1 Istanbul Basaksehir  ←Click here to watch this game

Lazio 3-1 Zenit

Juventus 2-1 Ferencvaros

Wednesday, 25 November 2020

B. Monchengladbach 4-0 Shakhtar Donetsk  ←Click here to watch this game

Atletico Madrid 0-0 Lokomotiv Moskva

Ajax 3-1 Midtjylland                              ←Click here to watch this game

Olympiacos 0-1 Man. City 

Inter Milan 0-2 Real Madrid  

Liverpool 0-2 Atalanta                     ←Click here to watch this game

Bayern Munich 3-1 RB Salzburg 

Marseille 0-2 Porto                        ←Click here to watch this game

That marks the second-half...of the 2020/21 season group stage. 6 teams have qualified for the round of 16 and 10 spots are left. Who will complete the slots and who will face relegation to the Europa League and being completely eliminated from the competition? Stay tuned as we look forward to matchday 5!

See you next matchday ⚽🏆❗🛣