UCL Archives - Iran News Daily

Inter’s Goal Is to Reach UCL Final: Taremi

mahla — Wed, 02 Oct 2024 21:06:56 +0000

TEHRAN (Iran News) Inter defeated Red Star 4-0 Tuesday night and the Iranian striker was on target from the penalty spot.

Taremi was ‘so glad’ to get his first competitive Inter goal and said their aim must be to at least reach the Champions League Final this season.

“I am glad to score tonight, to play good, thanks to my teammates. It was great,” Taremi told Sky Sport Italia.

It was his first competitive goal for the Nerazzurri and he was deservedly named Man of the Match by UEFA.

“I am so excited, it took a while for me to score, but I always tried to do my best in training, I fought for this moment and managed to get the goal tonight.”

“Our goal as a big club is to reach the Final, as Inter must try to win every game. We will take it step by step,” Taremi concluded.

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FC Barcelona announce squad for Champions League debut against Borussia Dortmund

reporter 1222 — Tue, 17 Sep 2019 13:20:10 +0000

There’s some great news for this game: Lionel Messi is back after missing the first six weeks of the season with a calf injury, and goalkeeper Neto returns following a surgery in his hand. That means only Ousmane Dembélé (hamstring) and Samuel Umtiti (foot) miss out through injury, and they were the only members of the squad to not make the trip to Dortmund.

Goalkeepers: 1. Marc-André ter Stegen, 13. Neto, 26. Iñaki Peña

Defenders: 2. Nélson Semedo, 3. Gerard Piqué, 6. Jean-Clair Todibo, 15. Clément Lenglet, 16. Moussa Wagué, 18. Jordi Alba, 24. Junior Firpo

Midfielders: 4. Ivan Rakitic, 5. Sergio Busquets, 8. Arthur, 19. Carles Aleñá, 20. Sergi Roberto, 21. Frenkie De Jong, 22. Arturo Vidal

Forwards: 9. Luis Suárez, 10. Lionel Messi, 17. Antoine Griezmann, 27. Carles Pérez, 31. Ansu Fati

Predicted starting XI (4-3-3):

Ter Stegen; Semedo, Piqué, Lenglet, Alba; De Jong, Busquets, Arthur; Griezmann, Suárez, Ansu Fati

The match kicks off at 9pm CET (Barcelona), 8pm BST/WAT (UK & Nigeria), 3pm ET, 12pm PT (USA), 12.30am IST (India, Wednesday), and you can join us to follow and comment all the action.

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Liverpool beat Spurs 2-0 to win Champions League final in Madrid

reporter 1222 — Sun, 02 Jun 2019 04:30:24 +0000

Liverpool has won the 2019 Champions League after Divock Origi scored with just minutes to go to the final whistle – taking the score to Tottenham 0-2 Liverpool.

Mohamed Salah scored the Reds opening goal from the penalty spot in under two minutes from kick off.

It is Liverpool’s sixth European Cup title, having last won the competition in 2005 and reaching two finals since then.

This was Tottenham’s first time making it all the way as they overcome to the likes of Manchester City and Ajax in the quarter and semi-finals respectively.

James Pearce, Ian Doyle and Connor Dunn are at the Wanda Metropolitano this evening to bring you live updates, reaction and news from the game.

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UCL: Liverpool 2-0 Porto

reporter 1222 — Wed, 10 Apr 2019 13:01:46 +0000

The Merseyside Reds dominated the match and got on the scoresheet early when Naby Keita scored from edge of the box 5 minutes into the match. Then, the Brazilian striker Roberto Firmino doubled the lead for Liverpool after he tucked home from close range in the 26th minute.

With the victory, Jurgen Klopp team will now head to Portugal for the second leg on the 17th of April as strong favorites to reach the semi-finals of the event for the second successive year.

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Real Madrid 1-4 Ajax: Brilliant visitors knock out Champions League holders

reporter 1222 — Wed, 06 Mar 2019 07:12:02 +0000

In a single week at the Bernabéu they have been knocked out of the Copa del Rey, the league, and the competition they made their own. When the end came, it was brutal. It was also brilliant. Ajax came and tore them to bits, scoring four goals, each more impressive than the last.This is the third time Ajax have won here in this competition, after 1973 and 1995. The last two times they won the European Cup; few would expect that now, those days long gone, but on this evidence that romantic idea may not be so misplaced.

Madrid are bad, it is true. Their “shit season” in Dani Carvajal’s words, is over in March, thanks to three home defeats in seven with an aggregate score of 8-1. But it is also true that Ajax are very good. Goals from Hakim Ziyech, David Neres, Dusan Tadic and Lasse Schöne were the consequence of a collective superiority that was startling and they are deservedly through: too fast, too incisive, too well organised for a team that is disintegrating, a generation that has come to a close.

Santi Solari said afterwards “so much had happened”, and he was right. Madrid suffered three injuries, Lucas Vázquez and Vinícius withdrawn within half an hour and Gareth Bale limping through the final minutes. They also hit the post twice. Nacho was sent off in added time. And there was a five-minute wait for the VAR to allow Ajax’s third goal – the kind of delay that makes technology more a hinderance than a help. And yet sometimes for all the analysis, all the detail, there is a simple truth and that was the case here: Ajax were better than Madrid.

Somehow, Ajax lost 2-1 in Amsterdam, the chance to progress seemingly escaping them against team that has shown a remarkable ability to prevail. No team has ever gone through after losing the first leg 2-1 at home and Sergio Ramos considered Madrid’s passage so certain that he sought a deliberate yellow card and a suspension. That decision looks daft now; he from the stands as watched Ajax won in a manner that was entirely incontestable.

Ajax knew they needed two and if the first leg had suggested they could get them, even the most optimistic would not have expected to get them so soon. Six minutes had gone when Toni Kroos, that “diesel-powered tractor” as Bernd Schuster had called him, had the ball taken from him. Tadic escaped up the right and pulled back for Ziyech to score with a finish as tidy as the move had been. Madrid were passive; Ajax were aggressive, the precision at pace impressive, the mastery of space even more so.

Ajax took control; Madrid, so vulnerable, lost it entirely, the early sense that this was slipping away already shared in the stands and increasing when a superb second goal arrived. Tadic performed a roulette, away from Casemiro, and slipped a perfectly weighted pass into the area. Neres, who a few minutes earlier had bamboozled Carvajal with a ludicrously brilliant piece of skill, took it round Courtois and finished.

The game had not even reached the 20th minute and Ajax had two. More might have followed in the first half, another wonderful pass from Tadic sending Neres through only for his lob over Courtois to drift wide. The way that came soon felt familiar, Frenkie de Jong, Donny van de Beek and Schöne picking Madrid’s players off. Ajax were dominant, Madrid desperate.

A wonderful ball from Daley Blind released Tadic, whose shot hit Courtois’s legs, and the Belgian made a sharp save from Ziyech. Madrid were overwhelmed, which is not to say that they had no opportunities. André Onana saved from Vázquez and they twice struck the frame. Raphaël Varane’s header thudded against the bar in the fourth minute before the tsunami started rolling and Bale hit the near post. Vinícius’s injury had come as he shot.

A second-half reaction, starting in the stands where roars replaced the resignation, did not last long. Marco Asensio and Karim Benzema had efforts but Ajax managed this marvellously. Van de Beek was denied by Courtois; Ziyech hit wide; and barely seconds after seeing Benzema step inside him and bed a shot just wide, Noussair Mazraoui was at the other end smashing into the side-netting. He then slid in to stop the ball going out and Ajax ran again, the ball worked to Tadic who curled into the top corner.

Their Ajax fans roared and then, like everyone, fell silent. Felix Brych, the referee, had his finger in his ear. The wait for the VAR was long, Brych pacing, listening, Madrid’s fate in the balance. Eventually, he pointed to the centre circle: goal! Asensio pulled one back but this was done, Schöne scoring a magnificent bending free kick from near the touchline that went over Courtois. Benzema slipped at the very end and a worse miss came from Ziyech, but it did not matter. Ajax had enough, Ajax had four.

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Ronaldo wins again at Old Trafford as Juve beats United 1-0

reporter 1222 — Wed, 24 Oct 2018 12:30:34 +0000

MANCHESTER, England — Cristiano Ronaldo was walking off the field, a winner once again at Old Trafford, when two young fans brandishing cell phones attempted to get to the Portugal superstar.

One was rugby-tackled to the ground by security staff; the other was forcibly held back. But the five-time world player of the year hung around and, with a broad smile, eventually gave them the selfie they craved.

Ronaldo certainly enjoyed his return to former club Manchester United on Tuesday.

Juventus, Ronaldo’s new team, beat United 1-0 for a third straight win in the Champions League, moving the Italian club to the brink of qualification just halfway through the group phase.

Unlike the last time he was at the stadium — for Real Madrid in 2013 — Ronaldo didn’t score but he was involved in the only goal, sending in a cross from the right wing that was eventually swept home by Paulo Dybala in the 17th minute.

Dangerous going forward and typically obdurate at the back, Juventus delivered a powerful performance that extended its unbeaten start to the season to 11 games and strengthened its status as one of the serious contenders for the Champions League — a competition it hasn’t won since 1996.

With Ronaldo leading the attack, this might be its best chance in years to end the drought.

“We played against one of the biggest — really biggest — candidates to win the Champions League,” said United manager Jose Mourinho, who was effusive in his praise for the Italian side.

Not just of Ronaldo, but especially of Juventus’ two dominant center backs.

“Mr. Bonucci and Mr. Chiellini could teach classes in Harvard on how to be a central defender,” Mourinho said.

This was another chastening loss — a fourth of the season — for United, highlighting the gulf between the heavyweights of the continent and what was once England’s top team. Juventus toyed with United at times, especially in the first half.

He was always going to be the focal point of this game anyway but attention grew even more in the wake of an allegation of rape against him in the United States. Kathryn Mayorga filed a civil lawsuit last month in Nevada claiming the Portuguese star raped her in his Las Vegas hotel room in 2009. Police also reopened an investigation into the allegation at her request. Ronaldo’s attorney, Peter S. Christiansen, issued a statement on Oct. 10 denying wrongdoing by his client.

Five years ago, Ronaldo was introduced as the “magnificent seven” when he came to Old Trafford — where he played for United from 2003-09 — with Madrid for a last-16 match in 2013. He was given a standing ovation by United fans that night and ended up scoring the winning goal to eliminate his former club from the Champions League.

On Tuesday, Ronaldo wasn’t given the big build-up by the stadium announcer as the team lineup was read out but his name was cheered loudly by home supporters. And a few minutes into the game, a fan came onto the playing surface from the Stretford End stand and got to within a few meters of Ronaldo at the other end of the field before being stopped by slow-reacting security.

As he lay on the ground, the fan stretched his arms toward Ronaldo, almost pleadingly.

Then came the incident involving the pitch invaders at the end of the match. Ronaldo was applauded by fans for giving them their selfie.

During the match, Ronaldo’s flicks, tricks and power were all on display as he switched from the left flank to a central position. However, Dybala was arguably the most impressive of Juventus’ attackers and the Argentina international grabbed the winner.

Ronaldo delivered a cross from the right wing, United defender Chris Smalling got in front of Juan Cuadrado at the near post to block the ball but it fell to Dybala, who converted from the edge of six-yard box.

United took a while to get going, having already arrived at the stadium later than planned because the team bus carrying the players got stuck in traffic around Old Trafford. The same thing happened before United’s last home group game, against Valencia, but this time kickoff didn’t need to be delayed.

Ronaldo had a free kick late in the first half batted away by United goalkeeper David De Gea, who then tipped over a fiercely struck shot from the Portugal forward soon after halftime.

United rallied in the final half hour, and Paul Pogba saw a curling shot hit the post before bouncing off goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny to safety.

“What the players showed today,” said Juventus coach Massimiliano Allegri, “was when to slow the game down, when to speed the game up.”

Juventus has nine points, five more than second-place United.

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Champions League draw: Chelsea to face Barcelona in last 16

reporter 1222 — Mon, 11 Dec 2017 11:55:21 +0000

Chelsea must find a way past five-time winners Barcelona in the last 16 of the Champions League, while Tottenham face a tricky tie against last season’s runners-up Juventus.

Antonio Conte’s side finished second in their group behind Roma and their reward is a tie against La Liga’s leaders, with the first leg taking place at Stamford Bridge. Elsewhere, Manchester City were handed potentially the most straightforward task whe they were paired with Swiss champions Basel, with Liverpool up against Porto.

Four first legs will be played on Tuesday and Wednesday 13/14 February, and the remainder the following week.

The draw is not what Chelsea wanted after Conte conceded that the defence of their Premier League crown was over after this weekend’s defeat to West Ham.

But he will hope to invoke the memory of their remarkable win over the Catalan giants in 2012, when a late goal from Ramires saw them reach the Champions League final on away goals despite the earlier dismissal of John Terry.

Spurs meanwhile can expect to face a sterner test than that posed by Juventus in their last meeting in a pre-season friendly at Wembley in May, which the north Londoners won 2-0.

City will be delighted to land Swiss outsiders Basel. But they will have good cause to be wary against their experienced opposition, who beat both United and Benfica on their way to qualifying as runners-up from Group A.

Last-16 ties

Juventus v Tottenham; Basel v Manchester City; Porto v Liverpool; Sevilla v Manchester United; Real Madrid v Paris Saint-Germain; Shakhtar Donetsk v Roma; Chelsea v Barcelona; Bayern Munich v Besiktas

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