By: Tagdh McGinty
Real Madrid Vs. Roma
Real Madrid secured first place in the Champions League Group G with a 2-0 victory over Roma at the Stadio Olimpico Tuesday although the Italians are also through to round 16. Real’s win, thanks to second-half goals from Gareth Bale and Lucas Vazquez, means the European champions are guaranteed to top the group due to a better head-to-head record over the hosts.
Like Real, Roma had already clinched a place in the knockout stages with one game to spare thanks to Viktoria Plzen’s 2-1 win at CSKA Moscow in the early kickoff, which leaves Eusebio di Francesco’s side five points clear of third place.
Real and Roma went into the game locked on nine points but having both suffered shock domestic league defeats at the weekend–the Italians losing 1-0 at lowly Udinese while Madrid suffered a stunning 3-0 reverse away to mid-table Eibar. Roma was without injured forward Edin Dzeko, the Champions League joint-top scorer this season with five goals, and the Bosnian’s absence was felt during a wasteful first half.
Real keeper Thibaut Courtois blocked Patrik Schick’s effort from point-blank range before an Aleksandar Kolarov strike from a distance shy of the post, but Cengiz Under created the best chance just before the break when he fired over from close range.
The home side was made to pay for their profligacy as Real went in front within two minutes of the restart as Welshman Gareth Bale pounced on a poor header back towards his own goal by Federico Fazio before finishing into the corner. Shortly after Santiago Solari’s side doubled the advantage just before the hour. Bale curled a cross to the back post and Karim Benzema’s knockdown put the ball on a plate for Vazquez to tap in.
That knocked the stuffing out of Roma, and it was the visitors who threatened to find a third, with Marcelo and Benzema both testing Robin Olsen in the Roma goal. The result ended a run of eight home Champions League games without defeat for Roma as Real became the first away team to win at the Olimpico in Europe since 2016.
Manchester City Vs. Roma
After missing several first-half chances, Maxwel Cornet finally got his goal 10 minutes into the second half, seeing a curling shot deflect off Oleksandr Zinchenko and in, but Aymeric Laporte leveled seven minutes later with a close-range header. Cornet then restored Lyon’s lead late on (81), but Sergio Aguero leaped superbly to nod home a Riyad Mahrez corner two minutes later to secure City’s passage to the last 16.
The result means City can secure top spot in Group F if they avoid defeat against Hoffenheim at the Etihad on matchday six. The hosts had the better of an action-packed yet goalless first half and should have been ahead through former Manchester United forward Memphis Depay, the ball coming off his studs after Cornet had laid it on a plate for him six yards out.
Cornet himself then should have scored before the half-hour mark, struggling to get his feet right while completely unmarked from Ferland Mendy’s left-wing delivery and City were lucky to go into the break level as Cornet hit the woodwork late on, seeing his scissor-kick volley bounce up off the ground and come off Ederson’s left-hand post.
It was 1-0 at 55 minutes, however, as Cornet collected Depay’s center on the edge, cut onto his left foot and saw a fine effort nick off Zinchenko and over Ederson into the far corner. City reacted well as Aguero’s header forced Anthony Lopes into a fine save from point-blank range, but he could not keep out Laporte’s header from similar range after David Silva had flicked on Raheem Sterling’s free-kick cross.
Leroy Sane then saw a shot from the left of the box almost creep over the line from Lopes’ fumble, but it was 2-1 with nine minutes remaining as Cornet slotted under Ederson from the left of the box after being fed in the box by Depay again. City answered back yet again, however, as Aguero rose brilliantly above the Lyon defense to glance a Mahrez corner into the far post two minutes later.
Shakhtar scored a dramatic late winner at Hoffenheim to win 3-2, meaning Lyon must now wait until matchday six to qualify for the last 16.
Manchester United Vs. Young Boys
Fellaini’s 91st-minute winner, United’s first home goal in this season’s Champions League, prompted an outburst from Jose Mourinho, who launched a drinks bottle holder into the ground as emotions got the better of him at the end of a frustrating night at Old Trafford.
The hosts were also thankful for a stunning David de Gea save as the Spaniard clawed the ball from off the goal line after Ulisses Garcia’s shot deflected towards the bottom corner. But the victory sees them qualify for the last-16 with a game to spare at the expense of Valencia, who drop into the Europa League after defeat at Group H leaders Juventus.
The Old Trafford faithful were made to endure another monotonous first half, with United registering just a single attempt on target in the opening 45 minutes. Things could have been different had Marcus Rashford found the target after being played through on goal inside five minutes, but the England international’s lofted effort nestled on the roof of the Young Boys’ goal.
Fred whistled a shot over on six minutes before a neat exchanged played Rashford into space in the area, and he drew David von Ballmoos into a low save. Chances were few and far between for United but Young Boys staked a late claim for the lead on the stroke of half-time as Djibril Sow’s backheel went wide at the near post.
