close
close

first Drop

Com TW NOw News 2024

    • Champions League briefing: Duran decides, David beats Real Madrid and Juventus’ classic comeback
    news

    Champions League briefing: Duran decides, David beats Real Madrid and Juventus’ classic comeback

    Vaseline Posted on

    Sometimes fairytales become reality in the Champions League.

    On the second night of matchday two, Aston Villa’s super-sub extraordinaire Jhon Duran stole the show as he produced another signature piece of magic off the bench to guide his team in their first home match in Europe’s elite cup competition in 41 years. to a 1-0 win over German giants Bayern Munich.

    Bayern was not the only heavyweight to fall on Wednesday. Canadian striker Jonathan David proved the difference as Lille upset Real Madrid by the same scoreline.

    Elsewhere, Liverpool beat Bologna to fall 2-0 behind at Anfield, while in Germany, 10-man Juventus defeated RB Leipzig 3-2 in a match that featured more quality goals than you could shake a stick at.

    Here are the best stories from Wednesday’s action.

    Fear it, run for it – Jhon Duran arrives anyway

    Considering the level of scoring in the final stages of a match, is there any player in world football at the moment who is more inevitable than Jhon Duran?

    Twenty minutes before the end, Unai Emery replaced Ollie Watkins with Duran. Nine minutes later he scored a world-class goal, befitting his seemingly prodigious talent, to put Villa on course to a 1-0 victory over Bayern Munich. That’s the same result as the last and only other time Villa played the German giants – in the 1982 European Cup final.

    As Duran broke free from Bayern centre-back Dayot Upamecano halfway through, Villa centre-back Pau Torres played a long pass into the channel between Upamecano and Bayern right-back Konrad Laimer.

    The ball bounced and decelerated, and the average striker might have taken a tap, positioned his body in front of an opposing defender and tried to bring his teammates into the game. But if it wasn’t clear yet, it is now: Duran is not an average striker.

    The 20-year-old looked at the bouncing ball with Upamecano in pursuit and saw Manuel Neuer far off his line.

    Then, in one move, the Colombian international turned on his right foot and hit a looping shot on the half-volley with his left over the Bayern goalkeeper from 30 yards out and into the goal.

    It is Duran’s sixth goal of the season, five of which came after he started on the substitutes’ bench. As researched by The Athleticshe is difficult and distant at times, but his incredible talent is undeniable.

    Video for British readers

    Video for US readers

    David ruins Endrick’s big moment

    Real Madrid’s dominant history in the Champions League is such that club records in European football’s most prestigious tournament are not easily broken.
    However, Endrick, who became the youngest player to score for the club in the Champions League in last month’s 3-1 win over Stuttgart, broke another record on matchday two.

    The 18-year-old striker became the youngest player to start a game for Real Madrid in the tournament after Wednesday’s shock 1-0 defeat to Lille. He replaced Kylian Mbappé in Carlo Ancelotti’s starting line-up, with the Frenchman just fit enough to start from the bench, and takes that record from club legend Raul, who has held the record since 1995.

    Real Madrid’s youngest CL starters

    Player Age Year Opponent

    Endrik

    18y and 73d

    2024

    Lille

    Raul

    18y and 78d

    1995

    Ajax

    Iker Casillas

    18y and 118d

    1999

    Olympiacos

    Vinicius Junior

    18y and 153d

    2018

    CSKA Moscow

    Rafael Varane

    18y and 155d

    2011

    Ajax

    Judging by the rest of the top five, this could be the first of many records the Brazilian breaks at the Santiago Bernabeu. Iker Casillas, considered the greatest goalkeeper in the club’s history, is next on the list, followed by Endrick’s compatriot and Ballon d’Or favorite Vinicius Junior. Raphael Varane, who won four Champions League trophies during his ten-year spell in Madrid, rounds out the quintet.

    But if anyone has been aware of the record, it’s Endrick, who is apparently obsessed with football history. When selected to play for Brazil against England at Wembley, Endrick cited World Cup winner Bobby Charlton, who retired in 1980, as an idol and inspiration. As a result, his Madrid teammates, including Englishman Jude Bellingham, have nicknamed him ‘Bobby’.

    However, he could not help Real Madrid that evening as Lille recorded a famous victory over the reigning European champions. Endrick was substituted for Mbappé shortly after half-time, but the Frenchman was unable to cancel out Canada international Jonathan David’s first-half penalty.

    David has started the season in electric form with five goals from six league appearances, and with his contract expiring next summer he will be on the radar of some of Europe’s biggest clubs.

    Video for British readers

    Video for US readers

    Sesko and Conceicao have a golazo competition

    Benjamin Sesko’s future threatened to become one of the biggest stories of the transfer window in the early weeks of the summer, before committing his immediate future to RB Leipzig by signing a contract extension until 2029.

    He has been linked with some of Europe’s biggest clubs, including Manchester United, Chelsea and Arsenal in the Premier League. If you’re a fan of either side, look away now. Here’s what you might have had.

    Leipzig fell victim to a thrilling Juventus comeback at the Red Bull Arena, but Sesko kicked things off by making a splitting run through the heart of the Italian defense. His attacking partner Lois Openda played a diagonal chipped pass into the Slovenian’s path and the 6ft frontman extended his right foot to cushion the ball perfectly into his path.

    Juventus keeper Michele Di Gregorio, who was later sent off for actions outside the penalty area, closed the corner, but Sesko hit a shot that hit the goal via the crossbar.

    Video for British readers

    Video for US readers

    However, Sesko wasn’t done yet. Juventus leveled the scores through Dusan Vlahovic in the second half, but Leipzig took advantage of the extra man to earn a penalty, which the 21-year-old calmly fired past Mattia Perin, who had replaced Di Gregorio in the Juventus net. Vlahovic hit back soon afterwards, scoring a powerful left-footed effort from distance in the 68th minute.

    And there was still time for another great goal in Saxony. Francisco Conceicao, who signed Juventus from Porto this summer, opened his Champions League account for his new side with a dazzling run into the box, past Leipzig defender David Raum before slotting home the winner.

    This was a real Champions League match.

    Video for British readers

    Video for US readers

    Two penalties, two own goals and two lookalikes with flags

    It was the first home Champions League match in Girona’s history and the supporters will apologize for getting quite drunk for the occasion. But as the assistant referees ushered out the players on either side of referee Urs Schyner, fans at Estadi Municipal de Montilivi in ​​Girona might have thought Catalonia’s best drink had caused them to see double.

    For the first time in tournament history, there were identical twins on an assistant referee team. Swiss duo Marco and Benjamin Zucher supported Schyner in Girona’s 3-2 defeat to Feyenoord, their second defeat in as many games after a late 1-0 defeat to Paris Saint-Germain on matchday one.

    It turned out that the officials had their work cut out for them.

    David Lopez opened the scoring for Girona in the 19th minute, before an own goal from Yangel Herrera brought Feyenoord back on level terms four minutes later. Within 10 minutes, Feyenoord took the lead through Antoni Milambo and were then awarded a penalty after a failed clearance attempt from the back.

    It was the first of two saved penalties of the evening, with Ayase Ueda’s spot-kick saved by former Tottenham Hotspur goalkeeper Paulo Gazzaniga in the Girona goal.

    Feyenoord stopper Timon Wellenreuther returned the favor in the 67th minute, saving Bojan Miovski’s attempt from twelve yards. Girona found the equalizer minutes later through Donny van de Beek, but in what turned out to be another double, the Catalan club scored the second own goal of the evening through Ladislav Krejci.

    After losing 4-0 to Bayer Leverkusen in the opening match in the Champions League, Feyenoord has its European season on track. However, Girona has zero points from two games and has the ignominy of already equaling the record for most own goals in a single Champions League season with three.

    Atletico Madrid is destroyed in Portugal

    Atletico Madrid: stable, resilient, defense first, right? Right?

    Since becoming manager in 2011, Diego Simeone has built Atletico in the image of himself as a player. Simeone was a tenacious and tenacious midfielder who fought for every loose ball, and Atletico’s success over the past decade has been largely down to these factors. However, there was none of that, as Benfica defeated them 4-0 on Wednesday.

    In any case, Atletico was lucky that there were only four. Benfica scored two penalties through Angel Di Maria and Orkun Kokcu (Kerem Akturkoglu and Alexander Bah got their other goals) and scored an expected goals ratio of 4.21 from 19 shots and 10 on target. Atletico, on the other hand, recorded an xG of just 0.21 and did not register a single shot on target in the tie.

    Still, the lack of crowds will likely frustrate Simeone the most. They won 29 matches, compared to Benfica’s 54, with a success rate of 34 percent. Before the match, Atletico had not lost in fourteen games and nine away games. Maybe it’s an anomaly, but Simeone won’t let that go anytime soon.

    go deeper

    GO DEEPER

    Understanding Aston Villa’s Jhon Duran: ‘Nothing he got was free’

    (Top Photos: Getty Images)

    Vaseline
    View all posts

    You Might Also Like