Milan survive PSV test to reach group stage

Kevin-Prince Boateng scored twice for AC Milan as they survived a stern test from PSV Eindhoven's young team to reach the Champions League group stage on Wednesday.

Mario Balotelli also struck his first European goal for Milan in a flattering 3-0 second-leg win which took them through 4-1 on aggregate in the qualifying tie.

Seven-times European champions Milan, forced into the playoffs after finishing third in Serie A last season, were under huge pressure to reach the group stage and survived several scares from the Dutch side in the first half.

PSV, with an average age of just over 22 and four teenagers in the starting line-up, were unfazed by the imposing San Siro as they enjoyed more possession.

They nearly went ahead in the eighth minute when Tim Matavz's header was clawed away by goalkeeper Christian Abbiati and Milan took the lead with a low 25-metre shot from Boateng one minute later.

Abbiati made another important save to turn away Adam Maher's 30-metre volley and the visitors had two more chances just before halftime as Jetro Willems' looping cross hit the crossbar before Abbiati scrambled away another Matavz effort.

In between, Milan forward Stephan El Shaarawy rifled a shot against the underside of the crossbar before the ball bounced back into play.

Balotelli, Cup-tied from Milan's Champions League matches last season after his move from Manchester City in January, made the game safe in the 55th minute, diverting Philippe Mexes's flick into the roof of the net from close range.

PSV continued to play good football, only for Boateng to power into the penalty area and add a third with an angled shot in the 77th minute.


Read More... Résuméabuiyad

SV Eindhoven v AC Milan 20.08.2013 uefa champions league

SV Eindhoven v AC Milan
Football : Champions League : Qualifier
Tuesday 20th August - Kickoff 7:45pm

 

PSV Eindhoven

PSV Eindhoven (PSV) host AC Milan on Tuesday night in the first leg of their Champions League Qualifier. With a tough trip to the San Siro next week, PSV really need to win this first leg at the Phillips Stadium and that won't be an easy task.

Cocu's side lost out to Ajax last season in the Dutch Eredivisie and as a result have to qualifyg via the playoffs. In the summer PSV spent £2.5m on Bruma from Chelsea as well as former player Park on loan, however they also lost a lot of talent in Pieters, Mertens and Strootman.

Domestically PSV have an advantage, they are 3 games into their season whilst Milan are still in pre season. PSV have also won all 3 games, 2 to nil and scoring a huge 11 goals in the process.

AC Milan

Italian giants Milan finished third in their domestic campaign last season behind Napoli and Champions Juventus. Italian football has been in a decline in recent years since rival Inter's Champions League win and the thought of Milan not qualifying for the group stage is unthinkable.

Allegri has bought in Poli into the midfield during the summer and he needs to play well along side Montolivo. Team news from Milan is that Robinho and De Sciglio both miss out but Balotelli should start despite a few fitness doubts from last week.

Milan have won just 2 of their last 6 away Champions League games losing the other 4. I must add that the sides to beat them were Barcelona (x2), Arsenal and Malaga all sides that were stronger than this year's PSV.

 

 

match live here

Read More... Résuméabuiyad

Grasshoppers Zurich v Olympique Lyon 06.08.2013 uefa champions league

Grasshoppers Zurich v Olympique Lyon
Football : Champions League: Third Qualifying Round
Venue: Stadion Letzigrund, Zurich (SUI)
Tuesday 6th August – Kickoff time: 21:00 GMT+1

Grasshoppers Zurich (Switzerland)

After their demanding match against Olympique in Lyon, Grashopper Zurich were held to a goalless draw by bottom placed Lausanne in the Swiss Super League on Saturday.

It was a poor result for Grasshoppers considering the fact that Lausanne recorded three consecutive defeats before facing GCZ.

Michael Skibbe’s side will now focus on their second leg match against Lyon in which they’ll need to score without conceding a goal in order to at least take the tie into extra time.

Grasshoppers lost the first leg (0-1), but their solid first half performance gives them hope ahead of the return fixture in Switzerland.

The Swiss side could have scored twice in the first half an hour, but Michael Lang’s shot and Shkelen Gashi’s header found the post.  

Olympique Lyon (France)

 Olympique Lyonnais could be happy with the first leg result, they are obviously not at their best yet, but luckily for them they managed to win the first match against the Swiss side without conceding.

Alexandre Lacazette or Grenier were unable to convert their opportunities against GCZ, so Lyon needed a defender to put them ahead. Bisevac’s excellent header made the difference at Stade Gerland last week.

Meanwhile, Lyon’s officials are still working on improving the squad, on Thursday they’ve announced the transfer of left-back Henri Bedimo from Montpelliers who’ll be joining Olympique on a three-year-deal.

It’s not all good news though, Lyon could lose striker Bafetimbi Gomis who’ll probably join Newcastle this week, but they still have Lisandro Lopez up front, who’ll most likely be among the starters in Zurich.

match live here

Read More... Résuméabuiyad

Omonia Nicosia v Astra Giurgiu 25.07.2013 uefa europa league

  

Omonia Nicosia v Astra Giurgiu

Football : Europa League: Second Qualifying Round
Venue: "GSP Stadium", Nicosia (CYP)
Thursday 25th July – Kickoff time: 19:00 GMT+1

 

Omonia Nicosia (Cyprus)

The 20 times winner of the Cypriot first division, Omonia Nicosia finished third last season to grab a Europa League spot, behind APOEL Nicosia and Anorthosis Famagusta, two sides that had excellent UCL campaigns over the last few years.

Omonia Nicosia holds a poor record against Romanian opposition, they’ve met Sportul Studentesc (1986), Dinamo Bucuresti (2005) and Vaslui (2009) in the qualifying rounds of the Uefa Cup and couldn’t avoid being eliminated by these sides. They also lost to both Steaua and Dinamo Bucuresti in the European cup (1987 and 1984).

The Cypriot sides is now in the pole position of this tie after grabbing a 1-1 draw at the National Arena in Bucharest against Astra Giurgiu, so they are just 90 minutes away from eliminating a Romanian side for the first time in their history.

Their goal was scored by former Rapid Bucuresti defender, the Portuguese Joao Paolo Andrade, (one of their many foreign players) who headed in an excellent cross.

Astra Giurgiu (Romania)

Astra GiurgAstra Giurgiu finished fourth in the 2012-2013 Liga 1 season, which allows them to participate in a European competition for the first time in their history.

They’ve had big ambitions about their first ever presence in a European cup and started off with a convincing 3-0 victory over Domzale in the previous round, but failed to take a lead after the first leg against Omonia.

Astra Giurgiu controlled the game and even took the lead after just eight minutes through Tembo, but then wasted some excellent chances and allowed Omonia to get back into the game in the second half.

Astra will now have a tough job, but their morale was boosted by a 4-0 away Liga 1 victory over Viitorul Constanta over the weekend.
iu (Romania)

 

match live here

Read More... Résuméabuiyad