Vinicius 'shines' with failed tricks and swallows

Vinny had a very bad day in the Champions League as Erling Haaland's ball hit the crossbar and Leverkusen boss Xabi Alonso got little love at Liverpool. Highlights from the Champions League.

follow me

No Ballon d'Or

The defending champions have yet to catch up in the Champions League. This was the second defeat in the fourth game against AC Milan. Real Madrid did not lose a game last season. Vinicius Jr. had a particularly weak performance in the 3-1 loss to Italy, and although the Brazilian equalized from a penalty kick, he achieved little else.

On top of that, he failed horribly with a trick early in the game. Shortly after the equalizer, the 24-year-old, who left the Ballon d'Or ceremony empty-handed last week, tried to avoid another penalty. Referee Slavko Vincic was not impressed by Vinicius' performance after goalkeeper Mike Maignan touched him.

Is this the Rodri effect?

Manchester City also suffered an unexpected defeat last Tuesday night. Guardiola's side lost 4-1 to Sporting Lisbon in Lisbon. It was the Sky Blues' third consecutive defeat, the last time this happened in April 2018. One of the reasons for this series of bankruptcies may be the absence of sixth player Rodri. He lost just once in 63 games after regulation last season. City were also too vulnerable to counter-attacks against Sporting Lisbon – the 28-year-old Spaniard is a specialist in defensive counter-attacks.

The 2022/23 Champions League winner actually got off to a good start thanks to a goal from Phil Foden, but then gradually fell apart against Sporting Lisbon, who were under future Manchester United boss Ruben Armor. Excellent performance under Ream. Also because Erling Haaland hit the penalty kick against the crossbar, potentially rewriting the score to 2:3.

Thank you, Ruben!

For the other side, however, it was a special night. Not only because Manchester City, a seemingly unstoppable opponent, was beaten, but also because it was coach Rúben Amorim's last home game. The 39-year-old has once again made Sporting Lisbon one of Portugal's top teams in four and a half years. Amorim led the Lisbon club to its first title in 19 years in the 2020/21 season, doubling it last season.

The success of his last appearance at the Estadio José Alvalade was first and foremost thanks to Victor Gequeres, who scored three goals, two of which came from penalties. With eight wins in the Champions League, he is also the new record holder for the Green and Whites. For this reason, Amorim, who will leave the club after Sunday's league match in Braga, was duly celebrated by players and fans along with his staff. The Portuguese is set to move to Manchester United.

Nostalgic Xavi suffers blow at Liverpool

From 2004 to 2009, Xavi Alonso played a total of 143 games for Liverpool and won the Champions League with the Reds in his first season. He now returns to Anfield as coach of Bayer Leverkusen, but has effectively been shot down by the hosts.

That night, the nostalgic Basque touched the Anfield logo after the game and applauded the crowd who also celebrated him, but he had to watch his team lose 4-0 to Liverpool. The most outstanding player was Luis Diaz who scored three goals. It was a dream goal after a sweet pass from Callum Jones, including a lob to make it 1-0.

After the game, Granit said that shouldn't happen at this level. Although he praised the first half, he repeated his sentiments when talking about the second half in which Leverkusen conceded four goals: “We just couldn't follow up with the second goal and that annoyed me.” The goal we conceded shouldn't have happened. “

Dortmund's luck

For a long time, Dortmund, which has been dominant but weak in penetration, gritted its teeth against Sturm Graz. When the game looked to be a goalless draw, Dortmund broke through again. After the Austrian team made a mistake, substitute Donyell Malen stole the ball and immediately passed it to Serhou Guirassy, ​​who passed the ball back to start the shot. Dutch people. The 25-year-old then scored the winning goal in the 85th minute.

The video referee's offside footage also showed just how lucky Borussia Dortmund were to secure their third win in just four Premier League games. When Mullen passed the ball, Serhu Gilasi was almost at the same height as the Graz defender behind him.

It couldn't be any tighter.Image: reddit

Can he do this?

Another attack, however, was irregular. PSV's Ryan Flamingo's 1-0 win over Girona should not have counted. The picture shows assister Malik Tillman with one foot on the field as he throws the ball.

When the ball went in, Malik Tillman was already there.Image: reddit

But this goal laid the foundation for PSV to win 4-0. Tillman scored the second goal himself, making the score 3-0.

Thoughts with the victims

Before the Champions League match, many stadiums in Spain observed a minute's silence for the victims of the floods. Real Madrid have shown a particularly good gesture, having launched a fundraising campaign and offered €1 million in support. Before the game against AC Milan, spectators displayed a large flag of the Valencia region and a banner that read “We are all Valencia”. The Italian guests also wore T-shirts with this word on them before the game.