Wednesday, 15 April 2015

Relive Klopp's farewell press conference

Relive Klopp's farewell press conference
  • Borussia Dortmund have announced a press conference amid widespread reports that Jurgen Klopp is set to leave the club.

    We'll be bringing you live updates and the reaction on any announcement. Get involved by leaving your comments or on Twitter @goal_intl
    • Share
    • Likes1
    Goal
  • 3 hours ago
    We're due to get underway in about ten minutes so send us your views whilst we're waiting. Is this the right time for Klopp to go?
    • Share
    • Likes4
    Goal
  • 3 hours ago
    Confirmed - Jurgen Klopp will leave Borussia Dortmund this summer
    • Share
    • Likes2
    Goal
  • 3 hours ago
    Klopp will leave the club on 30 June 2015
    • Share
    • Likes0
    Goal
  • 3 hours ago
    That's it then. Klopp's seven season tenure will come to a close this summer. Is it any surprise? Is it the right move for all concerned? Where next and what will he bring to wherever he goes? Send us your thoughts.
    • Share
    • Likes0
    Goal
  • 3 hours ago
    As a Bayern fan this is a great news!
    • Share
    • Likes1
    Frederik
  • 3 hours ago
    Dortmund needs Klopp for next season. The club is already in an unstable phase due to their performances this season and Klopp leaving would only add fuel to the fire of unstability.
    • Share
    • Likes2
    Omar El Ali
  • 3 hours ago
    Arsenal! Please.
    • Share
    • Likes4
    Cesc
  • 3 hours ago
    Hopefully the core will remain and the new coach can rebuild the team around Reus, Hummels, Gündogan
    • Share
    • Likes1
    Tavbo edited by Goal
  • 3 hours ago
    The Dortmund chief Hans-Joachim Watzke sounds disappointed to be losing his man...
    • Share
    • Likes1
    Goal
  • 3 hours ago
    BVB boss Watzke starts:

    "We had some talks recently on the initiative of Jürgen and then made the joint decision that after seven years of incredible success will be over at the end of the season.

    We have a relationship that is built on trust and friendship. Therefore, it is naturally a difficult situation. Jürgen, will always have eternal gratitude from Borussia Dortmund."
    • Share
    • Likes0
    Goal
  • 3 hours ago
    Goal Germany's Dortmund correspondent Stefan Doring joins us now, and there's plenty to chew over after the announcement that Jurgen Klopp will be leaving the club this summer.
    • Share
    • Likes0
    Goal
  • 3 hours ago
    Stefan, this was largely to be expected wasn't it? A natural parting way for club and coach?
    • Share
    • Likes0
    Goal
  • 3 hours ago
    Quotes coming in from the man himself...
    • Share
    • Likes0
    Goal
  • 3 hours ago
    "I feel that the moment that I'm not the perfect coach for this extraordinary club would eventually come. In the last few days and weeks I was not sure that I'm the right person. Therefore, I felt it my duty to myself and Aki Watzke to leave my position."
    • Share
    • Likes0
    Goal
  • 3 hours ago
    Klopp:

    I am sure that the decision is absolutely right. This team deserves to have the absolutely one hundred percent right coach.

    It's not that I am tired. I have no contact to another club, either in England or elsewhere. But I do not intend to put in a sabbatical year. I wanted to announce today so that everyone everyone at the club can plan and adjust."
    • Share
    • Likes1
    Goal
  • 3 hours ago
    BVB manager Michael Zorc:

    "You have given me and the club a lot of energy. I think all BVB employees, especially of course our team should give you the goodbye that you have earned. "
    • Share
    • Likes2
    Goal
  • 3 hours ago
    Klopp:

    "I believe that Borussia Dortmund needs a change. A major problem certainly is that as long as I'm here, we are always considering the successes of the past."
    • Share
    • Likes0
    Goal
  • 2 hours ago
    Klopp insists it was the right time to go and that he won't be taking a break from football. Where will his next port of call be?
    • Share
    • Likes0
    Goal
  • 2 hours ago
    Klopp still hasn't told his Dortmund players he is leaving!

    "It will take place right now," he says.
    • Share
    • Likes0
    Goal
  • 2 hours ago
    Klopp:

    "Now we will bundle all our resources for the last games. Now it's really about this club having the opportunity and reaching its great potential. In my head it is the right moment to make a change."
    • Share
    • Likes0
    Goal
  • 2 hours ago
    I would love to see him at Real next season.
    • Share
    • Likes2
    Amer H
  • 2 hours ago
    The bad thing for both parties is Klopp will have to re-integrate himself into a new team environment all over again unless he's gunning for a national team role. Dortmund will have to change tactics and gameplans as things will not be the same and Reus, Hummels, Gundogan are surely going to leave
    • Share
    • Likes0
    nico
  • 2 hours ago
    Klopp:

    "The club is greater than all of us, he will always be greater than all of us. I am grateful that I could be a part of it."
    • Share
    • Likes0
    Goal
  • 2 hours ago
    Watzke:

    "There is no time schedule about Klopp's replacement. We will take our time."
    • Share
    • Likes0
    Goal
  • 2 hours ago
    So Klopp is a free man in the summer and by the sound of it he will be looking for employment. Who needs Klopp and where will he be the best fit?
    • Share
    • Likes0
    Goal
  • 2 hours ago
    What are the chances? The bookmakers have quickly installed Klopp as favourite to become the next Manchester City manager.
    • Share
    • Likes1
    Goal
  • 2 hours ago

    Klopp: The club is always greater than all of us. I am grateful that I could be a part of it.

    • Share
    • Likes0
    Goal
  • 2 hours ago

    Klopp: In my head it is the right moment to make a change. 

    • Share
    • Likes0
    Goal
  • 2 hours ago

    Klopp: I do not intend to put in a sabbatical year. 

    • Share
    • Likes0
    Goal
  • 2 hours ago
    Quite sad to see him go as I started following Dortmund because of Klopp. As a Arsenal fan as well, I can only hope they approach him since he would fit in quite well there.
    • Share
    • Likes0
    amit412
  • 2 hours ago
    In summary Klopp felt he'd given all he could and wasn't the man to take the club forward. He also put himself in the shop window by stating he doesn't want to take a sabbatical year, meaning there will be plenty of interested parties this summer.
    • Share
    • Likes0
    Goal
  • 2 hours ago
    Joining us now is Goal Germany's Dortmund correspondent Stefan Doring.

    • Share
    • Likes1
    Goal
  • 2 hours ago
    Stefan, is this the right move at the right time for all concerned?
    • Share
    • Likes1
    Goal
  • 2 hours ago
    Stefan Doring

    Yes because Dortmund
    has several tactical problem in the way they play football.     It’s a problem for
    the coach and Klopp isn’t able to make it better.     


    • Share
    • Likes0
    Goal
  • 2 hours ago
    So Klopp has been the route of Dortmund's problems?
    • Share
    • Likes1
    Goal
  • 2 hours ago
    Stefan Doring

    It’s been a very bad season and all goals will be missed. There will be no European football next season so it’s the perfect time to start a new campaign with a new coach. For Klopp it’s a good time to leave because of the success he had and the legacy he created.

    • Share
    • Likes0
    Goal
  • 2 hours ago
    So where next for Jurgen Klopp?
    • Share
    • Likes1
    Goal

  • 2 hours ago
    Stefan Doring
    I could imagine he will move to England as he has always said the Premier League interests him. We do not know what will happen with Pellegrini at Manchester City but it doesn't look good for him. With Klopp now available they are likely to be interested and that could make their mind up over Pellegrini.
Posted by at No comments:

Sterling talks on hold but Liverpool expect him to stay, says Ian Ayre

Sterling talks on hold but Liverpool expect him to stay, says Ian Ayre Liverpool chief executive Ian Ayre says contract talks with Raheem Sterling are on hold until the end of the season, but does not expect the England international to leave the club this summer.

Sterling scored in Liverpool's 2-0 victory over Newcastle on Monday night, but Brendan Rodgers was left to field questions regarding a video which surfaced appearing to show the forward inhaling nitrous oxide.

The 20-year-old, who has also been pictured holding a shisha pipe recently, admitted to being flattered by links to Arsenal in an interview with BBC Sport, but Ayre is confident that while negotiations over a new contract have been delayed, the club are not anticipating his departure.

"Raheem's agent has asked that we park all discussions regards his future until the summer," Ayre told Sportmasta News. "We respect that.

"Raheem is a Liverpool player and has over two years left on his contract. We expect Raheem Sterling to be here for a long time."

Sterling is Liverpool's top goalscorer in all competitions this season, finding the back of the net 13 times.
Posted by at No comments:

MK Etanchéité hit Warri for Wolves

MK Etanchéité hit Warri for Wolves

The Congolese team are in Nigeria for Saturday's Caf Confederation Cup second round, first leg match against the Seasiders in Warri
Players and officials of MK Etancheite have landed in the Warri ahead of their second round, first leg clash of the Caf Confederation Cup against Warri Wolves on Saturday.
MK Etanchéité dumped South Sudan's Al-Ahly Shendi 6-3 on aggregate while Nigeria's Warri Wolves advanced on a 2-0 aggregate win at the expense of Ethiopia's Dedebit both in the first round of the Caf Confederation Cup.
A 27-man delegation from the Democractic Republic of Congo arrived on Tuesday afternoon aboard Arik Airline. The Congolese contigents landed at the Murtala Mohammed Airport, Lagos at 11am and were received by officials of Warri Wolves before connecting immediately to Warri.
The Congolese outfit who are the 2014 Coupe du Congo winners have in their fold top-player like Captain Kabangu, Losiyo Bofumbo, Mombo Lusala and Kabangu Ndima among others.
"The Congolese team actually arrived Lagos at 11am and we took them straight to Warri on Tuesday with a 27-man team. We know that they mean business by coming five clear days before the match," Etu Moses, media officier Warri Wolves confirmed to Sportmasta.
Meanwhile, the match commissioner from Ghana and match officials from Sychelles are expected to arrive in Warri on Friday.
The match will be played at the Warri Township Stadium and kick-off time is by 4pm.
Posted by at No comments:

Nigeria U20 Women face Liberia/ Sierra Leone in World Cup qualifier

Falconets handed easy draw
The Falconets will face the winner between both teams in the first round qualifier of the 2016 Fifa U20 Women’s World Cup billed for Papua New Guinea
Nigeria U20 Women team will face either Liberia or Sierra Leone in the first round qualifier of the 2016 Fifa U20 Women’s World Cup Cup in Papua New Guinea. The pairing conducted by the Confederation of African Football on Wednesday afternoon, will see the Falconets who finished as runners-up in the last edition World Cup staged in Canada after losing to Germany in the final will host the first leg between July 10-12, 2015 while the second leg holds between July 24-26,  2015.
Should the country scale through this stage, they will meet either Namibia or RD Congo/Gabon in the second round before qualifying for the final round where they are likely to face South Africa for one of the two African tickets to the world tournament.
Nigeria have qualified for all seven editions of the competition and have placed second twice (2010 and 2014).
Posted by at No comments:

Jordan 2016: Nigeria U17 Women handed easy draw in qualifiers

Jordan 2016: Nigeria U17 Women handed easy draw in qualifiers
The Flamingoes will be hoping for their fifth Fifa U17 Women’s World Cup appearance when the qualifying series begin in January 2016
Nigeria U17 Women side will face the winner between Botswana and Namibia in the first round qualifier of the Fifa U17 Women’s World Cup billed for Jordan. The Flamingoes who have not missed out of the championship since its inception in 2002 will be gunning for their fifth appearance when they host either country between January 8-10, 2016 with the return leg holding a week later.
Either Zambia or South Africa will be waiting to pounce on the Flamingoes in the second round of the qualifying series billed for March 2016.
Nigeria have made the quarter final stage in their last three outings hosted by Costa Rica, Trinidad and Tobago plus Azerbaijan respectively.
Africa will present three teams for this competition billed for the Asian country.
Posted by at No comments:

Nigeria U23 may face Ghana for Olympics football ticket

Nigeria U23 may face Ghana for Olympics football ticket
Coach Samson Siasia’s men have been handed a tough pairing enroute the 2015 Caf U23 Championship which serves as gateway to the 2016 Olympic Games
Nigeria’s Dream Team V1 will face either Ghana/Liberia or Congo in the third round of the 2015 Caf U23 Championship qualifying series.

The 2015 Caf U23 Championship billed for Senegal in December acts as qualification to the 2016 Summer Olympics men’s football for the Confederation of African Football, with the top three teams qualifying and the fourth placed finisher playing in a play-off against a team from the Asian Football Confederation.

The Black Meteors will slug it out with the winner between Liberia and Congo in second round and may likely face Samson Siasia’s team in the third round for a ticket to the Caf U23 Championship.

According to Caf, all players participating in the preliminary and final tournament of U23 African Championship shall be born on or after 1 January 1993.

aThe first edition of the quadrennial African Youth football showpiece was first staged in Morocco in 2011 with Gabon emerging as champions after silencing the hosts in the final.
Posted by at No comments:

Tuesday, 17 March 2015

All England Championships: Chen Long & Carolina Marin win singles

Chen Long with All England trophy
World champion Chen Long of China beat Jan Jorgensen in the final of the All England Championship in Birmingham.
Chen defeated the Danish number two seed, the first European to reach the final since 2004, 25-21 21-17 21-15.
In the women's final, world champion Carolina Marin of Spain fought back from a set down to beat India's Saina Nehwal 16-21 21-14 21-7.
Nehwal, who led 6-1 and 10-6 in the second set, was looking to become the first Indian to win the title.
China's Zhang Nan and Zhao Yunlei, the world and Olympic champions, beat defending champions Tontowi Ahmad and Liliyana Natsir of Indonesia 21-10 21-10 in the mixed doubles
Posted by at No comments:

Monaco 0-1 Arsenal (Agg 3-2)


  • Monaco 0-1 Arsenal (Agg 3-2)
    Arsenal had eight attempts on goal in that first half, Monaco just one. The hosts will be worried if the Gunners get a second...
  • Monaco 0-1 Arsenal (Agg 3-2)
    Toby Goodman: Where was this Arsenal at Arsenal?
    Gabriel Counsell: Difficult to see how this Monaco team have such a good defensive record. Holes everywhere!
    Roberta-lyn Grant: If Arsenal manage to overcome this deficit and progress, I think they'll win the Champions League this year.
    Send us your views via #bbcfootball, on the BBC Sport Facebook page or via text on 81111 (UK only).
  • Monaco 0-1 Arsenal (Agg 3-2)
    "Apart from the first 10 minutes when they looked a little nervous, Arsenal have played exceptionally well. I might bring Ramsey on for Ozil, allowing Cazorla to push on, have a free role and have an influence on this game.
    "But Arsenal have done everything right up to now. Start the second half the same way and they'll get another goal. And Monaco will get more and more nervous as the game goes on."

  • Cherries on top

    Will we see Bournemouth in the Premier League next season? It looks very much that way.
    As half-time whistles continue to toot around the country it's the Cherries who are on top of the Championship table.
    Monaco 0-1 Arsenal (Agg 3-2)
    "Arsenal will be very hopeful indeed. They are by a country mile the better team here, and have created some very good chances as well as getting the goal. What an encouraging half from Arsenal. They have done the minimum they had to do. Now they need to crank things up in the second half."

  • HALF-TIME

    Monaco 0-1 Arsenal (Agg 3-2)
    The whistle goes with the Gunners on song. Mesut Ozil swaps shirts with a Monaco defender as they come off - a lot of people won't like to see that...
  • Monaco 0-1 Arsenal (Agg 3-2)
    Chance! Unlucky Olivier Giroud, Danny Welbeck drills a cross at him, like a shot, and Giroud gets a thigh to it but can only steer it at goalkeeper Danijel Subasic.
    Seconds later Welbeck has another shot from a tight angle. Arsenal ending the half well on top.
  • Monaco 0-1 Arsenal (Agg 3-2)
    "Joao Moutinho was just fouled then, and went to ground clutching his face. Coquelin, who made the challenge, was nowhere near his face. I think the referee should have punished Moutinho. That's a yellow card for me, because that's as much simulation as a dive."
  • Monaco 0-1 Arsenal (Agg 3-2)
    One nil up at Monaco at half-time? Arsene Wenger would have settled for that. Plenty of time to really go at it in the second half.
  • at Stade Louis II for 5 live Sport
    Monaco 0-1 Arsenal (Agg 3-2)
    "I'm not convinced that was a penalty, but I'm not convinced it was a yellow card either. And the referee was in a good position.
    "At the moment, this game is set up in just the way we wanted. But is it all set up for glorious failure?"

  • YELLOW CARD

    Monaco 0-1 Arsenal (Agg 3-2)
    Alexis Sanchez is booked for a dive - Arsenal want a penalty.
    The Chile forward does go down pretty easily but he was touched by Fabinho. He's furious, Sanchez. No penalty though.
  • Monaco 0-1 Arsenal (Agg 3-2)
    Olivier Giroud may be getting more than a 2/10 from newspaper L'Equipe tomorrow. He's proving a menace to society up there. Arsenal need two goals in 50 minutes to progress.
    As gambles in Monte Carlo go, it's a pretty good one. The house always wins though - doesn't it?

  • Join the debate at #bbcfootball

    Monaco 0-1 Arsenal (Agg 3-2)
    Joe Wedgwood: Yes Giroud! How's that to stick it to his critics! C'mon Arsenal!
    Nathan: Arsenal ahead, but I just can't see them keeping a clean sheet this match.
    Jerry Elumeze: Arsenal have lacked belief. Perhaps the goal will change that...
    Send us your views via #bbcfootball, on the BBC Sport Facebook page or via text on 81111 (UK only).
  • Monaco 0-1 Arsenal (Agg 3-2)
    Arsenal flying now, confidence coursing through the side. The home crowd are calling for the half-time whistle. They've got minutes and minutes to hang on yet...

  • CLOSE!

    Monaco 0-1 Arsenal (Agg 3-2)
    Almost a second! Danny Welbeck middles a shot from the edge of the box, catches it as sweet as you could ever wish to hit a ball, it's flying in but hits defender Aymen Abdennour on the floor!
  • Monaco 0-1 Arsenal (Agg 3-2)
    Olivier Giroud scores for Arsenal
    "I like that from Giroud! He has been putting himself about tonight, working his socks off. That wasn't the most beautiful goal you've ever seen but such clever use of his physique. It was a really nice finish on the rebound, into the roof of the net.
    "We wanted that to happen, we wanted to see the question asked of Monaco. The hosts started well but have been second-best for the last 20 minutes. They are beginning to lose their shape, which I didn't expect to see."

  • GOAL

    Monaco 0-1 Arsenal (Agg 3-2) - Olivier Giroud
    Olivier Giroud celebrates his opener for Arsenal
    Back of the net! It's a wonderful finish at the end of more scrappy play. Danny Welbeck sends Olivier Giroud in behind the Monaco backline, goalkeeper Danijel Subasic saves his first effort which spins up and hits Giroud on the head. He turns, steadies himself and then with two defenders on the line, fires into the roof of the net from a tight angle.
    He took it brilliantly.
  • Monaco 0-0 Arsenal (Agg 3-1)
    Monaco look a little bit unsure of how to approach this one - a goal for Arsenal would really kick this game up a notch. As it is it's all a bit scrappy.
  • Monaco 0-0 Arsenal (Agg 3-1)
    Dimitar Berbatov
    "Dimitar Berbatov is languid. He's such a stylish player, and at the moment his attitude out there is good. But we've all seen games where his performances can best be described as 'slack'."

  • Elsewhere in Europe

    Atletico score
    There is one other game going on this evening in the Champions League - and there has been a goal. Last season's finalists Atletico Madrid take a 1-0 lead against Bayer Leverkusen through Mario Suarez to make it 1-1 on aggregate. Going to penalties as it stands - long way to go, mind.
    Follow that game here.
  • Monaco 0-0 Arsenal (Agg 3-1)
    A cross from Alexis Sanchez is helped back in by Danny Welbeck, Olivier Giroud does well to let it drop but before he can get a shot off Aymen Abdennour does really well to manoeuvre his body into a blocking position.
Posted by at No comments:

Wednesday, 11 March 2015

Blundering Blancos into quarters despite Huntelaar heroics

Real Madrid 3-4 Schalke (agg 5-4): Blundering Blancos into quarters despite Huntelaar heroics
Cristiano Ronaldo netted twice to become the all-time leading goalscorer in European competition but Carlo Ancelotti's men only scraped through to the last eight
Real Madrid survived a fraught last five minutes to limp into the Champions League quarter-finals despite a 4-3 home defeat to Schalke on Tuesday.
Former Real forward Klaas-Jan Huntelaar threatened a famous upset with a stunning 85th-minute strike that meant Schalke needed to score just once more to progress on away goals.
The holders' 2-0 victory in Gelsenkirchen in the first leg ultimately proved enough to see them through 5-4 on aggregate - but the Bernabeu faithful were less than impressed, as they greeted the final whistle with a deafening chorus of jeers as Real's relative slump in form continued.
Cristiano Ronaldo had twice saved Real in a poor first-half showing as his headers cancelled out goals from Christian Fuchs and Huntelaar - the Portuguese's double making him the highest goalscorer in European competition.
Karim Benzema put Real ahead on the night shortly after half-time, only for Leroy Sane to curl home an exquisite equaliser for Schalke, before Huntelaar's superb finish set up a grandstand ending to the game.
Real just about held on to deny Roberto Di Matteo's impressive Schalke side, but the pressure continues to mount on Carlo Ancelotti after another below-par display.
Ancelotti's men - who slipped off the top of La Liga at the weekend - were poor from the off, and Schalke capitalised to take a deserved lead in the 20th minute.
Tranquillo Barnetta's curling cross from the right found Fuchs at the back post and his shot was too powerful for Iker Casillas - who may feel he should have made the save having got two hands on the ball.
The visitors' joy proved short lived as Real struck back five minutes later, with Toni Kroos' outswinging corner met by Ronaldo's bullet header that flew into the far corner.
Schalke were unfazed, though, and Huntelaar was desperately unlucky to see a stunning 20-yard half-volley rebound off the crossbar before the Dutchman deservedly restored the Bundesliga outfit's advantage soon after.
Meyer's original shot was parried by Casillas and Huntelaar pounced to slam home the rebound.

Match Stats — Team Stats

Real Madridv.FC Schalke 04

  • Attack

    Goals
    Real MadridComparisonFC Schalke 04
    342.9%57.1%4
    Total Shots (including blocked shots)
    Real MadridComparisonFC Schalke 04
    1441.2%58.8%20
    Shots On Target
    Real MadridComparisonFC Schalke 04
    947.4%52.6%10
    Blocked Shots
    Real MadridComparisonFC Schalke 04
    250%50%2
    Shots from outside the box
    Real MadridComparisonFC Schalke 04
    635.3%64.7%11
    Shots from inside the box
    Real MadridComparisonFC Schalke 04
    847.1%52.9%9
    Shot Accuracy (excluding blocked shots)
    Real MadridComparisonFC Schalke 04
    75%57.4%42.6%55.6%
But once again Ronaldo saved Real, their talisman nodding home Fabio Coentrao's exquisite left-wing delivery just before the break.
Real moved ahead for the first time on the night eight minutes after the break, Benzema showing great composure to beat a couple of defenders and rookie goalkeeper Timon Wellenreuther before tucking into the unguarded goal.
Schalke refused to lie down, though, as teenager Sane marked his European debut with a sublime left-footed effort that curled past a despairing Casillas.
Real responded well, but were made to endure a nervy ending when the returning Luka Modric's misplaced pass was picked up by Huntelaar, who slammed his shot off the underside of the bar from the edge of the penalty area.
The Bernabeu's discontent was in full evidence by this point and Casillas prevented a full-on mutiny when he denied Benedikt Howedes in the closing stages, as Real just about survived an almighty scare.
Posted by at No comments:

Portuguese power into last eight

Porto 4-0 Basel (agg 5-1): Portuguese power into last eight
Yacine Brahimi, Hector Herrera, Casemiro and Vincent Aboubakar all netted as the home side made easy work of their Swiss opponents, who had Walter Samuel dismissed late on
Yacine Brahimi stepped up in the absence of Jackson Martinez to guide Porto into the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals courtesy of a 4-0 win over Basel.
The Portuguese side earned a 1-1 draw in the Switzerland-hosted first leg on February 18, but Julen Lopetegui's men were in merciless form on Tuesday, with the tricky Algerian leading the way to a fine victory at Estadio do Dragao, which keeps them unbeaten in this season's competition.
Martinez, the scorer of 25 goals across all fronts this term, missed out due to a thigh muscle tear and, although Vincent Aboubakar started and scored in the Colombian's place, Brahimi took centre-stage in his absence, breaking the deadlock with a delightful 14th-minute free-kick.
While the hosts were somewhat wasteful in the first half, they ran riot after the interval as Hector Herrera quickly opened up a two-goal deficit – Brahimi instrumental again.
Casemiro, another to catch the eye on the day, added the third with a spectacular free-kick of his own in the 56th minute.
And Aboubakar got in on the act 14 minutes from time, once again rendering goalkeeper Tomas Vaclik helpless with another incredible effort, ensuring an unhappy homecoming for Basel's Portuguese coach Paulo Sousa, who also saw veteran defender Walter Samuel sent off after a performance littered with rash challenges.
For all their sparkling play in attack, a fearsome Porto work-rate was also in evidence from the off as Casemiro robbed Basel of the ball and fed Cristian Tello on the edge of the area, with Samuel forced to cynically chop down the Barcelona loanee.
Brahimi stepped up to take the resulting free-kick and nonchalantly caressed his effort beyond the static Vaclik and into the net.
Casemiro's audacious effort from distance landed on the roof of the net soon after, but Porto's momentum was checked slightly when captain Danilo was stretchered from the field after colliding with goalkeeper Fabiano.

Match Stats — Team Stats

FC Portov.FC Basel

  • Attack

    Goals
    FC PortoComparisonFC Basel
    4100%0%0
    Total Shots (including blocked shots)
    FC PortoComparisonFC Basel
    1368.4%31.6%6
    Shots On Target
    FC PortoComparisonFC Basel
    770%30%3
    Blocked Shots
    FC PortoComparisonFC Basel
    2100%0%0
    Shots from outside the box
    FC PortoComparisonFC Basel
    1173.3%26.7%4
    Shots from inside the box
    FC PortoComparisonFC Basel
    250%50%2
    Shot Accuracy (excluding blocked shots)
    FC PortoComparisonFC Basel
    63.6%56%44%50%
The second half was barely two minutes in when Porto finally made their superiority tell and the impressive Brahimi was once again central.
The Algeria playmaker battled his way past two defenders on the left flank and teed up Herrera on the edge of the area, with the Mexican curling an unstoppable drive beyond Vaclik.
Porto's third arrived 10 minutes into the second period and it was another exquisite effort, this time courtesy of Casemiro, who ruthlessly smashed his 30-yard free-kick into the top-left corner.
And a night of stunning efforts in Portugal was capped by Aboubakar racing clear and hammering a right-footed effort into the top corner from 20 yards, securing a quarter-final spot for only the second time since Porto's trophy-winning campaign of 2003-04 as Basel's woeful outing was compounded by Samuel's late dismissal for two bookings.
Posted by at No comments:
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)