THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 6, 2014 SPORTS Juve relaunch last-16 bid

TURIN: Juventus relaunched their Champions home.” An injury to defender Angelo League last-16 bid with a nervous 3-2 win Ogbonna forced Allegri to reshuffle, replacing over Olympiakos in Turin on Tuesday when his tried and trusted 3-5-2 with a 4-3-1-2 for- visiting goalkeeper Roberto saved a last- mation that saw Alvaro Morata join Tevez up minute penalty from Chilean Arturo Vidal. front. With Olympiakos seemingly bent on Andrea Pirlo, on his 100th Champions defending in numbers and striking on the League appearance, broke the deadlock with counter, Juve easily dominated the opening a trademark free-kick on 21 minutes but the half but wasted a number of chances early hosts were stunned three minutes later when on. They finally broke the deadlock when central defender Alberto Botia beat Gianluigi Pirlo stepped up to curl a superb free-kick Buffon with a glancing header from a corner. high inside Roberto’s post on 21 minutes Juve needed a win, preferably with a two- after Pogba had fallen on the edge of the area goal cushion, to boost their qualification under a challenge from Luka Milivojevic. chances ahead of an away trip to Swedish Juventus Stadium, however, was silenced champions Malmo and their final fixture at three minutes later when Botia was left home to Atletico Madrid. But despite replying unmarked at a corner and got down low to to Delvin N’Dinga’s glancing header on the head past Buffon. hour with two goals in the space of a minute, Juventus should have restored their lead Vidal spurned the chance to secure a 4-2 win just before the interval but Claudio Marchisio when Roberto saved his penalty with the final could only glance at Asamoah’s probing kick of the game after Carlos Tevez had been delivery from the left as Morata and Vidal felled in the box. lurked in front of goal. Juventus are now level on points with Fernando Llorente replaced Morata just Olympiakos but second on a better head-to- before the hour but disaster struck for the head record, with both trailing leaders hosts three minutes later when they failed to Atletico by three points. deal with Alejandro Dominguez’s probing “It’s a shame we missed the penalty, it free-kick from the left. would have rounded off a good night for us,” The ball was headed out but fired back Juve coach Massimiliano Allegri told towards the six-yard box by Olympiakos skip- reporters. “Tonight the crucial thing was to per Giannis Maniatis where N’Dinga beat get the win, so we have to be positive. We still Buffon with a glancing header. have two games to secure our qualification.” Four minutes later, Juve were back on lev- Pogba, who hit Juve’s winner with his first el terms, Llorente’s header ricocheting off Champions League goal on his 100th appear- Roberto then his post before bobbling over ance for the Italian giants, said: “Today’s game the line for an own-goal. was crucial for us. We had to win and we did, Juventus restored their lead in more con- now it’s all up to us. vincing fashion just a minute later. Pogba col- “Sometimes we get a bit complacent. You lected Llorente’s ball from the left and, after can’t mess about in the Champions League, failing in his attempt to send Tevez through, not even a little bit.” Olympiakos coach Michel he fired in a shot that beat Roberto down low. was quick to praise his players, especially Juve survived a scare when Omar Roberto, after a penalty save which could Elabdellaoui squirmed past Asamoah and GERMANY: Dortmund players (yellow jersey) and Galatasaray players vie for the ball during the Champions League Group D soccer match. — AP prove costly to Juve in the event of a tight forced Buffon into a save at full stretch late qualifying duel. on, but the hosts had the momentum and “Roberto showed his class saving the Tevez wasted the follow-up after Llorente’s Dortmund rout Galatasaray penalty from Vidal. It could make the differ- close-range header was expertly blocked by ence for us in the end,” Michel said. Botia. Roberto got down low to push away DORTMUND: Borussia Dortmund brushed off The game was held up twice in the second the Germany winger’s run and put in a brilliant “But I’m proud of all the players. We’re not Tevez’s angled drive two minutes and then their nightmare Bundesliga form to maintain half by crowd trouble as Galatasaray fans threw through ball. Reus needed no second invitation a major European team but we showed that won a penalty in injury time, only for Roberto their perfect Champions League record and book fireworks onto the pitch, then set off a flare in the to get behind the Galatasaray defence and strike we are capable of also playing well away from to block Vidal’s strike. — AFP their place in the knockout phase with Tuesday’s stands in the closing few minutes. on 39 minutes. Dortmund doubled their lead 4-1 rout of Galatasaray. “Everything was done in terms of security, but when midfielder Sebastian Kehl rose highest to a Dortmund are second from bottom of the they still get this stuff through. It’s remarkable. I corner and headed down for Greek centre-back German top flight following the worst start to a hope it calms down,” fumed Klopp. Sokratis, the 26-year-old scoring his first season in the club’s history and have lost their Goals either side of half-time from Marco Reus Champions League goal with a half-volley from last five matches in a row, but are one of the first and Greece defender Sokratis Papastathopoulos inside the six-yard box on 56 minutes. teams into the last 16 in Europe’s elite club com- put 2013 Champions League finalists Dortmund Balta put Galatasaray back in the match with a petition. Borussia remain top of Group D with on their way to the knockout phase. Galatasaray’s thumping header at the near post after a Wesley four wins from four and posted another convinc- Berlin-born defender Hakan Balta pulled one Sneijder corner on 70 minutes. ing victory against Cesare Prandelli’s Galatasaray back for the visitors midway through the second But Reus made way for Immobile and the having won 4-0 in Istanbul a fortnight ago. half before the hosts scored twice more to put Italian quickly claimed his third Champions Arsenal’s 3-3 draw at home to Anderlecht the result beyond doubt. Italy striker Ciro League goal in three games. Galatasaray’s brief leaves Dortmund five points clear of the Gunners Immobile netted Dortmund’s third just three period of pressure came to nothing as Immobile atop the table and odds-on to finish as group minutes and 26 seconds after coming off the finished off a flowing move by Henrikh winners. “That was very disciplined, the team had bench to calm the hosts’ nerves after a period of Mkhitaryan and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. things under control from the first minute,” said sustained Galatasaray pressure. The Italian got the ball in the net despite Dortmund coach Jurgen Klopp. Immobile then compounded Galatasaray’s being fouled by Galatasaray goalkeeper “We defended well and, when our tactical misery when his cross was deflected into the Fernando Muslera on 74 minutes. Aubameyang measures didn’t quite work, we compensated back of the Turkish giants’ net by defender Semih then squandered two chances to add to the goal with passion and scored some great goals.” Kaya. Dortmund have shown two distinctly dif- tally before Immobile struck again. Kaya could Bizarrely, Dortmund have now picked up ferent faces this season as another impressive only watch in horror as Immobile’s pass clipped nearly double the points, 12, in their four display in Europe again bore little resemblance to his boot and spun into the net with five minutes Champions League matches than the seven they their woeful league form. Reus put Dortmund left. The result leaves Galatasaray bottom of the have from their 10 Bundesliga matches. ahead when right-back Lukasz Piszczek spotted table with one point. — AFP Son shines as double seals Leverkusen win at Zenit

SAINT PETERSBURG: Bayer Leverkusen cemented their place at the top of their Champions League group with a 2-1 win at Saint Petersburg on Tuesday thanks to Son Heung-Min’s superb second-half goals. The South Korean striker got the second-half break- through Bayer needed after an unconvincing first 45 minutes when he shot into the top ITALY: Juventus’ Leonardo Bonucci (right) and Olympiakos’ Alejandro Damian right-hand corner on 68 minutes. Dominguez fight for the ball during a Champions League, Group A soccer match. —AP The 22-year-old then added his second five minutes later at Zenit’s Petrovsky Stadium when he held off the Russian defence after Basel thrash Ludogorets striker Stefan Kiessling had won back posses- sion. BASEL: FC Basel’s seventeen-year-old Breel At 17 years and 263 days, he became the The Korean star showed plenty of poise in Embolo scored a delightful goal to set the sixth youngest player to score in the front of goal before coolly slotting his shot past Swiss champions up for a 4-0 win over Champions League. The second goal seven goalkeeper Yuri Lodygin. Zenit scored a late Ludogorets Razgrad on Tuesday that put them minutes later was almost a replica as Frei lifted consolation goal when substitute Jose Rondon second in Champions League Group B. Derlis the ball over the Ludogorets defence and 20- netted in the 89th minute after fellow substi- Gonzalez, Shkelzen Gashi and Marek Suchy year-old Paraguayan Gonzalez calmly provid- tute Aleksandr Ryazantsev lofted his pass over shared the other goals as Basel avenged their ed the finishing touch. the Bayer defence to the feet of the Venezuela 1-0 defeat two weeks ago and moved to six Basel made light of the absence of veteran striker. points, three ahead of Liverpool and the striker Marco Streller and Embolo set up the “These three points are very important,” Son Bulgarian champions. Leaders Real Madrid third for Albanian midfielder Gashi, who said. “In the first half we were a little bit hectic, qualified for the knockout stage with a maxi- scored easily at the far post in the 59th minute it wasn’t our match at all. “But in the second mum 12 points after beating Liverpool 1-0. after the Swiss side won possession in mid- half we put in a much better performance, you Embolo, who was born in Cameroon and field. Czech defender Marek Suchy completed always could see that we wanted to win this ST. PETERSBURG: Zenit’s Jose Rondon (center) scores his side’s only goal against Leverkusen’s has represented Switzerland at youth level, the scoring when he poked home from close match, and we finally did.” goalkeeper Bernd Leno during the Champions League Group C soccer match. — AP opened the floodgates for Basel when he col- range after a corner six minutes later. Basel The hosts’ goal sparked a frantic final five lected Fabian Frei’s ball on his chest and host Real Madrid on Nov. 26 before visiting minutes as Zenit threw everything into attack dinked his effort deftly past Vladislav Liverpool for a potentially decisive match on in a bid to salvage a point. It left space at the Atletico sink Malmo Stoyanov in the 34th minute. Dec. 9. — Reuters back and Leverkusen’s Australian substitute Robbie Kruse almost scored with his first touch as Bayer held on for the three points. MALMO: Atletico Madrid’s Koke and Raul Garcia equaliser, with Isaac Kiese Thelin, Emil Forsberg The Russians certainly had the better of the secured a 2-0 victory at Malmo for the Group A and Anton Tinnerholm all going close. first-half chances, while Leverkusen barely test- leaders in their Champions League clash on Malmo coach Age Hareide thought they ed the Russians defence in the opening half an Tuesday after the Swedes spurned several excel- should have had a penalty when Markus hour. Brazil star Hulk hit the post from a curling lent chances. Having soaked up considerable Rosenberg’s second-half free kick appeared to free-kick after just 13 minutes to cause a few pressure, Koke broke the deadlock for last season’s strike an arm in the defensive wall but referee nerves in the visitors’ defence. Then veteran runners-up on the half-hour, sweeping Juanfran’s Mark Clattenburg waved away appeals as the cap- striker Aleksandr Kerzhakov was presented low cross from the right into the net with the tain fired the rebound onto the post. with two clear opportunities by Zenit captain inside of his heel after a swift counter-attack. Raul “What they did to us they do to most teams Danny inside the opening 30 minutes. Garcia killed the game in the 78th minute, firing but that is no comfort to us,” Hareide told a media Leverkusen’s goalkeeper Bernd Leno denied home Filip Helander’s botched clearance. conference. The second half exploded into life the Russian striker on both occasions. Bayer’s “Obviously, it’s important to play nice football but with a flurry of yellow cards for Atletico with third consecutive win, having lost their open- what makes me proud is when we win,” he told Miranda, Diego Godin and Juanfran all booked in ing match against Monaco, sees them move on reporters. “That is what I want to give the fans, the a three-minute spell, leading to nervousness on to nine points. team, the supporters - victories.” Atletico lead the the Atletico bench before Raul Garcia struck the The victory in Russia was the perfect standings with nine points from four games fol- second goal. “For 20 or 25 minutes at the start of response to Saturday’s shock 1-0 defeat at lowed by Olympiakos Piraeus and Juventus on six the second half Malmo pressed well,” Simeone Hamburg-their first loss in nine games-and points after the Italians beat the visiting Greek said. “They didn’t create any really clear chances leaves them in pole position to qualify as Group side 3-2 on Tuesday. Malmo’s defeat leaves them apart form the one off the post, but when our 2-0 C winners. bottom with three points. goal came it was a relief and we could relax.” The defeat puts pressure on Andre Vilas- Having demolished the Swedes 5-0 at the Simeone praised the Swedes and said that Boas’ Russian Premier League leaders who are Vicente Calderon, Simeone’s Atletico side added they still had a chance to go through. third in the table five points adrift of their first away win in this season’s competition by “Anything can happen. No team has lost the Leverkusen with two matches remaining. hitting Malmo on the counter attack. chance to win or to go through. You have to be Second-placed Monaco could open up a four The Swedish champions did create plenty of very attentive and take the next match as if it SWITZERLAND: Basel’s Derlis Gonzalez (right) is challenged by PFC Ludogorets Razgradís point lead over the Russian side were they to openings as they poured forward in search of an was a final.” — Reuters Vladislav Stoyanov during the Champions League Group B soccer match. — AP beat Benfica later on Tuesday. — AFP