WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 1, 2014 SPORTS Mueller penalty sinks CSKA

MOSCOW: A first-half penalty by “The Champions League matches are Thomas Mueller was sufficient for always hard and we’re happy to take all Bayern Munich to beat Russian champi- three points in this encounter.” ons CSKA Moscow yesterday and make it Five-time European champions two wins from two matches in their Bayern got the break their early pressure Champions League group stage cam- deserved when Mario Goetze was paign. Bayern, winners in 2013 but beat- brought down by Mario Fernandes in en by eventual champions Real Madrid the 21st minute, although there was a in the semi-finals last season, have six doubt as to whether the offence took points from two games, with Italian side place outside the box, but Scottish refer- Roma able to join them if they beat ee William Collum pointed straight to English champions Manchester City later the spot. yesterday. However, Mueller paid no attention to CSKA have no points from two the fuss or to the pleas from the side- matches after receiving no boost from lines as Guardiola urged Robert the home support for this game as the Lewandowski to take the penalty. The crowd were banned after unrest during German international stepped up and the group game with Viktoria Plzen last converted the spot kick. CSKA did season led UEFA to impose a ban. brighten up after going behind and Bayern coach Pep Guardiola, whose threatened through Nigerian forward week had started along with his players Ahmed Musa, but Manuel Neuer got on a disruptive note as they had to down well to block and when Musa vacate their hotel room, after a fire alarm squared the ball to Zoran Tosic, the went off in the middle of the night, said Serbian blazed wastefully over. that he was pleased with the result giv- The hosts went close to levelling en CSKA had just come out with the twice more in the first half, on both ambition of defending. occasions through the impressive “It was really difficult to penetrate the Roman Eremenko, who turned brilliantly CSKA defence today as they kept 10 of and unleashed a sweetly-struck shot their players back with only (Ahmed) that just went over the bar. Then, close PARIS: Barcelona’s (right) and PSG’s Lucas battle for the ball during the Champions League soccer match at the Parc des Princes Musa in attack,” said Guardiola. to half-time, the 27-year-old Russian- stadium. —AP “However, we allowed them to pro- born Finnish international fired in a shot duce two dangerous counter-attacks in from the edge of the area which clipped the first half. Luckily, they did not score. the stanchion with Neuer beaten. —AFP PSG edge Barcelona in five-goal thriller

PARIS: Paris Saint-Germain overcame the when the Catalans drew level thanks to a absence of their injured talisman Zlatan moment of trademark brilliance, Messi exchang- Ibrahimovic to beat Barcelona 3-2 in a thrilling ing lightning-quick first-time passes with Andres Matches on TV Champions League Group F encounter at the Iniesta and Neymar before giving Salvatore Parc des Princes yesterday. Sirigu in goal no chance with a left-foot strike (Local Timings) The Catalans, who had not even conceded a into the far corner. goal all season in seven matches before this one, It was the Argentine’s 68th Champions fell behind inside 10 minutes when David Luiz League goal, putting him level with his great UEFA Champions League prodded in his first PSG goal. rival in the all-time standings Barcelona needed just two minutes to draw and to within three of the competition’s all-time Petersburg v Monaco 19:00 level thanks to a marvellous strike, leading scorer, Raul. beIN SPORTS 8 HD but Marco Verratti headed the hosts back in However, PSG were not deterred, and while beIN SPORTS 13 HD front after 26 minutes and Blaise Matuidi added Neymar lifted the ball just over the bar follow- beIN SPORTS 1 HD FR another in the 54th minute. ing a lofted pass into the box by Messi, the Anderlecht v Dortmund 21:45 Neymar reduced the deficit, yet Paris held on home side regained the advantage in the 26th for their first win in the group after a 1-1 draw at minute. beIN SPORTS 5 HD Ajax two weeks ago, while Barca failed to build Again the goal came from a set-piece, and beIN SPORTS Max 7 on a narrow 1-0 win over APOEL of Cyprus in this time Barcelona’s defence looked especially Arsenal v Galatasaray 21:45 their first outing. Barcelona arrived in France in unsure of themselves, ter Stegen flapping at a beIN SPORTS 4 HD fine form but this was billed as their biggest test Thiago Motta right-wing corner and Ivan Rakitic beIN SPORTS 11 HD since the arrival of Luis Enrique as coach in the allowing Verratti, the smallest player in the PSG summer, even if their hosts were denied the side, to head into the net at the far post to score beIN SPORTS 14 HD services of Ezequiel Lavezzi and captain Thiago his first goal for the club. Barcelona trailed beIN SPORTS 2 HD FR Silva as well as the prolific Ibrahimovic. despite having almost 60 percent of the posses- Bayer v Benfica 21:45 Edinson Cavani spearheaded their attack, sion in the first half, with Messi curling a free- beIN SPORTS 3 HD while Barcelona again had Marc-Andre ter kick just over the bar a minute prior to the beIN SPORTS Max 5 Stegen in goal in Europe rather than reg- break. PSG were simply the more clinical of the ular Claudio Bravo. two teams and extended their advantage nine Atletico v Juventus 21:45 But their previously watertight defence minutes after the restart, a Gregory van der Wiel beIN SPORTS 1 HD looked rather fragile against a PSG side who cross from near the right corner flag flashing all beIN SPORTS 13 HD started with all guns blazing and were soon the way across the penalty box for Matuidi - beIN SPORTS 1 HD FR rewarded. who scored in the last meeting of the clubs here Basel v Liverpool 21:45 MOSCOW: CSKA’s Aleksei Berezutski (left) and Bayern’s Thomas Mueller challenge for Daniel Alves gave away a free-kick for stop- 18 months ago - to convert. the ball during the Champions League Group E soccer match. —AP ping a Paris attack with his hand, and the home Again Barcelona needed just two minutes to beIN SPORTS 12 HD side opened the scoring from the resulting deliv- muster a response, Neymar getting his seventh beIN SPORTS Max 6 ery, Luiz controlling Lucas’s ball in from the left of the season with a delightful control and calm Ludogorets v Real Madrid 21:45 before turning and poking the ball into the far side-footed finish into the net off the right-hand beIN SPORTS 2 HD corner from eight yards. post. They then camped around the penalty box beIN SPORTS Max 4 Porto’s Martinez Barcelona’s defence had finally been as they went in search of a leveller, but breached for the first time this season after 640 Marquinhos produced a crucial flying block to Malmo v Olympiacos 21:45 minutes, but their response was immediate. prevent Jordi Alba from equalising before sub- beIN SPORTS 7 HD steals the show stitute Munir El Haddadi fizzed in a shot that beIN SPORTS Max 8 TRADEMARK BRILLIANCE grazed the outside of the right post and went KIEV: Porto striker Jackson Martinez came Oliver Torres lost the ball in his area and Indeed, the celebrations were still ongoing wide. —AFP off the bench to score two goals in the clos- Luiz Adriano then seemed to have ing minutes, including a penalty, to earn a wrapped up the win after 85 minutes as he 2-2 draw at Shakhtar Donetsk in latched on to Bernard’s curled pass. Champions League Group H yesterday. But Porto struck back four minutes later Bilbao’s awful form continues The Colombian struck in the 89th when Jackson Martinez converted a penal- minute from the spot and equalised in the ty awarded for handball by Yaroslav BARYSAW: ’s nightmare start to the sea- 94th after Shakhtar scored second-half Rakitskyi. The visitors’ pressure then paid son continued as their chances of progressing to the goals through Brazilians and off in added time with Jackson Martinez last 16 of the Champions League were severely dented Luiz Adriano at Lviv Arena. finding a perfect one-touch finish to Tello’s by a 2-1 loss to BATE Borisov yesterday. Teixeira had put Shakhtar ahead seven low cross from the left leaving the Lviv The Belarussian champions had been beaten 6-0 by minutes after the break when 19-year-old Arena silent. —Reuters Porto in their opening game, but bounced back in style as first-half goals from Denis Polyakov and Aleksandr Karnitski handed them the three points. Aritz Aduriz’s strike just before half-time had given Athletic some hope, however, they now languish at the bottom of Group H as their winless streak in all compe- titions extends to six games. Porto’s late equaliser in a 2-2 draw away to Shakhtar Donetsk in the night’s other game in the group means BATE move into second place, a point ahead of the Ukrainians. The hosts made the breakthrough on 18 minutes when a corner to the near post was flicked and the unmarked Polyakov had the easiest of tasks to slam the ball home from close range. BATE were desperately unlucky not to double their advantage on the half hour mark as Nikolai Signevich’s sweetly struck volley came back off the inside of the post and rebounded to safety. However, misfortune then struck Athletic 11 minutes later when Karnitski’s weak strike was deflected past Gorka Iraizoz by . Athletic were handed a lifeline a minute before half- time when Iker Muniain fed Aduriz and he fired home into the far corner. Yet, despite coach Ernesto Valverde making two attacking changes at half-time by bringing on Oscar de Marcos and , the Basques failed to built on that momentum. Indeed it was BATE who ought to have put the game to bed on the break in the second-half as Signevich firstly shot meekly into the arms of Iraizoz and then fired an even easier chance over from close range. Athletic’s only serious effort on goal after the break came eight minutes from time, but BATE ‘keeper Sergei UKRAINE: Porto’s Yacine Brahimi (top) is challenged by FC Shakhtar Donetsk’s Chernik turned Susaeta’s piledriver behind to secure a BELARUS: Bate Borisov’s Anri Khagush (left) fights for the ball with Athletic Bilbao’s Fernando during the Champions League Group H soccer match in Lviv. —AP famous victory. —AFP Iker Muniain during a UEFA Champions League Group H football match. —AFP