MADRID: Atletico Madrid earned a 2-1 Champions League quarter-final first leg victory over Borussia Dortmund on Wednesday, surviving a late onslaught from the visitors.
Rodrigo De Paul and Samuel Lino’s first half goals gave Diego Simeone’s side a commanding lead but Sebastien Haller pulled one back to give the German side a foothold in the tie ahead of next week’s return in Dortmund.
Edin Terzic’s side, fifth in the Bundesliga, improved greatly after a slow start and hit the woodwork twice in the final stages of a match which saw security measures reinforced after the Islamic State (IS) group made threats against stadiums used for last-eight ties.
Atletico Madrid had flown out of the traps, keen to grasp a golden opportunity to reach the semifinals for the first time since 2017.
Dortmund could not cope with the Rojiblancos’ high press and De Paul fired the hosts ahead after Ian Maatsen gave the ball away.
Goalkeeper Gregor Kobel passed the ball to the on-loan Chelsea defender, who panicked under pressure and played a slack pass which De Paul gleefully intercepted.
The Argentina international finished calmly to amp up the already loud Metropolitano stadium crowd.
Atletico have not lost any of their home Champions League knock-out games during Simeone’s 12 years at the helm and continued to flood forward confidently.
Kobel clawed away a brilliant backheel flick by former Dortmund midfielder Axel Witsel, a key part of Atletico’s back-line after his move in 2022.
The only negative note from a fine Atletico first half was a booking Lino earned, ruling him out for the second leg.
A few minutes later the Brazilian doubled his team’s lead after another Dortmund defensive mix-up.
Mats Hummels, on his 500th appearance for Dortmund, badly directed a header into Alvaro Morata’s path and he and Antoine Griezmann combined to feed Lino, who slid a low effort past Kobel.
Dortmund carved out their first opening after 35 minutes but Witsel dived in to deflect Karim Adeyemi’s shot on to the roof of Jan Oblak’s net.
The Slovenian goalkeeper kept out efforts from loanee Manchester United winger Jadon Sancho and Maatsen before the break.
Terzic brought on Julian Brandt for Felix Nmecha at half-time in search of more attacking spark.
Missing sick top goalscorer Donyell Malen the Bundesliga side struggled to find a way past Oblak, who saved from Niclas Fuellkrug early in a far tighter second half.
Kobel made a stunning save to deny Lino his second goal from point-blank range and Dortmund swiftly capitalized on it through substitute Haller.
Nahuel Molina made poor contact on a clearance and the ball fell to the towering striker who drove it beyond Oblak.
Despite the visitors finding a foothold in the game, Atletico held on by the skin of their teeth and Dortmund fell to their first away defeat in four months.
Hummels made up for his earlier error with a fine challenge to dispossess Angel Correa as he ran in on goal before Dortmund twice came close to an equalizer.
English winger Jamie Bynoe-Gittens’s long-range drive deflected off Cesar Azpilicueta’s head and hit the crossbar.
Brandt also nodded against the frame of the goal in stoppage time in a frantic finale.
Simeone was able to celebrate his 50th Champions League victory as a coach, becoming the ninth man to achieve the feat.
One neither Simeone or Atletico have yet achieved is conquering the Champions League, but this win is a shaky step toward the semifinals.
Atletico hold on to keep advantage on Dortmund
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Atletico hold on to keep advantage on Dortmund
- Dortmund could not cope with the Rojiblancos’ high press and De Paul fired the hosts ahead after Ian Maatsen gave the ball away
Newcastle go third with 2-0 win over 10-man Chelsea
- The win leaves Newcastle in third spot on 66 points, three ahead of Chelsea
NEWCASTLE: An early goal from Sandro Tonali and a late Bruno Guimaraes effort gave Newcastle United a 2-0 home win over Chelsea on Sunday that moves the Magpies a step closer to Champions League football next season, with Blues striker Nicholas Jackson denting his side’s hopes by being sent off in the first half.
The win leaves Newcastle in third spot on 66 points, three ahead of Chelsea, who hold the fifth and final Champions League spot with two games to play.
Aston Villa are level with Chelsea on points, with Nottingham Forest, who face already-relegated Leicester City later on Sunday, two points further back.
Newcastle were good value for their win but it was Jackson’s moment of madness that decided the game, robbing Chelsea of their best goal-scoring option in a game the Conference League finalists could not afford to lose if they wanted to be at Europe’s top table next season.
The Blues got off to a bad start when midfielder Tonali ghosted in at the far post to steer home a pass from Jacob Murphy in the second minute, delighting the home crowd as they basked in the bright sunshine.
Newcastle’s task appeared to get easier when Jackson had his initial yellow card upgraded to a red in the 35th minute after a long VAR review, with the replay showing that the Senegalese striker had looked in the direction of Newcastle’s Dan Burn before leading with his elbow toward the
defender’s face.
Despite going down to 10 men, Chelsea dominated for much of the second half, forcing Eddie Howe to make a number of changes to bolster the home side’s defense and, after withstanding Chelsea’s onslaught, Guimaraes finally sealed the three points with a deflected shot from outside the box in the 90th minute.
Arnold eager to steer Iraq to 2026 FIFA World Cup
- Iraq's only appearance at the tournament was in 1986
- “What is important is we all believe we can win the next two games,” Arnold said
BAGHDAD: Graham Arnold is confident he can help Iraq qualify for the World Cup finals for the first time in 40 years after he was appointed as the country's national coach on Friday.
Asked whether Iraq can make the cut for the 2026 tournament which will be co-hosted by Canada, Mexico and the U.S., the Australian told the federation’s website: "That’s my goal.
“That’s what I want to do. I haven’t come here to not be successful, and everyone in this room has to believe that. We can do it.
Iraq's only appearance at the tournament was in 1986, when they were eliminated after the group phase.
Arnold replaced Spaniard Jesus Casas whose contract was terminated by the local soccer governing body in the wake of a 2-1 loss to Palestine in March.
That result left the Iraqis in third place in the standings in Group B, four points adrift of leaders South Korea and one behind Jordan with two games left.
The top two nations in each of Asia's three qualifying groups advance automatically for the World Cup while the teams in third and fourth progress to another round of preliminaries.
“What is important is we all believe we can win the next two games, that is my first objective for Iraq,” he said.
Arnold's first game in charge will be against South Korea in Basra on June 5. They then face Jordan in Amman five days later.
Bayern Munich celebrate Bundesliga title with last home win for Thomas Müller
BERLIN: Thomas Müller led Bayern Munich’s Bundesliga title celebrations after helping the team beat Borussia Mönchengladbach 2-0 in his last home game for the club on Saturday.
After being presented with the trophy, Bayern captain Manuel Neuer gave it to Müller to hoist toward the Munich sky and start the confetti-filled celebrations.
There was another outpouring of emotion when Harry Kane got his chance to lift the “salad bowl” — it’s the England captain’s first team trophy after a career of near-misses.
Bayern won the title last weekend and Michael Olize made sure of this win by scoring one goal and setting up the other for Kane’s league-leading 25th of the season to get the party underway in Munich.
Relegation decided
Bochum and Holstein Kiel were relegated while Leipzig’s hopes of Champions League qualification were over after drawing at Werder Bremen 0-0.
Last-placed Bochum lost at home to Mainz 4-1, and Kiel lost at home 2-1 to Freiburg, which consolidated fourth place and were well-placed for Champions League qualification.
Leipzig’s scoreless draw in Bremen left them four points behind Freiburg with one round remaining, meaning they can no longer qualify for Europe’s lucrative premier competition.
Neither Bochum nor Kiel have any possibility of catching third-from-bottom Heidenheim following the latter’s 3-0 win at Union Berlin. Heidenheim made sure of at least a relegation playoff place.
With one game left to play, Bochum had 22 points, Kiel 25, and Heidenheim 29 – just two behind St. Pauli, which had two matches remaining. St. Pauli play their penultimate match at third-placed Eintracht Frankfurt on Sunday.
Bochum needed to avoid defeat and hope for a favor from Union against Heidenheim at the same time. But Mainz were 3-0 up before Bochum scored. Mainz confirmed Bochum’s seventh demotion from the top division.
Bochum were promoted to the Bundesliga as the second division champion in 2021, ending an 11-year absence from the top division.
Bochum defeated Bayern 3-2 away in March, but they were Dieter Hecking’s team’s only win in their last 11 games.
“I’ve been relegated before, it’s anything but nice. You could see it with the lads, tears were flowing,” Bochum captain Maximilian Wittek said. “It’s among the worst things that can happen in football.”
Kiel also gone
Kiel were promoted for the first time only last season and coach Marcel Rapp’s team have quickly returned to the second division.
Kiel scored first but Johan Manzambi equalized before the break and Lucas Höler headed Freiburg toward the Champions League.
Freiburg moved four points clear of Borussia Dortmund, which visit Bayer Leverkusen on Sunday for Xabi Alonso’s last home game as Leverkusen coach. A Leverkusen win would send Freiburg to the Champions League.
Later, Hamburger SV had the chance to be promoted back to the division with a win at home against Ulm in the second division. Thousands of blue-clad fans greeted the team bus on its way to the stadium with songs, flags and flares.
Lazio snatch last-gasp draw with Champions League rivals Juve
- Igor Tudor’s team are level on 64 points with Lazio in fifth
- Randal Kolo Muani netted Juve’s goal in the 51st minute
ROME: Matias Vecino snatched a precious 1-1 draw for Lazio against 10-man Juventus with a stoppage-time equalizer in an enthralling battle between top-four rivals.
Uruguayan Vecino tapped home from close range after a miraculous Michele Di Gregorio save from Valentin Castellanos to spare Lazio from what would have been a painful defeat.
Juventus, who played for over half an hour with 10 men after Pierre Kalulu was sent off for striking out at Lazio striker Castellanos, stay fourth.
But Igor Tudor’s team are level on 64 points with Lazio in fifth, with sixth-placed Roma a point behind ahead of their clash at Atalanta on Monday night.
Randal Kolo Muani netted Juve’s goal in the 51st minute at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome, his seventh goal in Italy’s top flight since signing on loan from Paris Saint-Germain in January.
Juve thought they were set to win when they survived a penalty scare moments before Vecino’s leveller, when Di Gregorio brought down Castellanos who was then ruled by VAR to have been offside.
But Vecino stepped up to save a point for Lazio and leave the fight for the final two Champions League spots firmly in the balance.
Man City’s surprising draw at Southampton throws Champions League hopes into doubt
- It could prove to be two crucial dropped points for third-placed City
- Haaland’s return after a six-week absence because of injury couldn’t inspire City
LONDON: Manchester City’s Champions League qualification ambitions were thrown back into doubt on Saturday after a surprising 0-0 draw at already-relegated Southampton, the Premier League’s last-placed team.
It could prove to be two crucial dropped points for third-placed City in a six-team race for the four remaining spots to get into the Champions League, along with champion Liverpool.
Even Erling Haaland’s return after a six-week absence because of injury couldn’t inspire City, which dragged themselves into a better position in the league on the back of four straight wins.
City had two points more than Newcastle and Chelsea — who meet at St. James’ Park on Sunday — and four more than Nottingham Forest, which host already-relegated Leicester on Sunday.
Seventh-placed Villa were a further point back and visit Bournemouth later Saturday.
City’s unprecedented four-year reign as champion was ended by Liverpool this season.
The draw lifted Southampton onto 12 points — one more than the lowest ever points haul in a single season, set by Derby County in 2007-08.
