Pro Eleven Headlines
Juventus defeat complicates Real Madrid's Champions League future
Real Madrid crashed to a 0-2 home defeat at home to Italian side Juventus on Wednesday night, complicating their future in this season's Champions League.
The defeat means that Real Madrid have now little chance of finishing top of Group H, and as a result they will probably face a tough rival in the last 16 of the competition.
Madrid's defeat, coupled with Zenit St Petersburg's win against Bate Borisov, means failure to beat Bate in Ukraine on Nov. 29 or a defeat against the Zenit on Dec. 10 could see Bernd Schuster's side knocked out of the competition altogether.
Alessandro Del Piero was once again Real Madrid's main tormentor. The Juventus striker had scored the first goal in Juventus' 2-1 win over Madrid two weeks ago and he opened the scoring after just 17 minutes in the Santiago Bernabeu stadium, scoring with his left foot from inside the penalty area.
Madrid had started the game with Ruud van Nistelrooy back in their starting 11 but without central defender Pepe, who had failed a late fitness test.
Royston Drenthe also started for Madrid with Arjen Robben on the substitutes' bench.
The home side started brightly but was unable to create any clear-cut chances against the Italians who were, as usual, well organized in defense.
Madrid had most of the possession after the goal, but was unable to break down a side that was perfectly positioned and hardworking.
It is over 45 years since Juventus last won in the Santiago Bernabeu, but the Italians rarely looked troubled, even as Real Madrid stepped up the pace after half time.
Juventus doubled their lead after 67 minutes after Del Piero scored a direct free kick. That virtually spelt the end of the home side's resistance and although Schuster even brought on Javier Saviola for Van Nistelrooy, there was nothing his team could do to get back on level terms.
Ryan Giggs uses his head to rescue point against Celtic
Sir Alex Ferguson’s porridge regained its flavour late in an absorbing contest at Parkhead in which his much-altered Manchester United came perilously close to a defeat that would have left them with a fair amount of work still to accomplish to secure progress to the last 16 of the Champions League.
Celtic had edged to within six minutes of inflicting a second home defeat on United in two years – Scott McDonald’s accomplished first-half strike broke their duck in the tournament – but when Artur Boruc could not hold a blistering Cristiano Ronaldo shot, Ryan Giggs met the rebound with a header that salvaged a precious point.
Ferguson had remarked on the eve of the game that defeat here in 2006 had deprived his favourite breakfast food of its flavour – Giggs’ intervention guaranteed it would not stick in his throat again this morning.
Celtic had the notional benefit of continuity, as Gordon Strachan fielded the same team who won against Hearts at Tynecastle on Saturday, but that was a virtue forced on the manager because of a calf injury suffered by Aiden McGeady that ruled the Republic of Ireland midfield player out of contention.
United’s six changes from Saturday caused some comment among the broadcast pundits, some of whom speculated that Ferguson was treating Celtic as though they were lower division opposition in the Carling Cup. Missing from the starting line-up were Edwin van der Sar, Gary Neville, Patrice Evra, Anderson, Dimitar Berbatov and Wayne Rooney.
In came Ben Foster, Giggs, Rafael, John O’Shea, Darren Fletcher and Carlos Tevez, who swiftly discovered that the evening would not follow the pattern of events at Old Trafford two weeks previously.
This was not a Celtic side inhibited by their hoodoo on the road in this tournament, but a tigerish outfit snarling into challenges and also capable of bounding forward with purpose when the occasion allowed.
A tremendous gladiatorial tussle between Scott Brown and Tevez, shortly before half-time, characterised the intensity of Celtic’s approach. The Argentine pinched the ball from Brown’s toe, but the Celtic midfielder won possession back and went to ground under Tevez’s second challenge.
However, he prodded the ball out for a throw-in, then had a sly kick at his opponent, who responded in kind. Tom Henning Ovrebo, the experienced Swedish referee, did not miss the exchange but was sensibly content to urge sense to both players, an attitude that served to keep play flowing in pleasing fashion.
As for Celtic’s ability to remedy the defect that had cost them dear in Manchester – and, indeed, throughout their group campaign prior to this game – it was remedied by McDonald after 13 minutes. Celtic’s first corner kick, delivered by Paul Hartley from the left, was only half cleared by United and when the ball dropped beyond the box, a succession of headers – first by Brown, then Shaun Maloney and finally Gary Caldwell – shuttled it back into the path of McDonald, drifting unmarked on the left of the penalty area.
The Australian glanced up, saw that Foster had come off his line, and coolly lifted the ball over the advancing goalkeeper for Celtic’s first score in the tournament. The setback needled United into more vigorous movement in midfield – one spectacular pirouette by Ronaldo left Barry Robson bemused and stranded – but it was possession without penetration, the flaw that saw United lose at the same venue two years ago.
Arsenal in prospect or not, Ferguson was never likely to allow this state of affairs to continue without intervention, which took the form of sending on Berbatov for Nani at the restart.
The substitution almost paid off instantly when United won a corner kick which Nemanja Vidic nodded down into the six-yard box. This had been Berbatov’s killing ground in the first meeting of the sides, when he netted his two offside goals, and he came within a fraction of inflicting further damage when he got a flick that took the ball away from Boruc, but Maloney, of all people, was stationed on the line and cleared from below his own crossbar.
That established the pattern of the second half, with Celtic hanging on by their fingernails until Giggs delivered another of his crucial interventions.
Spurs return to UEFA Cup with fortunes revived
Tottenham returns to UEFA Cup action Thursday against Dinamo Zagreb with its fortunes almost entirely overhauled since its last European match two weeks ago.
A poor start to the season culminated in a 2-0 loss at Udinese that prompted Tottenham to fire manager Juande Ramos. His successor, Harry Redknapp, has guided the same group of players to two wins and a draw in three matches and few would bet against that undefeated run continuing against the Croatian team.
Spurs rallied strongly in their last two games to draw 4-4 at Arsenal and then trumped previously unbeaten Premier League leader Liverpool 2-1, with the players crediting Redknapp's positive attitude and belief in their ability for the transformation.
"I think the key is belief at the moment," goalkeeper Heurelho Gomes said. "The team is playing with more confidence now and we have picked up three very good results. We went through a difficult period but worked hard in training to put things right, so now this is a good time for the team."
Other results have meant Tottenham is still bottom of the Premier League despite seven points from three matches, so it's imperative that the team keeps its good run going since any loss of confidence could see the team cut adrift at the foot of the standings.
Not only that, but defeat to Dinamo Zagreb, which fell just one round short of reaching the Champions League group stage, could all but end Tottenham's chances of advancing in a tournament it won in 1972 and 1984.
Tottenham is last in the five-team Group D and would fall six points off the lead if it loses. It needs to finish at least third if it is to have a chance of progressing.
The first ever match between the clubs will reunite Tottenham playmaker Luka Modric, who has been rejuvenated by Redknapp, with the team where he won three straight Croatian league titles. Modric agreed to switch clubs in April and is flourishing in a more advanced role than the one he filled under Ramos.
Tottenham will be without Roman Pavlyuchenko, who hit the winning goal against Liverpool, so Modric is likely to play just behind lone striker Darren Bent — who has scored six times this season.
Midfielder Jamie O'Hara will be suspended after he was sent off against Udinese, but Gomes is confident of a good result at White Hart Lane.
"When I first arrived here, although we had a good preseason, we didn't have the best of starts in the league," Gomes said. "But now we are playing well again and it's a great moment for the team, which is important for the newer players."
Dinamo will be hoping its squad has fully recovered, not just from the loss of Modric but from a virus that forced 10 players onto the sidelines last week. Dinamo, which rallied to beat NEC Nijmegen 3-2 in its opening UEFA Cup match, had to postpone a league match because of the severity of the illness.
