Champions League, matches on Tuesday 24 October

Three points also for the Spanish Real Sociedad against Benfica. 1-1 between Lens and PSV

Salvatore Malfitano

@
malfitoto

There were few surprises on Champions League Tuesday. Carlo Ancelotti’s Real Madrid confirms itself as the leader of group C, that of Napoli, with the success on the pitch against Braga; on the cover, the usual Bellingham who scored the winning goal. In Inter’s group, however, Real Sociedad joins the Nerazzurri at the top, deservedly overcoming Benfica away. Manchester United struggled the proverbial seven shirts to get to the head of Copenhagen thanks to Maguire’s goal but above all thanks to Onana who saved a penalty as time expired; Arsenal also did well on the Sevilla pitch. Draw between Lens and PSV, while Bayern Munich advance to Istanbul against Galatasaray.

BRAGA-REAL MADRID 1-2

Los Blancos didn’t have much trouble getting the better of the Portuguese, even if Ancelotti’s team relaxed too much towards the end. Rodrygo opens the ball in the 16th minute, lucky with a rebound to find the undersized deflection after Vinicius’s nice shot on the left. Bellingham, as usual, does not miss the appointment: in the 50th minute he warms up Matheus’ gloves, ten minutes later he hits him with a right-footed shot into the corner which the goalkeeper has nothing left to do. Braga’s reaction materializes in the 63rd minute, when Banza, very free in the area, serves Djalo who strikes Kepa at the near post. For the rest the Spaniards maintain the advantage and remain with full points.

BENFICA-REAL SOCIEDAD 0-1

Authoritative performance from Real Sociedad in Lisbon, with Benfica at the mercy of their opponent for the entire ninety minutes. Muñoz and Barrenechea worried Trubin with two shots in the 26th and 45th minutes that ended just outside the post. The goalkeeper did well to oppose Zubimendi (56′), while he was unable to oppose Brais Mendez in the 63rd minute who scored in front of goal following an assist from Barrenechea. Shortly afterwards Kubo enjoys the goal, but his left-footed shot from outside hits the crossbar.

MANCHESTER UNITED-COPENHAGEN 1-0

It’s not an easy Champions League for the Red Devils and it’s not easy against Copenhagen either, who besieges the English for almost the entire match. In the first five minutes Achouri challenges Onana and Gonçalves hits the post with a beautiful volley, on which Elyounoussi misses the tap-in. The former Inter player is once again decisive on Claesson in the 50th minute, on the other side Grabara surpasses Eriksen (54′). In the 72nd minute the match broke the deadlock with the least expected protagonist, Harry Maguire, who headed the precise cross from the other former Nerazzurri player. United could surprisingly close it out in the 78th minute, but Grabara is still excellent on Garnacho and McTominay misses the target on the rebound. With time up, Guida concedes a penalty to the Danes due to the intervention of McTominay who looks for the ball but hits Elyounoussi: Larsson goes from the spot, but Onana saves.

sevilla-arsenal 1-2

The Gunners dominate the game, even if they don’t produce much in the first half. Martinelli has a good chance, but Bono stops him with a timely exit. En-Nesyri responds at the end of the half, with a sharp diagonal shot that ends up wide. In injury time Jesus works a ball wonderfully in transition, then sends Martinelli towards goal who bypasses the goalkeeper and puts it into the net. In the 53rd minute Jesus is once again the protagonist, this time doing everything alone and with a great shot into the top corner from a tight angle he scores the second goal. Sevilla pulled back almost immediately with Gudelj’s header from a corner (58′), but didn’t follow up and Arsenal won.

lens-psv 1-1

The French bedlam doesn’t swallow up PSV, who plays a good game and snatches a draw. Lozano’s right-footed shot on the half-hour hits the post, while Bakayoko’s left-footed shot hits it perfectly: in the 55th minute the Belgian unleashes a precise shot that surprises the goalkeeper. Ten minutes later Wahi responded in kind, coordinating a cross from the right on the fly for the final 1-1.

galatasaray-bayern munich 1-3

Bavarian dominance would seem to be emerging, because in the 8th minute the Germans moved forward with Coman, who crossed well on Sané’s serve. Galatasaray, however, is not a sacrificial victim, on the contrary: Akturkoglu comes close to scoring twice shortly after, first with a scissors kick – Ulreich did well on the occasion – then with a half-hearted exit from the goalkeeper he shoots high with all the space available. In the 23rd minute Mazraoui came close to scoring an own goal with the header, with the ball hitting the post, while the Turkish push was increasingly consistent. An impetuous challenge by Kimmich on Icardi convinces Massa to whistle a right penalty, from the spot the Argentine converts with the spoon on the half hour mark. Ulreich stops Akturkoglu well outside the posts, while Icardi in injury time and Torreira in the 52nd minute miss the mark by a whisker. Sané tests the readiness of Muslera, who blocks his diagonal shot (63′), and in the end it is Kane who gets Bayern out of trouble: on Musiala’s low ball the former Tottenham player tries first with a heel, blocked by Boey, and then he scores without difficulty in the 73rd minute. The Turks stretch further and Tuchel’s team is unforgiving six minutes later: with the roles reversed it is Kane who serves Musiala, who controls and places it in the corner where Muslera can do nothing. The Uruguayan goalkeeper does well to prevent the deficit from worsening following Sané’s free kick (90′).





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