A Big Win for City, Historic for Paphos, and Frustrating Draw for Chelsea in the UEFA Champions League

SadaNews - The fourth round of the group stage in the UEFA Champions League on Wednesday saw Manchester City achieve a significant victory over Borussia Dortmund, while Inter Milan defeated Kairat Almaty, and Chelsea drew with Azerbaijan's Karabakh.

Manchester City advanced to the semifinals in the group stage standings after their precious and deserved 4-1 win over German guest Borussia Dortmund.

At the Etihad Stadium, home of the Sky Blues, City took the lead through Phil Foden in the 22nd minute, and his Norwegian teammate Erling Haaland added the second goal in the 29th minute against his former team, continuing his streak of scoring in four consecutive matches in the tournament, bringing his tally to 5 goals in the continental competition this season.

Foden struck again, adding Manchester City’s third goal and his second personal one in the 57th minute, while Waldemar Anton scored for Dortmund in the 72nd minute.

French substitute Ryan Cherki completed the City's goal fest in the second minute of stoppage time of the second half.

Manchester City, the reigning champions of 2023, secured their third victory in the Champions League this season, with one draw, increasing their points to 10, in fourth place.

On the other hand, Borussia Dortmund, who lifted the trophy in 1997, remained at 7 points in 12th place after suffering their first defeat in the competition this season, with two wins and one draw.

Karabakh Frustrates Chelsea and Historic Win for Paphos

Azerbaijan's Karabakh frustrated visiting Chelsea, the 2012 and 2021 champions, forcing them to settle for a 2-2 draw.

Unlike the previous two matches between the teams in the group stage when Chelsea emerged victorious with an aggregate score of 10-0, the London team struggled on Wednesday in Baku, even allowing their lead to turn into a 1-2 deficit before ultimately managing to secure a point, raising their tally to 7, mirroring their Azerbaijani host’s points.

The Blues were on the scoreboard as early as the 16th minute thanks to Brazilian Estivao.

However, the hosts capitalized on a defensive error by Dutch player Juriel Hato, which allowed Colombian Emiliano Duran to seize the ball before shooting off the left post, leading to a rebound that fell to his teammate Leandro Andrade from Cape Verde, who scored (29).

Things turned against the London team due to Hato, as after causing the first goal, he conceded a penalty after handling the ball in the forbidden area, which was successfully converted by Montenegrin Marco Jankovic (39).

The score remained the same until the end of the first half, but the London team equalized at the start of the second half thanks to Argentine substitute Alejandro Garnacho, who found the net following a counterattack (52).

Despite the pressure and repeated attempts, Chelsea failed to score again and settled for a draw.

In a match between two teams looking for their first win, newcomer Paphos from Cyprus achieved a historic victory by defeating Spanish guest Villarreal in Limassol, with a goal scored by Dutch player Derick Luckassen at the start of the second half (46), inflicting Villarreal's third defeat.

Inter's Fourth Win

In Milan, Inter maintained their perfect record, achieving their fourth victory by defeating Kazakh newcomer Kairat Almaty with two goals from Argentine Lautaro Martinez (45) and Brazilian Carlos Augusto (67), compared to a goal for Ofir Arad (55).

Inter remains third, trailing behind Bayern Munich and Arsenal by goal difference, one point ahead of Manchester City, while defending champion Paris Saint-Germain, Newcastle, Real Madrid, and Liverpool complete the top eight qualifying directly for the round of 16 with 9 points each.

Newcastle's Victory and Marseille's Defeat

Newcastle United secured their third consecutive win, with Dan Burn and Joëlinton each scoring one goal, leading the team to a 2-0 victory over injury-ravaged Athletic Bilbao.

Newcastle's tally, with three wins in the continental competition, one loss, rose to 9 points, placing them sixth, while Athletic Bilbao's third loss, with only one victory, left them at 3 points in the 27th place.

French team Olympique Marseille fell at home in front of their fans, losing 0-1 to Italian Atalanta, with a late goal scored by Lazar Samardzic in the 92nd minute.

Marseille, who won the title in 1993, remains at 3 points in 25th place, preparing for a tough test at home in the next round against Newcastle United on the 25th of this month.

Benfica and Ajax's Struggles Continue

Bayer Leverkusen from Germany deepened the wounds of their hosts Benfica from Portugal after defeating them 1-0, with Patrick Schick scoring the only goal of the match in the 65th minute, allowing the visitors to collect 3 precious points and increasing the hosts' anguish with no wins so far in the European competition.

Leverkusen raised their tally to 5 points with their first victory, placing them in 21st position. Meanwhile, coach José Mourinho's team remains second to last without any points, only separated by goal difference from last-placed Ajax, who lost 3-0 to Turkey's Galatasaray.

Nigerian Victor Osimhen netted a hat trick, lifting Galatasaray's tally to 9 points in 9th place, while Ajax remains in 36th place with no points.

Source: Agencies