Champions League. The favorites disappointed
For Aston Villa fans, it was a Champions League match they could watch at home for over 40 years. However, the football celebration began with anxiety. Bayern attacked their rivals from the first whistle, using very intense pressing, which Aston Villa had big problems with.
The hosts defended deep, but Unai Emery’s team got used to being able to adapt to various situations on the pitch. However, the first threats appeared quite quickly – first, Kane found himself in an ideal situation, but he was slightly offside, a moment later, after good action, it took only the last pass to score a goal.
Aston Villa looked helpless, but it was just waiting for the right moment, such as in the 12th minute of the match, when one pass into the free area could have put Watkins in a clear position. Ultimately, Neuer was the first to have the ball.
Emery’s players seemed very lost at the beginning, but they were the ones who delivered the first blow in this match. The indecision of Bayern’s defenders resulted in a goal in the 23rd minute of the match, when Pau Torres scored. Ultimately, however, the goal was canceled after VAR intervention.
However, Aston Villa believed that they could pose a threat to the Bavarians. They, in turn, did not look as good as in the first minutes, but… they had their chances. After a quick takeover, Gnabry found himself in a dream situation, but instead of passing to Kane, he decided to shoot an absurd shot that hit the stands.
Before the break, Olise tried to hit the long corner, but Martinez made a phenomenal save.
The second half started with total domination by Bayern, which pushed the hosts into a very deep defense. However, “The Villans” managed to recover and created several good chances, but most of all they took the game away from their own goal.
The advantage was overwhelming, but in the end nothing came of it.
In the 80th minute there was a sensation when Aston Villa, pressed against the wall, managed to fight back against Bayern. One long pass and a great hit over the advanced Neuer by Duran, who had been introduced on the pitch shortly earlier, gave the hosts the lead.
Bayern tried to turn the tide of the match, but Aston Villa’s players played with great commitment and ambition, and they also had Martinez in goal, who saved his team at least twice in situations that seemed indefensible.
Urbański is close to happiness
In the Bologna-Liverpool match, Łukasz Skorupski and Kacper Urbański were on the pitch from the first minutes.
Unfortunately for the Poles, Liverpool quickly took the lead thanks to Mac Allister, but the Italian team did not give up. Despite a weaker start, Urbański looked good and had the ball at his feet, which could have equalized the score. However, the Pole’s shot was saved by Alisson.
Later in the game, the midfielder was one of the best players in his team, and his technical training and composure when receiving the ball was impressive. The Pole left the pitch after an hour of play, and Liverpool added a second goal and sealed the win.
It was not a good day for the Spanish teams. At the beginning, after an exciting match, Feyenoord had to accept Girona’s superiority and lost 2-3.
In later matches, Benfica defeated Atletico Madrid 4-0, and Real Madrid sensationally lost away to Lille 0-1. The only goal for the French team was scored by Jonathan David from a penalty kick.
Juventus played a great game, winning away against RB Leipzig 3-2, even though they had to play with ten men for a large part of the match after Di Gregorio’s red card.
After a painful beating from Bayern in the previous round, the players of Dinamo Zagreb were close to winning, leading against Monaco 2-0, but in the end they lost the victory and had to settle for a draw.
Wednesday’s Champions League matches:
Shakhtar Donetsk – Atalanta Bergamo 0:3
Girona FC – Feyenoord Rotterdam 2:3
Aston Villa – Bayern Monachium 1:0
Lille OSC – Real Madrid 1-0
Liverpool FC – FC Bologna 2:0
Benfica – Atletico Madrid 4-0
RB Leipzig – Juventus 2:3
Dinamo Zagreb – AS Monaco 2:2
Sturm Graz – Club Brugge 0:1
Read also:
ps, PolskieRadio24.pl
