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| Manchester City players celebrate in front of their home crowd Photo Courtesy Tom Jenkins/The Guardian |
Europe’s most prestigious continental club competition returned after two weeks of absence for the 2nd half of the group stages which was also the reverse fixtures of the previous matchday.
Manchester City 3-1 Barcelona
After being dismantled by Barcelona two weeks ago in Camp Nou. Manchester City had their revenge against the Spanish champions last night in front of their home crowd in the Etihad Stadium to close the gap in the top of the Group C. In the 21st minute Barcelona took the lead after a great counter attack which was finished by Lionel Messi, his goal increases his goal tally against English clubs in his career, he has now scored 16 games in his last 15 games against teams from England. Ilkay Gundogan equalized the game at the 39th minute after a great low cross by Sterling which left the keeper scrambling to cover the other side of the goal. Kevin De Bruyne gave Man City the unlikely lead in the 51st minute when he scored a fantastic free kick. In the 74th minute Gundogan scored the final goal of the game to seal away the game for his team, however it was not without a controversy, since his goal rebounded from the arms of Sergio Aguero which the Barcelona players are quick to protest, however the referee was not interested on the protests and the goal stood for Man City.
PSV Eindhoven 1-2 Bayern Munich
The Dutch champions are looking to have a better performance against the Bavarians after they were beaten 4-1 at the Allianz Arena in front of Bayern’s home crowd. Things were looking good for them in the 14th minute when Arias headed down the rebound of the keeper’s save of an earlier attempt by his teammate. Although his goal was protested by the Bayern players that according to them Arias was in an offside position when the ball was first played into the box. However the referee didn’t acknowledged the protest and awarded PSV with the goal. Munich was given a penalty in the 34th minute in which Robert Lewandowski manages to convert to equalize the match at 1-1. Then in the 73rd minute Lewandowski scored his second of the game after he tucked in the perfectly placed cross by David Alaba to win the match for his team.
Ludogorets 2-3 Arsenal
Arsenal are looking forward to do the same thing they did two weeks ago to Ludogorets when they crushed the 6-0, however the Bulgarian champions are hoping for a better performance in front of their home crowd. In the span of three minutes from the 12th minute to the 15th minute, Ludogorets are looking to have its revenge when they score twice in three minutes. The first goal came in the 12th minute when Jonathan Cafu guided the ball to the net from a good free kick delivery. Three minutes later Ludogorets were 2-0 up already this time the goal came from Cladiu Kaseru when he scored the cross to the box from his teammates. In the 20th minute Granit Xhaka pulled one back for the Gunners when he scored in the box from a cross by Mesut Ozil. In the 41st minute the game was leveled when Olivier Gioud headed in the cross by Aaron Ramsey to make it 2-2 before the break. The scored remained the same until with just 3 minutes left in the 87th minute when Mesut Ozil complete the comeback win with a late goal to break the hearts of the Bulgarian Champions.
Atletico Madrid 2-1 Rostov
Atletico who just squeezed past Rostov in Russia 1-0 two weeks ago, wants to have a better performance in front of their home crowd at the Vicente Calderon Stadium located in the heart of Madrid. Greizmann put Atletico 1-0 up in the 28th minute when he scored from the header mistake by a Rostov player who headed the ball in the direction of Griezmann, which the Frenchman capitalizes. However just two minutes later Sardar Azmoun put his side back in to game when he scored a goal to make the scoreline 1-1, and the scoreline remained 1-1 until the 90+3 minute when once again Antoine Greizmann scored a close range looping goal to win it late for Atletico.
Other Champions League results:
Basel 1-2 Paris St. Germain
Benfica 1-0 Dinamo Kyiv
Besiktas 1-1 Napoli
Borussia Monchengladbach 1-1 Celtic
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