REUTERS: Atalanta edged into the Champions League spots when a late Marten De Roon penalty and deflected Mario Pasalic strike earned a 2-0 win over Udinese in a tense Serie A game on Monday.The Bergamo-based team, who have never qualified for the Europe's flagship club competition before, moved into fourth place with 59 points, one ahead of AS Roma with four games left.They are followed by Torino and AC Milan (56) and Lazio (55) in what has become a fascinating battle for fourth place.Atalanta were missing forward Josip Ilicic and were frustrated by Udinese for the first hour before the cracks started appearing in the visiting defence.The hosts twice failed to find the finishing touch to balls rolled across the face of goal and Udinese goalkeeper Juan Musso made a desperate save after Alejandro Gomez's cross was deflected towards goal.But they also had a let-off in between as Rodrigo de Paul curled a low shot against the post after a solo run.The breakthrough finally came with eight … [Read more...] about Late goals send Atalanta into Champions League spots
Champions league
Vardy double deals fresh blow to Arsenal’s Champions League hopes
It was the third time in seven days that the north London side, once renowned for an impregnable defence, had conceded three goals following 3-2 and 3-1 Premier League league defeats by Crystal Palace and Wolves respectively. Leicester's Youri Tielemans opened the scoring at the King Power Stadium in the second half and Vardy netted twice for the Foxes after the visitors had defender Ainsley Maitland-Niles dismissed for two bookable offences before half-time. The winning goals, however, owed little to that dismissal. Arsenal failed to stop James Maddison's cross or mark Tielemans as he stole in to head home the first, then were embarrassingly outwitted by a goal-kick from which Vardy poached the second with the help of a rebound off the crossbar. - Uphill battle - It left Unai Emery's men facing an uphill battle to force their way back into the top four, although victory in the Europa League could also secure a Champions League place. Three defeats in a row, … [Read more...] about Vardy double deals fresh blow to Arsenal’s Champions League hopes
Football: AC Milan’s Champions League hopes hit by Torino defeat
REUTERS: AC Milan’s hopes of qualifying for next season's Champions League suffered a setback after they were beaten 2-0 by Torino on Sunday, their first Serie A defeat to the Turin club since November 2001.An Andrea Belotti penalty and Alex Berenguer strike in the second half put Walter Mazzarri’s side in charge before Milan captain Alessio Romagnoli was sent off late on for dissent.The win lifted Torino to 56 points, level with Milan, but the Turin club move ahead of Gennaro Gattuso’s side and Atalanta into fifth place due to their superior head-to-head record over both sides.Roma currently occupy the fourth and final Champions League spot on 58 points, but Atalanta (56) have the chance to overtake them by beating Udinese on Monday.(Reporting by Alasdair Mackenzie, editing by Pritha Sarkar) … [Read more...] about Football: AC Milan’s Champions League hopes hit by Torino defeat
AC Milan’s Champions League hopes hit by Torino defeat
REUTERS: AC Milan’s hopes of qualifying for next season's Champions League suffered a setback after they were beaten 2-0 by Torino on Sunday, their first Serie A defeat to the Turin club since November 2001.An Andrea Belotti penalty and Alex Berenguer strike in the second half put Walter Mazzarri’s side in charge before Milan captain Alessio Romagnoli was sent off late on for dissent.The win lifted Torino to 56 points, level with Milan, but the Turin club move ahead of Gennaro Gattuso’s side and Atalanta into fifth place due to their superior head-to-head record over both sides.Roma currently occupy the fourth and final Champions League spot on 58 points, but Atalanta (56) have the chance to overtake them by beating Udinese on Monday.(Reporting by Alasdair Mackenzie, editing by Pritha Sarkar) … [Read more...] about AC Milan’s Champions League hopes hit by Torino defeat
Football: Barcelona Women beat Bayern to reach first Champions League final
MADRID: Barcelona Women will play Lyon in their first ever Champions League final after beating Bayern Munich 1-0 on Sunday (Apr 28) to secure a 2-0 aggregate victory.Lyon will be attempting to lift the cup for a fourth consecutive time, and sixth overall, when they play the final in Budapest on May 18.But Barca have never gone this far, having lost in the last four to Paris Saint-Germain on their previous best run in 2017.Mariona Caldentey's penalty towards the end of the first half proved the difference against Bayern in front of a crowd of 12,764 at Miniestadi, a Barcelona record for a women's home match.The one blot on the afternoon was Kheira Hamraoui being sent off in the 70th minute, which left her team hanging on and means she will be suspended for the final.Bayern captain Melanie Leupolz had earlier rattled the crossbar and Sara Dabritz was among those to miss good chances during a period of sustained pressure after half-time.Barca keeper Sandra Panos also made an … [Read more...] about Football: Barcelona Women beat Bayern to reach first Champions League final