Key events
It’s 1-0 to PSG, by the way. Khvicha Kvaratskhelia scored against Liverpool
Benfica 0-0 Barcelona
Pavlidis, such a star for Benfica – and Greece – this season, makes a pest of himself. He scored a hat-trick in the previous meeting, and still ended up on the losing side.
Bayern 1-0 Bayer
Neuer to the rescue when it seems Frimpong might score. Bayern break but Michael Olise takes a bit too much time over the ball. He does, though, win a free-kick. Kane lashes it, and there’s a handball claim. It looked soft, though Michael Oliver is the ref so who knows? It’s waved away eventually.
Benfica 0-0 Barcelona
Trubin makes three amazing saves after the ball is zipped across to Lewandowski. Barca just can’t force the ball home. The Ukrainian, and Carreras, get it clear.
Benfica 0-0 Barcelona
Slow and steady in Lisbon, buildup play sending Jules Kounde on the overlap but his cross is saved by Trubin.
Goal! Bayern 1-0 Bayer (Kane, 9)
Michael Olise’s cross and Kane snaffles it up, running into the flight of the ball and heading down. That’s a great header, the type the English made their own.
Bayern 0-0 Bayer
Kim seems to be OK, no sign of Eric Dier just yet. Leon Goretzka had a header hacked away.
Benfica 0-0 Barcelona
Barca try to calm things down with the usual passing interchanges. Nobody wants the madness of last time.
Bayern 0-Bayer
Granit Xhaka has started well for Bayer, for whom he is such a key man in midfield. Kim, the Korean defender, seems to have a knock, and a bad one. His knee looks to have twisted and there’s obvious pain.
And away we go across Europe for the last of the first legs.
Inside 20 seconds Sczczesny has to make a save from Akturkoglu, Benfica start at a hell of a rate. It’s either foggy or smoky in Munich, the latter more likely.
In Lisbon, and in Munich, we are just about ready to go.
Zach Neeley gets in touch: “I realize all football fans can be guilty of acting like the worst person with his beverage of choice and “keep drinking that garbage” but I’ve never watching a club World Cup game and don’t plan on changing that. I was so excited to see the women’s version has been delayed, just a scheduling clogging, injury increasing boondoggle.”
Remember when the Champions League was the Big Cup? Well, Don Gianni’s making sure the Saudi money is spread around.
Full-time: Feyenoord 0-2 Inter
Good, professional job done by Inter in Rotterdam. Not a good week for the Dutch clubs. They’ll have it all to do next week. Thuram and Martinez got the goals and Inter continue to look imperious in defence.
Feyenoord 0-2 Inter
The Dutch team seem to have lost all momentum, that penalty save merely keeping the score down rather than being a platform to get back into the tie. De Kuip is quiet in the 90th minute.
For Bayern, Coman over Sane is the call made by Vinny Kompany. No Schick or Boniface for Leverkusen as Frimpong and Adli leads the the attack with Wirtz pulling strings.
For Barcelona, Cubarsí partners with Iñigo Martínez at the back. The midfield trio will be De Jong, Olmo, and Pedri. Lewandowski has scored nine times against Benfica in his Champions League career.
Benfica’s main surprise is Dani not starting, with Bruno Lage playing things safe
Feyenoord 0-2 Inter
Feyenoord haven’t been able to find much and now Osman, the Brighton loanee, is suspended for the second leg.
By the way, PSG v Liverpool teams. That’s one hell of an attack Liverpool are facing in Paris.
PSG: Donnarumma, Hakimi, Marquinhos, Pacho, Nuno Mendes, Neves, Vitinha, Fabian, Kvaratskhelia, Dembele, Barcola. Subs: Safonov, Tenas, Kimpembe, Goncalo Ramos, Doue, Lee, Hernandez, Mayulu, Zaire Emery, Lucas Beraldo, Mbaye.
Liverpool: Alisson, Alexander-Arnold, Konate, van Dijk, Robertson, Gravenberch, Mac Allister, Salah, Szoboszlai, Diaz, Jota. Subs: Jaros, Kelleher, Endo, Nunez, Chiesa, Jones,
Elliott, Tsimikas, McConnell, Quansah, Nyoni.
Zielinski’s penalty saved!
Inter would have been in full control but Timon Wellenreuther went low and to the left of the taker. Joy at De Kuip!
Penalty to Inter!
Jeyland Mitchell caught Thuram’s heel – VAR calls over the German ref, and it’s awarded.
Bayern Munich v Bayer Leverkusen teams
Bayern Munich: Neuer, Laimer, Upamecano, Kim, Davies, Kimmich, Goretzka, Olise, Musiala, Coman, Kane. Subs: Ulreich, Urbig, Gnabry, Sane, Dier, Joao Palhinha, Ito, Guerreiro, Boey, Vidovic, Muller, Stanisic.
Bayer Leverkusen: Kovar, Mukiele, Tah, Hermoso, Hincapie, Frimpong, Xhaka, Palacios, Grimaldo, Adli, Wirtz. Subs: Hradecky, Lomb, Hofmann, Tapsoba, Arthur, Schick, Buendia, Tella, Boniface, Garcia.
Benfica v Barcelona teams
Benfica: Trubin, Araujo, Silva, Otamendi, Carreras, Aursnes, Barreiro, Kokcu, Akturkoglu, Pavlidis, Schjelderup. Subs: Soares, Arthur Cabral, Belotti, Prestianni, Dahl, Nuno Felix, Santos, Bajrami, Rego, Sanches, Prioste, Felix.
Barcelona: Szczesny, Kounde, Cubarsi, Martinez, Balde, de Jong, Gonzalez, Yamal, Olmo, Raphinha, Lewandowski. Subs: Pena, Kochen, Araujo, Torres, Fati, Torre, Lopez, Casado, Victor, Garcia, Fort, Gerard.
Feyenoord 0-2 Inter
One hell of a miss from Feyenoord’s Moder. The ball was slipped into his path, but perhaps too quickly. He snatched at it.
Goal! Feyenoord 0-2 Inter (Martinez, 50)
Lautaro Martinez, the skipper, smashes home after some pinball, calmed down by Bastoni’s touch. Wallop, and Inter are set fair.
Feyenoord 0-1 Inter
Back underway in Rotterdam.
Last time Benfica and Barcelona met:
Action from Paris here.
Good evening, you join us with the score in the earlier game Feyenoord 0-1 Inter, with Marcus Thuram grabbing the goal. It was fairly even stuff in Robin van Persie’s first UCL game in charge of his beloved Rotterdam club. It’s half-time at De Kuip.
Preamble
A night of familiar foes awaits. Bayer Leverkusen broke Bayern’s dominance in Germany and if the formerly eternal champions are ahead in this season’s Bundesliga, they still can’t get the better of Bayer, winless in the last six encounters. Xabi Alonso and Florian Wirtz may well be Bayern faces of the future, but for now, Vincent Kompany’s team must find a way, starting at the Allianz.
As for Benfica and Barcelona, it’s a rivalry that extends back to 1961, pre-Eusebio for Benfica, as they denied Barcelona the chance to become European Cup winners like Real Madrid has been the previous five years. Time and tide has regularly rejoined the Iberian giants, not least earlier this season, one of the maddest games in many seasons, a 5-4 win for Barça.
More of the same, let’s hope so? With the latest from Feyenoord v Inter and PSG v Liverpool in the mix, too. Join me.