Liverpool and FC Barcelona have done very well in the battle for the top eight in the Champions League. On a visit to Olympique Marseille, Arne Slot thanked former Ajax goalkeeper Geronimo Rulli with an own goal. In the Czech Republic, FC Barcelona had a more difficult time, but ultimately won in a goal-fest.
Olympique Marseille – Liverpool (0-3)
The first chances of the match were for Slot’s team. Milos Kerkez and Joe Gomez came closest. Olympique Marseille also looked for an attack, but the first attempt went over the goal. Hugo Ekitike thought he had given The Reds the lead, but his goal was disallowed due to VAR intervention. Eventually the lead came through a beautiful free kick from the foot of Dominik Szoboszlai.
After the break, the English came out of the dressing room stronger than the French. Ekitike was close to 0-2, but hit the woodwork. Roberto De Zerbi’s team did not have a nice evening and they had to wait for Liverpool’s second goal. It came in the 72nd minute. Jeremie Frimpong passed his direct opponent Igor Paixão very easily and passed low. The ball ended up in their own goal via Facundo Medina and Rulli. The chances for Liverpool continued to come and eventually Cody Gakpo set the final score at 0-3.
Slavia Prague – FC Barcelona (2-4)
FC Barcelona had to go deep in Prague, but took the full spoils after a hard-fought victory over Slavia Prague. The home team got out of the starting blocks and took an early lead through Vasil Kusej. He worked in an extended corner at the far post. Frenkie de Jong lost a match there. The visitors responded through Fermín López, who scored twice in a short time. He first finished after an assist from De Jong. Not much later he curled in from the edge of the penalty area for the 1-2. The Catalans could not enjoy this for long, as a corner was unfortunately turned into their own goal by Robert Lewandowski.
After the break, Pedri was injured, after which Dani Olmo came on. The midfielder only needed two minutes to distinguish himself with a beautiful strike in the intersection. The 2-4 was not long in coming after that. From a quick build-up, Marcus gave Rashford the ball and with a bit of luck Lewandowski tapped into the right goal this time. The sixth goal also marked the last of the evening. With the victory, Hansi Flick’s team still has a chance to skip the intermediate round on the last match day.
Juventus – Benfica (2-0)
Benfica had to win in Turin to keep the intermediate round in their own hands, but lost against an efficient Juventus. José Mourinho’s team started the match in a controlled manner and had one of the first chances of the match through Georgiy Sudakov. Goalkeeper Michele Di Gregorio had little trouble with it. Juventus gradually got better into the match. Anatoliy Trubin had to take action several times, but kept his goal clear.
After the break the score remained the same, until Khephren Thuram struck. On the edge of the sixteen he got possession of the ball and shot in hard and low for the 1-0. Not much later, Weston McKennie doubled the lead. In the small space the American was able to combine with Jonathan David and face to face with Trubin he did not miss. On the other hand, there was another miss. Vangelis Pavlidis was allowed to shoot from eleven meters, but during his attempt he slipped and missed the goal completely.
Other results:
Atalanta – Athletic Club (2-3)
Chelsea – Paphos (1-0)
Bayern Munich – Union Saint-Gilloise (2-0)
