(Football news) After an emotional and turbulent weekend for Manchester United, caretaker manager Michael Carrick and his team travelled to Estadio de la Cerámica to face Villarreal who were level on points (7) with Man Utd after playing four games. A win would assure either side a place in the knockout stage of the competition and Manchester United desperately needed a positive result, especially after the 4-1 humiliation against Watford at Vicarage Road.
Carrick made four changes from Solskjaer’s last match in charge with Donny Van De Beek getting a rare opportunity to feature in the starting XI as well as Jadon Sancho, Anthony Martial and Alex Telles found themselves on the team sheet. The most surprising inclusion was Martial for Bruno Fernandes but the Portuguese midfielder is currently out of form and has failed to replicate last season’s performances so far. Despite the changes, the visitors struggled in the first half and David De Gea ensured his side were still in the match by making some truly breathtaking saves.
Just when a goalless draw looked like the most likely result, Cristiano Ronaldo found the back of the net in the 78th minute to score his sixth Champions League goal of the season and his 10th goal overall in all competitions. If that wasn’t all, Jadon Sancho’s thunderbolt of a strike doubled Manchester United’s lead in the 90th minute to ensure his side secured all three points and progressed to the knockout stage with one game to spare. For Villarreal, they will have to compete against Atalanta for the runners-up position, the Italian side drew 3-3 against Young Boys yesterday and are one point behind Unai Emery’s side in the Group F.
Reigning European champions Chelsea proved exactly why they are the team to beat after an emphatic 4-0 victory against Juventus in the Champions League to secure their place in the knockout stages. The Blues took the lead midway through the first half when Trevoh Chalobah found the back of the net in the 25th minute with a powerful shot that was set up by Antonio Rudiger from Hakim Ziyech’s corner. Despite more opportunities for the home side, Chelsea failed to increase their lead in the first half as Szczesny made some good saves to keep Juventus in the game.
However, the second half proved to be a different story entirely as Reece James doubled Chelsea’s lead in the 55th minute, scoring his fifth goal in all competitions when his powerful right footed shot found the back of the net. If that wasn’t all, Hudson-Odoi became the third homegrown Chelsea player to find himself on the scoresheet just three minutes later with a close range finish in the 58th minute. With three points all but guaranteed for Chelsea, Timo Werner scored the fourth goal in stoppage time (90+5), converting Ziyech’s cross from close range. With Thomas Tuchel playing his full strength side against Juventus and the likes of Ben Chillwell and N’Golo Kante suffering from knee injuries, it will be interesting to see Chelsea’s starting XI in their weekend clash against Manchester United.
Xavi Hernandez’s first Champions League match as Barcelona manager didn’t go as he would have hoped as his side were held to a 0-0 draw against third place Benfica in Group E. The Blaugrana have progressed into the knockout stage in every Champions League for almost two decades but now face a difficult task of defeating Bayern Munich in their final Group stage match. The German side are currently on top of the group, eight points ahead of second place Barcelona, having won all five matches that have been played so far. If Barcelona fail to defeat Bayern Munich at the Allianz Arena and Benfica defeat the already eliminated Dynamo Kiev, the Portuguese club would overtake Barca and progress to the knockouts at the Spanish club’s expense.
However, Xavi Hernandez’s team can take solace in the fact that since Bayern Munich have already qualified for the knockout stage, they might feature a weakened team which gives Barcelona a better chance of getting all three points. Visiting the Allianz Arena is never an easy task for even the strongest teams in Europe and Bayern Munich just might go all guns blazing in order to defeat a historic rival and ensure their perfect record remains intact heading into the Champions League quarter-finals.
