Author: Vishwajit Sawant
Late goals from Manchester City substitutes secure 3-1 win over Leipzig
In a thrilling Champions League match on Wednesday, Manchester City substitutes Julián Álvarez and Jérémy Doku orchestrated a late comeback to secure a 3-1 win against Leipzig, and the title holders showed their dominance once again.
The match began with City taking control, and Phil Foden opened the scoring in the 25th minute, taking advantage of a pass from Rico Lewis to score with his weaker right foot. Despite Erling Haaland’s efforts for Leipzig, the first half saw few chances for the home side.
However, Leipzig’s luck changed in the second half when Loïs Openda scored in the 48th minute after a precise pass from Yussuf Poulsen. Leipzig began to show more ambition, threatening City on the counter-attack.
In the final moments of the game, Julián Álvarez showed his brilliance by firing a shot against the crossbar, breaking Leipzig’s resistance. He then became the provider, setting up Jérémy Doku to seal the win with a counter-attacking goal in injury time. Brazilian goalkeeper Ederson played the entire 90 minutes for City in goal.
FK Crvena Zvezda and Young Boys draw 2-2
In a thrilling UEFA Champions League match, FK Crvena Zvezda and Young Boys couldn’t break the deadlock and drew 2-2. Cherif Ndiaye opened the scoring for the home side in the 35th minute, but Young Boys responded quickly with Filip Ugrinic scoring in the 41st minute. The Swiss team took the lead in the second half thanks to Cedric Itten’s goal in the 61st minute. Note that the referee disallowed THREE Crvena Zvezda goals during the match. And it wouldn’t be fair if the team lost. In the 88th minute, Osman Boukari equalized for the hosts.
Substitute Ferran Torres secures Barcelona’s 1-0 win against Porto
Barcelona earned a hard-fought 1-0 victory over Porto in an intense Champions League Group H clash, but the glory came at the cost of finishing with 10 men after Gavi was shown a second yellow card for a foul at the end of regulation time.
Throughout the contest, Porto were wasteful in front of goal, but largely dominated the game, with important chances missed by Mehdi Taremi, Stephen Eustaquio and Pepe during the first half.
The decisive moment came late in the first half when substitute Ferran Torres, replacing the injured Robert Lewandowski, intercepted a misplaced pass from Porto midfielder Romario Baro. Torres showed flair and precision to put the ball in the net.
In the second half, Porto rallied, with Barça defender Jules Kounde making a remarkable last-second save to deny Pepe’s point-blank goal from a quick counter-attack.
Porto’s hopes were further dashed in the 77th minute when they believed they had conceded a penalty for a handball by Barcelona’s João Cancelo. However, the VAR intervened, revealing that Eustáquio had used his left arm to control the ball during the play, which led the referee to overturn the decision. Brazilians Wendell and Pepe completed the 90 minutes, while Wenderson Galeno was substituted in the 85th minute for FC Porto and Raphinha did not play for FC Barcelona due to injury.
Barcelona withstood Porto’s relentless pressure in the second half, with goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen making crucial saves from shots by Wendell and Galeno. The win put Barcelona top of Group H with six points from two games, while Porto and Shakhtar Donetsk are three points behind after Shakhtar’s 3-2 win over Antwerp earlier in the day.
Shakhtar Donetsk beat Royal Antwerp FC in thrilling 3-2 win
The Belgian side went ahead early on with goals from Arbnor Muja and Michel Ange Balikwisha, but Shakhtar managed to recover thanks to a brace from Danylo Sikan and a goal from Yaroslav Rakitskyi. Royal Antwerp FC had a late chance to salvage a point with a penalty, but Toby Alderweireld’s miss sealed their fate in this thrilling encounter. Brazilian Eguinaldo was an unused substitute for Shakhtar Donetsk.