KT 3-4-2013_Layout 1 - Kuwait Times

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WEDNESDAY, APRIL 3, 2013
Drogba back to
18
where he began
for Real clash
FIFA picks GoalControl goal-line tech system Page 18
PARIS: Barcelona’s Alexis Sanchez (right) vies with Paris Saint Germain’s Christophe Jallet during their UEFA Champions League quarter-final first leg match between PSG and Barcelona at Parc des Princes stadium. — AP
PSG earn well deserved draw
PARIS: Baise Matuidi’s goal deep in stoppage
time earned Paris Saint Germain a deserved 2-2
draw in in their Champions League quarter-final
first leg against Barcelona at Parc des Princes
here yesterday.
Barca appeared to have snatched the win
when Xavi Hernandez converted from the spot in
the last minute of normal time after Zlatan
Ibrahimovic had cancelled out Lionel Messi’s first
half opener.
The penalty was awarded when PSG goalkeeper
Salvatore Sirigu charged out and brought
down Alexis Sanchez. Messi put the Spanish
giants into a 38th minute lead when set up
superbly by Daniel Alves. This was the Argentine
four-time world footballer of the year’s 57th goal
Bayern see off
Juventus to inch
towards semis
MUNICH: Bayern Munich have one foot in the Champions
League semi-finals after their 2-0 win at home to Juventus
yesterday in the quarter-final, first leg clash.
Munich needed less than a minute to take the lead over
the Italians through a thunderous strike by Austria defender
David Alaba before Germany’s Thomas Mueller grabbed
Bayern’s second at the Allianz Arena with an hour gone.
With both sides top of their respective leagues,
Bundesliga giants Bayern are bidding to reach their third
Champions League final in four years while Juventus have
won all five of their previous European quarter-finals against
German teams.
But Juventus will have to produce a top performance
next week if they are to maintain that record as Bayern dominated
this match.
Munich coach Jupp Heynckes demonstrated Bayern’s
strength in depth by leaving Peru striker Claudio Pizarro on
the bench-despite scoring four goals in Saturday’s 9-2 rout
of Hamburg-with Mario Mandzukic starting as the lone striker.
Brazil star Luiz Gustavo came in for the suspended Javi
Martinez alongside Bastian Schweinsteiger in Munich’s
defensive midfield.
For Juventus, strikers Alessandro Matri and Fabio
Quagliarella paired up again in attack, while the trio of
Giorgio Chiellini, Stephan Lichtsteiner and Claudio Marchisio
were all brought into Antonio Conte’s 3-5-2 formation.
Bayern needed just 26 seconds to take the lead when
Alaba launched a left-footed rocket from 35 metres out
which gave Juventus goalkeeper Gianlugi Buffon no chance.
The ball took a slight deflection off Juventus’ Arturo Vidal
on the way to the bottom right-hand corner in what was
one of the fastest goals in Champions League history.
Toni Kroos’ early groin injury meant Bayern had to shuffle
their midfield with Arjen Robben coming onto the rightwing,
Mueller moving into the middle with Franck Ribery on
the left.
Both Ribery and Robben kept Buffon busy with crisp
shots, while Schweinsteiger curled a free-kick just over the
top right-hand corner of the goal.
in all competitions this season. But Messi’s night
came to a premature end when he suffered a
right hamstring injury and failed to emerge for
the second half. He is due to undergo tests to
determine the extent of the damage today.
Ibrahimovic, who had an unhappy one season
spell with Barca, put PSG back in the game
when pouncing on a rebound after a Thiago Silva
header in the 79th minute ricocheted off the far
post. Then Matuidi popped up in the fourth
minute of injury time to give PSG hope for the
return leg at the Camp Nou next week.
The big-spending French club’s coach Carlo
Ancelotti sprang a surprise when electing to
start 37-year-old English star David Beckham.
It was the veteran midfielder’s first champions
MUNICH: Juventus’ defender Giorgio Chiellini (top) vies
for the ball with Bayern Munich’s Croatian striker Mario
Mandzukic during the UEFA Champions League quarter
final football match. — AFP
Munich kept up the pressure and the second goal came
on 63 minutes when Gustavo fired in a long-range shot,
which Buffon parried, but Mandzukic was on hand to square
the ball for Mueller to tap in.
There was more bad news for the Italians as midfielders
Vidal and Lichtsteiner will both miss the return leg after
picking up second-half bookings.
With Munich aiming to become the first German club to
claim the treble of domestic league, cup and Champions
League titles, Bayern can wrap up the Bundesliga on
Saturday if they win at Eintracht Frankfurt. With seven
games left and a 20-point lead, it would be the earliest confirmed
title win in the German league’s history. — AFP
League appearance since coming on as a substitute
for AC Milan in a 4-0 drubbing by former
club Manchester United at Old Trafford in 2010.
Beckham, speaking to ITV television, reflected:
“In the first half, especially the first ten minutes
we had a few very good chances, then they
got their goal, it was an uphill battle but I think
we deserved a draw tonight.”
On being named in the starting line-up he
said: “The manager has shown a lot of confidence
in me in games and in big moments,
tonight was a big moment for the club.
“I’m pretty much at the same level as I was at
AC Milan, it was only three years ago, I’m enjoying
being part of these nights again, they don’t
get better than this.”
On PSG’s prospects to qualify for the semifinals
he added: “Our chances are better than
they were at 2-1 - it’s going to be difficult but no
reason not to go there and get a result.”
And ever the gentleman he offered good
wishes to the injured Messi, saying: “We all hope
Messi is fit and ready to go - we wish him the
best.” Meanwhile, Paris Saint-Germain striker
Zlatan Ibrahimovic heaped praise on his former
team-mate Lionel Messi, but insisted it was too
soon to describe the Argentine as the greatest
player of all time.
Messi, who turns 26 this year, scored his 43rd
goal of the season in La Liga at the weekend,
becoming the first player ever to score against
every other team in the league in consecutive
LONDON: After a collective blow-out in the Champions
League, England has a three-pronged attack on Europe’s
second tier competition with Chelsea, Tottenham
Hotspur and Newcastle United all vying for Europa
League success.
The three Premier League sides were all kept apart in
the draw for the last eight and head into Thursday’s quarter-final
first legs looking to earn back some of the country’s
European lustre.
European champions Chelsea host Russian outfit
Rubin Kazan, London rivals Tottenham welcome Swiss
side Basel and Newcastle travel to Benfica.
Fenerbahce’s clash with Lazio is the only quarter-final
not to feature a Premier League club. For Chelsea, tomorrow’s
match against Rubin is the start of a gruelling fixture
pile-up that involves playing five matches in 13 days
as they look to do battle in three
competitions.
Defeat to Southampton in the
Premier League on Saturday left them looking vulnerable
in a three-way fight with Tottenham and Arsenal for the
final two Champions League qualification spots.
But victory over Manchester United in an FA Cup quarter-final
replay 48 hours later set them up nicely for an
end-of-season push for silverware.
“My priority is the top four and trying to win the next
game, in the Europa League,” Chelsea’s persistently
under-fire interim manager Rafa Benitez said after
Monday’s hard-fought 1-0 win.
“We’re in the semi-finals of the FA Cup, quarter-finals
of the Europa League. It’s a great season at the moment.
It could be even better.”
Chelsea start as overwhelming favourites but Rubin
are no pushovers having knocked out holders Atletico
Madrid and their La Liga rivals Levante in two previous
rounds to reach a European quarter-final for the first time.
The club from the Volga region, the last remaining
Russian side in the competition, warmed up for the
Chelsea clash with a 2-0 home win over Lokomotiv
Moscow on Saturday, moving them into fourth place in
the league table.
Tottenham, who like Chelsea are almost certainly pri-
games.
The Argentine has broken endless goalscoring
records in recent times. “I think today for
sure Messi is the best player in the world,” said
Ibrahimovic, who played alongside the reigning
world player of the year at the Camp Nou in the
2009-10 season.
“He has been winning this golden ball for so
long now (he has won it four times in a row),
maybe they should change it’s name to Messi
from the Ballon d’Or.
“He breaks every record there is and is still
young, but is he the best ever? “I think he has
to quit football and then you can say if he is the
best there has been. We can talk about it now,
but when he quits playing I will answer.” — AFP
Preview
English clubs eye redemption
Europa League
oritising their fight for a top-four finish in the Premier
League, host Basel, the Swiss champions for the last three
seasons.
The Swiss have lost only two league matches since
Murat Yakin, a former Switzerland defender, took over as
coach at the end of October and are unbeaten domestically
this year. They are the only reigning domestic champions
still in the Europa League.
They last reached the quarter-finals of a European
competition in 2005/06 when Middlesbrough knocked
them out of the then UEFA Cup.
“We are extremely excited about this draw,” said Yakin.
“Tottenham Hotspur are a great team from a wonderful
city. We have nothing to lose against them. We have
earned the opportunity to play against teams like these.
It’s already a huge accomplishment to be in the last eight
of the Europa League.”
For Newcastle, the Europa
League is a distraction from their
domestic battle to avoid relegation with the club three
points above the drop zone following a crushing 4-0
defeat to Manchester City on Saturday. Manager Alan
Pardew, who was handed a remarkable eight-year contract
at the start of the season, has promised fans that his
side will put in an improved display in Lisbon.
“It’s one of the great European adventures, trust me,”
Pardew said. “Their stadium is going to be rocking on
Thursday night - and after our result they will be looking
forward to us coming.
“But we will certainly be better than we were on
Saturday.” Fenerbahce host Lazio with the Turkish side
looking to improve on a dismal record against Italian
teams, having lost 10 of 13 clashes to date.
Lazio are fifth in Serie A after their 2-1 win over
Catania on Saturday but still have an outside chance of
finishing third and a place in the Champions League next
season.
Coach Vladimir Petkovic, who speaks eight languages,
said of Fenerbahce: “They are very good, especially at
home. Turkish sides don’t usually shine when they play
away, however. “We have great respect for them but they
are not unbeatable.” — Reuters