European round-up: Ronaldo double not enough for Juve; Nuno overcomes Pedro Martins in Europa

The Champions League and Europa League knockout stages are fully underway again, as the quarter final line-ups are decided in both competitions. The last eight in the Europa was decided by Thursday evening, while on Friday heavyweights Juventus and Real Madrid exited the Champions League after their last-16 second legs were played.

Cristiano Ronaldo’s Juventus were eliminated by Lyon on away goals after a 2-1 win for the Italians on home soil levelled the tie up at 2-2 on aggregate. Ronaldo got both goals for Juve, but the Portugal captain is out of the tournament before the quarter finals for the first time in ten years.

 

 

CL disappointment again for Juve

Juve’s evening was always unlikely to be easy, with the Bianconeri looking to overturn a 1-0 deficit against a dangerous Lyon side in far from inspiring form. The Italians came into the match having clinched a 9th successive Italian league title but Maurizio Sarri’s side lost three of their final four league games in a subdued end to the campaign.

The home side’s task was made more difficult when Lyon were awarded a penalty after 12 minutes at the Allianz Stadium for a trip on Houssem Aouar by Filippo Bernadeschi, and Memphis Depay converted to leave Juventus needing a two-goal margin of victory due to their away goals disadvantage.

Inevitably, Ronaldo was at the forefront of the attempt to revive Juventus’ hopes, and he perhaps could have done better with a headed chance on 20 minutes. Ronaldo was denied by fellow Portuguese Anthony Lopes in the Lyon goal when dispatching a free-kick, but a subsequent set-piece led to a penalty awarded for handball by Depay in the defensive wall and Ronaldo converted to send the teams into the break level at 1-1.

Juve needed two goals after the break, but could only find their way past Lopes on one further occasion and it took something spectacular from Ronaldo. Receiving the ball 25 yards from goal, the Seleção skipper opened up space for a left-footed shot and unleashed a fantastic drive which Lopes could not keep out.

Ronaldo’s brilliant footwork and cross created a great opportunity for Gonzalo Higuain who headed off target, and Juve were left to rue giving themselves too big a mountain to climb in conceding the first two goals of the tie. The Serie A champions’ long wait for a third Champions League trophy continues, with Juve last lifting Europe’s premier club competition 24 years ago in their 1996 triumph over Ajax.

Following the match, Juve president Andrea Agnelli fielded a range of questions, including on the future of talisman Ronaldo after a midweek report from France Football suggested the Portuguese could be keen on a move to Paris Saint-Germain: “I am entirely convinced he will stay,” Agnelli said. “I think the report was down to an interview from several months ago, which just happened to be published just before we played against a French team. It’s an old media trick. No, I can assure you that Ronaldo remains a pillar of Juventus.”

Cancelo, Bernardo advance as City beat Real

Lyon’s opponents in the quarter finals in Lisbon will be English side Manchester City, who beat Real Madrid 2-1 in both legs to secure a 4-2 aggregate victory. The return meeting in Manchester saw Portuguese international João Cancelo play at left-back, while Bernardo Silva was introduced midway through the second half as a highly effective retainer of possession.

A lively opening half, which included Cancelo bursting into the attacking third and forcing a save from Real goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois, saw both teams get on the scoresheet as Gabriel Jesus robbed Raphael Varane and teed up Raheem Sterling to put City ahead, before Karim Benzema levelled for the visitors.

The crucial next goal arrived just after Bernardo had replaced Phil Foden at the halfway point of the second half, as once again Varane was culpable in losing possession to Brazilian Jesus who finished well. During Bernardo Silva’s 25 minutes on the field he played 20 passes and maintained a 100% completion rate.

Europa League: Nuno’s Wolves through as “proud” Martins bows out with Olympiacos

The resumption of the Europa League began with four Portuguese coaches still in contention for the trophy, but at the end of Thursday night’s action there were just two remaining as the quarter final places were finalised.

The headline clash from a Portuguese perspective saw Nuno Espírito Santo’s Wolves host Greek champions Olympiacos, led by Pedro Martins, at Molineux. The teams played out a 1-1 draw in Piraeus in march and the return leg was similarly competitive as the visitors pushed Nuno’s side hard before succumbing to a narrow 1-0 defeat.

Both sides have become established hot spots for Portuguese players under their respective Luso managers, but while Nuno was able to select freely from his contingent, Martins was hampered by injuries and suspension. Wolves started with Rui Patrício, João Moutinho, Rúben Neves and Daniel Podence, but Olympiacos were missing goalkeeper José Sa to a wrist problem while Rúben Semedo was serving a ban.

Much of the focus during the build-up from the Olympiacos end centred on deputy goalkeeper Bobby Allain, who was making his European debut for the club in place of Sa. The Frenchman soon became the central figure in the match after eight minutes when Podence pressed his former side into sloppy play at the back and Allain barged the Portuguese winger over for a penalty, which Raul Jimenez converted.

The goal proved to be the winner, although Olympiacos thought they had equalised on 28 minutes, only for Mohamed Camara’s strike to be subsequently disallowed by VAR for the tightest of offside calls. The match became notable for chances at either end, with Patrício starring in the Wolves goal to deny the Greek side, while Diogo Jota should have scored after seizing on an error by Ousseynou Ba.

At the final whistle, Nuno headed straight for his goalkeeper Patrício to demonstrate his appreciation, while a frustrated Martins appeared to exchange words with the officials. Speaking after the match, both bosses praised their own sides after an extremely well-contested European tie.

“It’s exciting to be in the last eight,” Nuno said, who will now prepare his side to meet Sevilla. “More than a year ago we played Crusaders, here at Molineux, and we’ve finished the Europa League at Molineux, the only thing is we should be here at Molineux for the quarter-finals.

“It’s a long way and today we made it worth it, football gives us good moments, gives us bad moments, but it’s so enjoyable to compete – this is what this group of boys like, they like to play football.

“We started the game well, pressing good and having good possession of the ball. The moment we scored, we lost it, we didn’t press, we allowed Olympiacos to play.

“The second-half, Olympiacos started better than us and we were not able, in one moment, to have good possession of the ball. It’s something we have to look at. We had a chance to kill the game, but they had a lot of chances also.”

Martins meanwhile told reporters: “These two games did not go for us. In both there were moments when we showed that we are equal and better than the opponent. We are proud of the boys. The team has done an excellent job.

I have doubts about the offside line in our goal. They can put as many lines as they want but we will have doubts.

“We are sad. We showed we are not inferior. This is missing from Olympiakos, a distinction in Europe. We had ambition and we wanted to go further. This team only makes us proud. We are a family. We reach the end with sorrow, we deserved better. The first goal for next season is to enter the group stage of the Champions League.”

Castro advances as Fonseca’s Roma well beaten

Contrasting fortunes for the remaining two Portuguese coaches in the Europa League, as Luís Castro and Shakhtar Donetsk beat Wolfsburg to head for the last eight, while Paulo Fonseca’s Roma were unable to continue their recent improved form against Spaniards Sevilla.

Ukrainian champions Shakhtar led Wolfsburg 2-1 from the first leg in Germany ahead of hosting the return in Kiev on Thursday, and three goals – all scored after the 88th minute – sealed a 3-0 win for Luis Castro’s side for a 5-1 aggregate victory. Shakhtar will meet Swiss outfit Basel on Monday for a place in the semi-finals.

“I always tell the team that they are good enough to play at any stadium in the world against any opponents,” Castro said after the match. “We fear no foreign stadium, city or rivals. I am delighted at the fact that we are able to bring joy and happiness to the fans and the club. This is our major objective. We never hide away from our game - we always try to stick to our play in order to always delight the fans. Let me say it again: credit for this goes just to my team, my players. I want to congratulate them once again on a great performance.”

Fonseca meanwhile was left to defend his tactics after Roma were comprehensively outplayed by Sevilla in their one-off last-16 clash in Duisburg in Germany. Roma stars Edin Dzeko and Lorenzo Pellegrini both appeared to question the tactics and the lack of urgency to change things during their post-match interviews, but Fonseca tried to offer a different perspective.

“I too am disappointed, but I have to say we deserved to lose,” said the former Porto boss. “At this moment, Sevilla are a better team, they played better and we have to accept their superiority.

“We did all we could, but it was difficult to play against a team that right now is playing better. It’s easy right now to seek explanations for this moment. I am the main person responsible, but we have to look at reality and the reality is that Sevilla are at this moment better.

“I’d make the same choices again. The same. The team won almost every game in Serie A lately, we were doing well with this system and I had no reason to change. If I’d changed the system for this match, it would not have been a balanced approach. It’s difficult to accept, but we have to accept without excuses that we lost to a team that simply played better.”

By Sean Gillen

@SeanGillen9