UEFA Champions League Thread

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Mendy equals Champions League record

Chelsea goalkeeper Edouard Mendy equalled the Champions League's clean sheet record on Saturday after Manchester City became the latest side to be frustrated by the towering Senegal international.

City found no way past the 29-year-old over 90 minutes and went down 1-0 in the Final, with Kai Havertz scoring the only goal of the game just before half-time.

It was the Blues' second Champions League crown and, while there are plenty of heroes in their squad, few did as much to clinch the title as the man between the posts.

Mendy's clean sheet against City was the ninth he has managed in this season's Champions League.

Only 2 'keepers have ever reached that number in a single campaign, meaning the Chelsea star joins an extremely exclusive club.

Both previous record holders set their mark with Spanish sides: Santiago Canizares for Valencia in the 2000-2001 competition and Keylor Navas for Real Madrid in 2015-2016.

Mendy, though, is the first goalkeeper to register 9 clean sheets in his first-ever Champions League campaign.

Credit must also be given to the Chelsea rearguard, which allowed just one shot on target from City throughout the 90 minutes and made Mendy's task far more straightforward than might have been expected before kick-off.

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Champions League - Team of the Season


Mendy (Chelsea)



Kimmich (Bayern) - Azpilicueta - Silva (Chelsea) - Mendy (Real Madrid)



De Bruyne (Man City) - Kante (Chelsea) - Kroos (Real Madrid)



Mahrez (Man City) - Haaland (Dortmund) - Mbappe (PSG)

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UEFA abolishes away goals rule

UEFA has confirmed the away goals rule will be abolished from European competitions, with the change being put into place in time for the 2021-2022 season.

The away goals rule has been used for over half a century but will no longer be used to decide knockout matches in UEFA club competitions, including the Champions League and Europa League.

UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin explained the rule now "runs counter to its original purpose" and stated his belief that it dissuades teams from playing attacking football.

The away goals rule has been in place since the 1965-1966 season, when it was used in the Cup Winners' Cup.

Many have been advocating for its removal from UEFA club competitions, with former Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger and Atletico Madrid head coach Diego Simeone having been against it.

Their argument was that the rule was restrictive to those playing at home, especially in the first leg of knockout ties, and that scoring goals away from home almost counted for double.

An official UEFA statement confirming the news that the away goals rule would no longer be used actively highlights the fact there has been a reduction in home wins, and goals, in UEFA club competitions.

UEFA has announced that, as is common in many elite level football competitions across the world, if the scores are still level over a 2-legged knockout tie there will be two 15-minute periods of extra time.

Should the teams score the same number of goals, or if no further goals are scored, during extra time, a penalty shootout will take place to determine which team will go through to the next round.

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TURUL III PRELIMINAR

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PLAY-OFF

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De Bruyne, Jorginho & Kante nominated for UEFA award

UEFA has confirmed the nominees for the Men's Player of the Year award, with Chelsea duo Jorginho and N'Golo Kante having been joined by Manchester City star Kevin De Bruyne on the list.

Chelsea duo Jorginho and Kante are two of the nominees for the UEFA award after enjoying a stellar 2020-21 campaign that saw the Premier League club lift the Champions League.

Both players started the Champions League Final win over Manchester City, with Kai Havertz's first half strike proving the difference between the two sides in Portugal.

Tuchel's side also secured qualification for Europe's premier club competition for the 2021-2022 campaign courtesy of their 4th place finish in the table, while they would also lift the UEFA SuperCup by beating Villarreal.

In what was a remarkable year individually for Jorginho, the 29-year-old would also go on to win the European Championship with Italy.

The third nominee for the men's award is Manchester City midfielder De Bruyne.

Despite a season disrupted by injury, De Bruyne played a pivotal role to help City win the Premier League title, with his exploits seeing him awarded the PFA Player of the Year award for the second season in a row.

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Jorginho named UEFA Men's Player of the Year

Chelsea star Jorginho has been named UEFA Men's Player of the Year following his heroics for both club and country in the 2020-2021 season.

The Brazil-born midfield ace was a vital part of the Blues engine room as they fought to Champions League glory.

And he repeated the feat over the summer to help deliver the EURO 2020 trophy to Italy.

Jorginho was one of 3 players chosen as finalists for the Player of the Year award.

Chelsea team-mate N'Golo Kante was also included in the final shortlist, as was Kevin De Bruyne, who enjoyed yet another sparkling year for Manchester City.

Ultimately, though, Jorginho's exploits at both club and international level were judged to have put him ahead of his two rivals, leaving him with the prestigious UEFA award.

Prizes were presented by UEFA in a variety of categories during and following Wednesday's Champions League group stage draw, marking out players in each position as well as the best coach.

Unsurprisingly, Chelsea as reigning Champions League winners figured highly, with Edouard Mendy named Goalkeeper of the Year and Kante winning the award for best midfielder.

Coach of the Year also went to Stamford Bridge, as Thomas Tuchel was honoured for a fine campaign with the Blues.

The defensive award went to Manchester City enforcer Ruben Dias, while Erling Haaland was named Europe's best forward thanks to his incredible exploits for Borussia Dortmund last season.

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Ronaldo equals Messi and Casillas Champions League records

Cristiano Ronaldo equalled all-time Champions League records held by Iker Casillas and Lionel Messi during Manchester United's game against Young Boys.

Ronaldo made his first appearance for United in the competition since 2009 on Tuesday as he started in the club's group stage opener.

And in his joint-record 177th appearance in the competition, he marked the event in typical fashion with an early goal to match another milestone held by Messi.

With his start against Young Boys, Ronaldo matched Casillas with a record 177 appearances in the competition.

It took the Portugal star just 13 minutes to open the scoring in Switzerland to put United 1-0 ahead, sealing in the process a share of another record.

Young Boys became the 36th different club he's scored a Champions League goal against, with only Messi matching that mark.

Of course, those are far from the only records that Ronaldo has earned in the Champions League.

He's the competition's all-time top goalscorer with 135 finishes, including 17 in 2013-2014, the most in a single campaign.

Ronaldo also has more knockout-round goals than any other player with a total of 67 outside of the group stages.

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Bellingham breaks Mbappe's UCL record

Jude Bellingham surpassed a record held by Kylian Mbappe by scoring in Borussia Dortmund's Champions League win over Besiktas on Wednesday.

The teenager opened the scoring before providing an assist for Erling Haaland just before half-time as the Bundesliga outfit held on for a 2-1 victory.

With his goal, Bellingham became the youngest-ever player to score in consecutive Champions League appearances.

Bellingham's most recent Champions League appearance before Wednesday came in last season's quarter-finals second leg against Manchester City.

The midfielder opened the scoring for Dortmund in the first half, before City stormed back with two goals in an eventual 4-2 aggregate win.

By scoring against Besiktas in Dortmund's 2021-22 Champions League opener, Bellingham, at 18 years and 78 days, broke Mbappe's record set in March 2017 with AS Monaco when he was 18 years and 85 days.

Additionally, Bellingham became the youngest-ever Englishman to score an away goal in the Champions League, a record previously held by Liverpool's Trent Alexander-Arnold (19 years and 10 days in October 2017 vs Maribor).

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Champions League - Team of the Week 1


Courtois (Real Madrid)



Cancelo (Man City) - Upamecano (Bayern) - Otamendi (Benfica) - Cristiano (Sheriff)



Bellingham (Dortmund) - Goretzka (Bayern) - Freuler (Atalanta) - Ngamaleu (Young Boys)



Haller (Ajax) - Lewandowski (Bayern)

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Dybala and Morata to miss Chelsea clash

Paulo Dybala will miss Juventus' Champions League clash with Chelsea after limping off in tears against Sampdoria with a thigh injury, with Massimiliano Allegri confirming that Alvaro Morata has also been sidelined.

Dybala started as captain in Juve's latest Serie A fixture and put them 1-0 up at Allianz Stadium with a brilliantly struck half volley in the 10th minute.

However, the Argentina international had to be substituted a short while later after picking up a muscle injury which leaves Allegri short on attacking options ahead of his side's return to Champions League action in midweek.

Dybala suffered an injury to his left thigh during the game against Sampdoria on Sunday, which ended in a 3-2 win for the Bianconeri.

The 27-year-old landed awkwardly on his front foot and was unable to continue, with several of his teammates coming over to console him before he made his way down the tunnel.

Allegri confirmed that Dybala will miss the next 2 matches while speaking to Sky Italia after the game, and also revealed that Morata picked up a knock that will keep him out for the same length of time.

Allegri will also be without Dybala and Morata when Juve travel to FC Torino for their next Serie A outing on Saturday, but will hope to have both men back by the time they take on AS Roma after the international break on 17 October.

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Yakhshibaev vs Real Madrid (0-1)
https://streamable.com/34st23

Benzema vs Sheriff (1-1) (P)
https://streamable.com/tujeva

Thill vs Real Madrid (1-2)
https://streamable.com/7hpa2j

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Champions League - Team of the Week 2


Donnarumma (PSG)



Sutormin - Rakitskiy (Zenit) - Verissimo (Benfica) - Santos (Zenit)



Salah - Jones (Liverpool) - Vanaken (Brugge) - Sane (Bayern)



Haller (Ajax) - Lewandowski (Bayern)

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Champions League - Team of the Week 3


Courtois (Real Madrid)



De Sciglio (Juventus) - Coates (Sporting) - Pique (Barca) - Blind (Ajax)



Mahrez (Man City) - Sane (Bayern) - Jorginho (Chelsea) - Vinicius (Real Madrid)



Benzema (Real Madrid) - Paulinho (Sporting)

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Champions League - Team of the Week 4


Vlachodimos (Benfica)



Alexander-Arnold (Liverpool) - Marquinhos (PSG) - Wober (Salzburg) - Cancelo (Man City)



Chiesa (Juventus) - Goncalves (Sporting) - Brozovic (Inter Milano) - Vinicius (Real Madrid)



Dybala (Juventus) - Lewandowski (Bayern)

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Champions League - Team of the Week 5


Martinez (Leipzig)



James (Chelsea) - Wober (Salzburg) - Inacio (Sporting) - Reinildo (Lille)



Rodrygo (Real Madrid) - Nkunku - Forsberg (Leipzig) - Perisic (Inter Milano)



Dzeko (Inter Milano) - Siebatcheu (Young Boys)

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Champions League - Team of the Week 6


Diawara (Malmo)



Carvajal - Militao (Real Madrid) - Otamendi (Benfica) - Schulz (Dortmund)



Ikone (Lille) - Dahoud (Dortmund) - Musiala (Bayern) - Mbappe (PSG)



Malen (Dortmund) - Messi (PSG)

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luni 13 decembrie, ora 13:00

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Champions League - Team of the Group Stages


Athanasiadis (Sheriff)



James (Chelsea) - Coates (Sporting) - Upamecano (Bayern) - Cancelo (Man City)



Mahrez (Man City) - Nkunku (Leipzig) - Goncalves (Sporting) - Sane (Bayern)



Haller (Ajax) - Lewandowski (Bayern)