Chelsea’s UCL push hit by loss to Arsenal
Chelsea slipped up in their push for a Champions League spot when they lost 1-0 at home to Arsenal in the Premier League on Wednesday with Emile Smith Rowe’s first-half goal settling the London derby after a defensive mix-up by the hosts. The visitors capitalised on a wayward back pass by Chelsea’s Jorginho to goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga who scrambled back to palm it off the line. The ball fell to Pierre-emerick Aubameyang who cut it back for Smith Rowe to score in the 16th minute.
Chelsea, who play Leicester City in the FA Cup final on Saturday and Manchester City in the Champions League final on May 29, dominated possession but largely failed to break down Arsenal’s defensive lines.
Kai Havertz spurned a glorious chance to put Chelsea ahead in the 11th minute when the German dispossessed Arsenal defender Pablo Mari, ran through on goal but fired over when he looked certain to score.
The Blues turned up the tempo as the final whistle
LONDON:
approached and almost drew level in the 90th minute when Kurt Zouma’s header was tipped onto the crossbar by Bernd Leno only for former Gunner Olivier Giroud, on as a sub, to hit the bar as well with a volley on the follow up.
The rare defeat under coach Thomas Tuchel—his third in his 26th game in all competitions— left Chelsea in the last of the Premier League’s four Champions League qualifying spots with two games to play. They are six points clear of West Ham United who have three matches left and seven ahead of Liverpool with four.
Ronaldo’s 100 for Juve ROME:
Cristiano Ronaldo’s 100th goal for Juventus in all competitions helped keep alive his side’s hopes of a top-four Serie A finish after a 3-1 win at an impressive Sassuolo on Wednesday.
The result was not easy to come by for Juve, with returning goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon saving an early penalty, but goals from Adrien Rabiot, Ronaldo and Paulo Dybala meant they stayed fifth, two points off the Champions League qualification places. Buffon, who announced this week that he is leaving the club at the end of the season, replaced Wojciech Szczesny in goal and immediately showed he has lost none of his ability as he brilliantly kept out Domenico Berardi’s spot-kick.
The chances kept coming for the home side, and their profligacy proved costly as Rabiot drilled home the opener in the 28th minute, before Ronaldo reached another milestone just before the break with a cool finish from the edge of the area.
Sassuolo continued to do everything but score, until Giacomo Raspadori finally beat Buffon just before the hour mark.
But Dybala also reached a century of Juve goals, with a fine dinked finish, to ensure they kept pace with their top-four rivals Atalanta, AC Milan and Napoli.
Atletico closer to title MADRID:
Atletico Madrid held their nerve to beat Real Sociedad 2-1 on Wednesday and move within touching distance of winning La Liga.
Yannick Carrasco and Angel Correa made a dominant first half count for Atletico, who retreated in the second and were left hanging on after Igor Zubeldia blasted in for La Real with seven minutes left.
When the final whistle blew, Diego Simeone jogged up the tunnel at the Wanda Metropolitano, punching the air as he went, fully aware how important this result could prove.
UCL final moved from Istanbul to Porto PARIS:
UEFA announced on Thursday that the Champions League final between Manchester City and Chelsea had been moved from Istanbul to Porto.
The match on May 29 has been switched to the Estadio do Dragao to allow English spectators to attend as travel between the UK and Turkey is suspended because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Earlier, European football’s governing body announced up to 6,000 supporters from each club will be able to attend.