Milan beats Celtic; shock win for Alkmaar
FOOTBALL
STOCKHOLM: AC Milan withstood a late onslaught to beat Celtic 31 and AZ Alkmaar overcame the loss of 13 players with positive Covid19 tests to secure a shock 10 win at Napoli as the Europa League group stage got under way yesterday.
London sides Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal also made winning starts as did fellow Premier League club Leicester City.
Dutch team Alkmaar was under pressure for the whole game as Napoli dominated possession and peppered its goal, but Dani de Wit scored in the 57th minute for a stunning victory in group F.
With Milan’s defence well marshalled by Danish centreback Simon Kjaer, the team looked to be cruising to an easy win at Celtic after firsthalf goals from Rade Krunic and Brahim Diaz.
However, the Scottish champions came roaring back in the second half and reduced the deficit through Mohamed Elyounoussi. Milan needed a late goal from Jens Petter Hauge, his first for the club, to put the group H game out of reach.
Kemar Roofe scored a superb stoppagetime goal for Rangers, bustling past three players from the edge of his own area before lobbing goalkeeper Arnaud Bodart from the halfway line as his side won 20 at Standard Liege in group D.
‘‘The goal was a moment of genius — a worldclass moment.
I have been playing football professionally since 1998 and it is the best goal I have ever seen live with my own eyes,’’ Rangers manager Steven Gerrard told Rangers TV.
Villarreal and Turkey’s Sivasspor played out an eightgoal thriller in group 1, the Spanish side grabbing a 53 win thanks to a late double from striker Paco Alcacer.
Arsenal, which has not claimed a European trophy since lifting the old Cup Winners’ Cup in 1994, went behind at
Rapid Vienna but defender David Luiz and striker PierreEmerick Aubameyang struck late on for a 21 group B win.
Fellow Premier League sides Leicester City and Tottenham Hotspur cruised to comfortable 30 wins, the Foxes downing visiting Ukrainian side FK Zorya Luhansk in group G, while hosts Spurs beat Austrians LASK in group J.
Tottenham’s fine performance, including an assist from Gareth Bale on his first start back at the club on loan from Real Madrid, spurred on the London side, which lost the 2019 Champions League final to Liverpool.
‘‘We went out there today and did a great job. We were solid and threatening and the most important thing in these games at the start is to get the three points,’’ Bale told BT Sport.
Bayer Leverkusen went on the rampage against French side Nice in a 62 victory, in which winger Karim Bellarabi score twice late on for the home side in group C.
AS Roma came back from a goal down to beat Swiss side Young Boys 21 away thanks to two goals in five secondhalf minutes by Bruno Peres and Marash Kumbulla in group A.
Granada and Real Sociedad had 21 and 10 away wins over PSV Eindhoven and Rijeka in group E and F respectively, while Benfica chalked up a 42 victory over Lech Poznan in group D. — Reuters