Conte happy to be the hunter
Juergen Klopp’s Liverpool will attempt to clinch their place in the lucrative Champions League group stage tomorrow as they take a 2-1 lead into their playoff second leg against Hoffenheim.
Trent Alexander-Arnold’s freekick and a second-half own goal handed the Reds a useful advantage in Germany, but Mark Uth’s late strike provided Hoffenheim with a glimmer of hope ahead of the return at Anfield.
Klopp rotated his squad for Saturday’s 1-0 victory over Crystal Palace in the Premier League, making five changes with Wednesday’s European encounter weighing heavily on his mind.
It is three years since the Anfield outfit, five times European champions, last graced the group stage of the continent’s elite club competition.
“The performance and the result were not perfect, far from it. We still have much to do in this tie,” Klopp said at the weekend.
The club have also rejected a third bid from Barcelona for star playmaker Philippe Coutinho, turning down a reported offer worth around £114 million.
The 25-year-old Brazilian has submitted a transfer request, but Liverpool have publicly said Coutinho, out with a back problem, is not for sale at any price.
Hoffenheim started the new Bundesliga campaign with a 1-0 victory at home to Werder Bremen, and German midfielder Kerem Demirbay still harbours hope of stunning Liverpool in the second leg.
“We could achieve something extraordinary there. We could turn it around,” he said.
Scottish champions Celtic are all but assured of a return to the group phase following a 5-0 demolition of Astana in last week’s first leg in Glasgow.
Brendan Rodgers’ side stretched their unbeaten domestic run to 52 matches with Saturday’s 2-0 victory at Kilmarnock and have conceded just once in nine matches this season.
However, Celtic cannot afford to be over-confident ahead of their 6 000km trip to Kazakhstan.
Nice face a monumental task to overturn a 2-0 deficit against Napoli on Tuesday, but the French side will be boosted by the presence of Mario Balotelli and new recruit Wesley Sneijder.
The Dutchman, a Champions League winner with Inter Milan in 2010, played 85 minutes in his debut on Saturday as Nice downed Guingamp 2-0 for their first points of the season.
“I feel good, especially with a win,” Sneijder, who joined on a free transfer following his exit from Galatasaray, told Canal+.
Balotelli also made his first appearance of the league season after coming on a second-half substitute following his return from injury.
Sevilla will fancy their chances of qualifying for a third straight group stage campaign as they hold a 2-1 edge over Turkey’s Istanbul Basaksehir, who have never won away from home in Europe. – AFP
Today:
Astana (0) v Celtic (5), Maribor (1) v Hapoel Beer-Sheva (2), Rijeka (1) v Olympiakos (2), Nice (0) v Napoli (2), Sevilla (2) v Istanbul Basaksehir (1).
Tomorrow:
Slavia Prague (0) v APOEL (2), FC Copenhagen (0) v Qarabag (1), Steaua Bucharest (0) v Sporting Lisbon (0), Liverpool (2) v Hoffenheim (1), CSKA Moscow (1) v Young Boys (0).
– Antonio Conte (above) said he would be happy for Chelsea to creep up on the rails in the Premier League title race following their clinical 2-1 victory over Tottenham Hotspur.
Chelsea were stunned 3-2 by Burnley in the opening game of their title defence, but weathered heavy pressure to ruin Tottenham’s Wembley house-warming party on Sunday thanks to left wing-back Marcos Alonso’s brace.
Chelsea also started last season unsteadily, losing two of their first six matches, only for a 13game winning run to set them on the path to glory, and Conte sees no reason why the same formula should not work again.
“It’s not important if we are not favourites in this league,” said the Chelsea manager, whose preparations for the season were hampered by his club’s failure to significantly strengthen their squad.
“It was the same last season. We know we are trying to improve our team, our squad, and the club is trying to do its best in the transfer market.”
With Gary Cahill and Cesc Fabregas suspended, Eden Hazard injured and Diego Costa still angling for an exit, Conte was obliged to innovate.
He opted for a new-look 3-5-1-1 system that featured David Luiz in midfield alongside new signing Tiemoue Bakayoko, who was pressed into action earlier than scheduled after overcoming a knee injury.
Conte described both players’ performances as “amazing” and said Chelsea’s ability to withstand Spurs’ pressure had been a display of “champions”.
Alonso swept Chelsea ahead with a magnificent 24th-minute freekick and then netted the winner two minutes from time after substitute Michy Batshuayi’s own goal appeared to have rescued a point for Spurs. – AFP