Champions League roundup: Night to forget for Arsenal and Chelsea

NULL

Arsenal suffered a shock 3-2 home defeat to Olympiakos in their Champions League Group F encounter. Gunners boss, Arsene Wenger, made five changes to the side that had won 5-2 at Leicester on Saturday, the most significant of which was in goal, with David Ospina replacing Petr Cech. It was a decision that Wenger refused to speak about afterwards, but one he must surely now be regretting, after the Mexican stopper made a horrible mistake five minutes before half time, dropping Kostas Fortounis's corner into his own net. That came just five minutes after Theo Walcott had cancelled out Felipe Pardo’s opener. Alexis Sanchez again levelled things for the hosts, nodding in on 65 minutes, but Arsenal’s defensive frailties were on show again, as Alfred Finnbogason immediately restored the Greek side’s advantage from the kick-off. It leaves Arsenal with the challenge of becoming the first team in three years to reach the knockout stages after losing their opening two games. That task is made harder by the fact that their next opponents are Bayern Munich, who romped to a 5-0 win over Dinamo Zagreb, with Robert Lewandowski again grabbing the headlines. The striker made history a week ago by scoring five goals in nine minutes, and though he didn’t leave the Allianz Arena with any records last night, he did have possession of the match-ball after scoring a hat-trick. Douglas Costa and Mario Gotze scored the other goals for the German champions.

More from Sports News

  • Williams to face Australia's Joint in Wimbledon comeback

    American great Serena Williams will face Australian 20-year-old Maya Joint in the first round of her eagerly awaited return to Wimbledon, a potentially tricky tie for the seven-time champion playing at the tournament for the first time since 2022.

  • Australia reach World Cup knockouts, Turkey beat USA

    Australia booked their spot in the knockout rounds of the World Cup on Thursday after a cagey draw against Paraguay, who are set to qualify as a third-placed finisher, while Turkey beat USA 3-2, scoring the winner with virtually the last kick of the match.

  • Netherlands win Group F, Japan and Sweden also through

    The Netherlands scored two goals in the first seven minutes of the first half en route to a 3-1 victory over Tunisia on Thursday night in Kansas City in Group F, while Japan and Sweden drew 1-1 in Texas.

  • Beccacece hails Ecuador's biggest World Cup victory

    Ecuador coach Sebastian Beccacece said all Ecuadoreans have a lot to celebrate on Thursday after the country's biggest World Cup result ever, coming from behind to beat Germany 2-1 and advance to the knockout stage.

  • New Zealand openers break record against England

    New Zealand took control of the third Test at Trent Bridge with Tom Latham and Devon Conway setting a record partnership for the Kiwis against England on Thursday.

Coming Up