Bayern Munich is continuing to struggle in big games. The Bundesliga giants suffered a surprising 1-0 loss to Lazio at the start of their UEFA Champions League knockout stage campaign.

Bayern entered the match as an overwhelming favorite and with a lot to prove. They received a 3-0 beating by Bayer Leverkusen in the Bundesliga on the weekend and needed a good performance to bounce back.

However, Lazio proved to be a much tougher opponent than expected. The Seria A side delivered an inspired defensive performance that left Bayern unsuccessfully looking for solutions at the front. The German club failed to register a single shot at the goal, something that didn’t happen since 2019.

Bayern’s frustration became obvious in the 67th minute when defender Dayot Upamecano made a reckless challenge on Gustav Isaksen in the penalty box. Upamecano received a straight red card, while Lazio was awarded a penalty kick. Striker Ciro Immobile remained calm under pressure, converting the penalty to give his team a 1-0 lead.

Relegated to 10 men, Bayern had even less chance to penetrate Lazio’s stout defense. Italians, on the other hand, made sure to suffocate the game while remaining disciplined and ended up celebrating a huge win.

“We worked and prepared for this match to have a say in it,” said Immobile after the match. “I was convinced that the team would put everything out there.”

The post Bayern Munich Suffers Surprising 1-0 Loss to Lazio at the Start of UCL Knockout Stage appeared first on SportzBonanza.

Inter Milan are the first UEFA Champions League finalists for the 2022-23 season. Nerazzurri clinched a UCL Finals spot on Tuesday night after a 1-0 win over their cross-town rivals AC Milan in the second leg of the semifinals. This gave them a 3-0 win on aggregate.

Lautaro Martinez scored the only goal of the game to send Inter back to the UCL Finals for the first time since 2009-10.

Entering the game in a 2-0 hole, AC Milan attacked aggressively and had several great chances in the first half. However, Brahim Diaz couldn’t get the ball past Inter’s keeper Andre Onana with a shot from a short distance, while Rafael Leao’s curler ended up just a few inches from the post.

While many teams in Inter’s position would be satisfied with a defensive approach, Inter actually looked to finish the job in a more dominant fashion. They used the space left behind by Milan’s push forward well and ended up getting one when Martinez turned Romelo Lukaku’s penalty box assist into a goal.

“There was a lot of history in this game. I felt it; we did a great job in both games,” said Martinez. “The unity of the group [motivated us]. I experienced it at the World Cup, that’s important. If you have a united group, things are easier. We have shown that Inter deserve this moment.”

Inter will find out their opponent in the finals after the second leg between Manchester City and Real Madrid concludes. City and Real played 1-1 in their first leg.

The post Inter Clinches UCL Finals Spot With 3-0 Aggregate Win Over AC Milan appeared first on SportzBonanza.

Atletico Madrid and Benfica couldn’t pull off a major upset like Villarreal and are out of UEFA Champions League. Instead, Manchester City and Liverpool are through to the semi-finals thanks to their respective wins in the first leg of the quarterfinals.

Man City will now face Villarreal in the semis while Liverpool plays Real Madrid.

Atletico needed to score at least a goal on their home field against Man City after a 1-0 loss in the first game, but they just couldn’t find the firepower to do it. On the other hand, the Premier League club was content to sit back and protect their goal. The game ended with a 0-0 draw, enough for City to move forward.

The game against Liverpool and Benfica was much more exciting. Liverpool won the first game 3-1 and was the first one to score in the second leg. Defender Ibrahima Konate scored in the 21st minute to give his team the lead. However, thanks to Goncalo Ramos, the Portuguese side managed to get the equalizer 10 minutes later.

Despite still leading 4-2 on aggregate, Liverpool didn’t want to take any risks. Striker Roberto Firmino scored twice early in the second half to give Jurgen Klopp’s team an even bigger cushion. To their credit, Benfica would go on to tie the game, but that was not nearly enough to make any difference.

The first leg of the semi-finals will play out on April 27th, while the rematches will take place on May.

The post Man City and Liverpool Book Their Spots in UCL Semi-Finals appeared first on SportzBonanza.

The beginning of the season for European soccer clubs is just around the corner! With the Premier League and France’s Ligue 1 getting underway this weekend, with La Liga, Bundesliga, and Serie A to follow next weekend, fans will soon get their first glimpse at their favorite clubs on the pitch.

It won’t be long until the European competitions get underway, either. Champions League and Europa League action kicks off next month, with the continent’s top clubs looking to claim the crowns as Europe’s best sides.

After Liverpool took home the 2018-19 edition of the Champions League, there are plenty of contenders for the crown this season. Here’s a look at the top five favorites to hoist this year’s trophy.

5. Paris Saint-Germain

The French side, as always, is stocked with talent. Even if Neymar does leave (which looks unlikely at this point), PSG has a stable of stars including soccer’s brightest young star in Kylian Mbappe. They have an edge on their other CL competition, as they are forced to pay much less attention to their domestic league than other competitors from more competitive leagues. Will this be the year that the talent finally meshes and PSG makes it deep in the Champions League?

4. Liverpool

The Reds will probably take exception to come in fourth on the list after winning last year’s trophy, but it’s not easy to repeat. Jürgen Klopp still has his top stars from last season, including Mo Salah and Sadio Mané, but they’re a year older and will have plenty of teams looking to take them down. Could they win back to back crowns? It certainly isn’t out of the realm of possibility, but it won’t be easy.

3. Juventus

Juventus bowed out early in last year’s Champions League despite the addition of five-time CL winner Cristiano Ronaldo. The Portuguese star was reportedly furious at the team’s shock exit at the hands of Ajax, so you can bet that he’ll be trying harder than ever to win the trophy this season. The amount of talent on their squad got even better with the summer addition of center back Matthijs de Ligt, and they’ll be considered one of the favorites this year.

2. Barcelona

Few could believe it when Barcelona blew a 3-0 first-leg advantage to bow out of the Champions League last season at the hands of the eventual champions in Liverpool. A team with talents such as Leo Messi, Luis Suarez, and Gerard Pique had to have been better than that, right? Well, even if they weren’t, they’re certainly one of the top favorites to take home this year’s crown after retaining their core and adding Antoine Griezmann and Frenkie de Jong. This is a team to reckon with, but can it get over the hump?

1. Manchester City

Pep Guardiola has won everything at Manchester City, including the past two Premier League crowns, except for the Champions League. 2019-20 looks to be the year that this could change. The dizzying talent contained in its roster combined with one of the best coaches in world soccer makes Man City the top favorite to take home the upcoming edition of the Champions League. Now it’s time for them to go out on the pitch and prove that they deserve to be considered the top dog.

The post Breaking Down the Top Favorites for the 2019-20 Champions League Crown appeared first on SportzBonanza.

While FC Barcelona didn’t play its best or prettiest game at Old Trafford on Wednesday night, they return home happy with their 0-1 win over a scrappy Manchester United squad.

In the first leg of the UEFA Champions League quarter-Finals, Barcelona had no easy task. They were matched up against legendary English club Man U and superstars such as Paul Pogba and David de Gea.

Despite coming in as one of the favorites to win the tournament, Barcelona wasn’t expected to have it easy at Old Trafford.

It looked like it might be Barcelona’s night in only the 13th minute of the game. A Lionel Messi cross found Luis Suárez right in front of the far post of the goal. The Uruguayan striker headed the ball off of Man U defender Luke Shaw, and the ball was diverted into the net.

This is where Barcelona scored their goal and took the lead that they wouldn’t relinquish.

The drama wasn’t over for the day, however.

In the 31st minute of the match, Messi jumped to contest an aerial matchup with Man U defender Chris Smalling.

Messi was involuntarily smacked across the face by Smalling’s hand, and he crumpled to the ground with blood pouring from his nose.

While he was able to continue, it looks likely that he suffered a broken nose in the collision.

Man U was unable to find the net despite looking stronger in the second half, and the draw will move back to Camp Nou with a slight Barcelona advantage next Tuesday night.

The post Barcelona Takes 0-1 Win over Manchester United appeared first on SportzBonanza.

After losing 0-2 to Paris Saint-Germain at Old Trafford, Manchester United’s chances to advance to the quarterfinals of the Champions League looked extremely remote.

However, despite key injuries to several players and the massive mountain that they had to climb, Ole Gunnar Solksjaer’s Red Devils accomplished the unthinkable.

United won 1-3 at Parc des Princes, and with this result, survived to advance to the next stage of the Champions League.

Manchester United was missing 10 senior team players for the match, including Paul Pogba and Juan Mata, and had to include several B-team players in their roster for Wednesday night’s game, but this didn’t stop them.

Man U scored early with a Romelu Lukaku goal in the game’s second minute to give them a flicker of hope.

This got more complicated, however, after Juan Bernal’s goal for PSG just minutes later to tie the match at 1.

Undeterred, however, Lukaku scored another goal after a PSG defensive mistake to make it 1-2 before halftime. The Red Devils knew that they could advance with just one more goal.

And they got it.

In the last fleeting moments of the game, in extra time, PSG’s Presnel Kimpembe committed a handball in the penalty area, giving Man U a penalty kick.

Marcus Rashford stepped to the spot and cooly buried the kick past Gianluigi Buffon to seal one of the most unlikely comebacks in UCL history.

The post Manchester United Stuns PSG to Advance to CL Quarterfinals appeared first on SportzBonanza.

Bayern Munich is continuing to struggle in big games. The Bundesliga giants suffered a surprising 1-0 loss to Lazio at the start of their UEFA Champions League knockout stage campaign.

Bayern entered the match as an overwhelming favorite and with a lot to prove. They received a 3-0 beating by Bayer Leverkusen in the Bundesliga on the weekend and needed a good performance to bounce back.

However, Lazio proved to be a much tougher opponent than expected. The Seria A side delivered an inspired defensive performance that left Bayern unsuccessfully looking for solutions at the front. The German club failed to register a single shot at the goal, something that didn’t happen since 2019.

Bayern’s frustration became obvious in the 67th minute when defender Dayot Upamecano made a reckless challenge on Gustav Isaksen in the penalty box. Upamecano received a straight red card, while Lazio was awarded a penalty kick. Striker Ciro Immobile remained calm under pressure, converting the penalty to give his team a 1-0 lead.

Relegated to 10 men, Bayern had even less chance to penetrate Lazio’s stout defense. Italians, on the other hand, made sure to suffocate the game while remaining disciplined and ended up celebrating a huge win.

“We worked and prepared for this match to have a say in it,” said Immobile after the match. “I was convinced that the team would put everything out there.”

The post Bayern Munich Suffers Surprising 1-0 Loss to Lazio at the Start of UCL Knockout Stage appeared first on SportzBonanza.

Inter Milan are the first UEFA Champions League finalists for the 2022-23 season. Nerazzurri clinched a UCL Finals spot on Tuesday night after a 1-0 win over their cross-town rivals AC Milan in the second leg of the semifinals. This gave them a 3-0 win on aggregate.

Lautaro Martinez scored the only goal of the game to send Inter back to the UCL Finals for the first time since 2009-10.

Entering the game in a 2-0 hole, AC Milan attacked aggressively and had several great chances in the first half. However, Brahim Diaz couldn’t get the ball past Inter’s keeper Andre Onana with a shot from a short distance, while Rafael Leao’s curler ended up just a few inches from the post.

While many teams in Inter’s position would be satisfied with a defensive approach, Inter actually looked to finish the job in a more dominant fashion. They used the space left behind by Milan’s push forward well and ended up getting one when Martinez turned Romelo Lukaku’s penalty box assist into a goal.

“There was a lot of history in this game. I felt it; we did a great job in both games,” said Martinez. “The unity of the group [motivated us]. I experienced it at the World Cup, that’s important. If you have a united group, things are easier. We have shown that Inter deserve this moment.”

Inter will find out their opponent in the finals after the second leg between Manchester City and Real Madrid concludes. City and Real played 1-1 in their first leg.

The post Inter Clinches UCL Finals Spot With 3-0 Aggregate Win Over AC Milan appeared first on SportzBonanza.

Atletico Madrid and Benfica couldn’t pull off a major upset like Villarreal and are out of UEFA Champions League. Instead, Manchester City and Liverpool are through to the semi-finals thanks to their respective wins in the first leg of the quarterfinals.

Man City will now face Villarreal in the semis while Liverpool plays Real Madrid.

Atletico needed to score at least a goal on their home field against Man City after a 1-0 loss in the first game, but they just couldn’t find the firepower to do it. On the other hand, the Premier League club was content to sit back and protect their goal. The game ended with a 0-0 draw, enough for City to move forward.

The game against Liverpool and Benfica was much more exciting. Liverpool won the first game 3-1 and was the first one to score in the second leg. Defender Ibrahima Konate scored in the 21st minute to give his team the lead. However, thanks to Goncalo Ramos, the Portuguese side managed to get the equalizer 10 minutes later.

Despite still leading 4-2 on aggregate, Liverpool didn’t want to take any risks. Striker Roberto Firmino scored twice early in the second half to give Jurgen Klopp’s team an even bigger cushion. To their credit, Benfica would go on to tie the game, but that was not nearly enough to make any difference.

The first leg of the semi-finals will play out on April 27th, while the rematches will take place on May.

The post Man City and Liverpool Book Their Spots in UCL Semi-Finals appeared first on SportzBonanza.

The beginning of the season for European soccer clubs is just around the corner! With the Premier League and France’s Ligue 1 getting underway this weekend, with La Liga, Bundesliga, and Serie A to follow next weekend, fans will soon get their first glimpse at their favorite clubs on the pitch.

It won’t be long until the European competitions get underway, either. Champions League and Europa League action kicks off next month, with the continent’s top clubs looking to claim the crowns as Europe’s best sides.

After Liverpool took home the 2018-19 edition of the Champions League, there are plenty of contenders for the crown this season. Here’s a look at the top five favorites to hoist this year’s trophy.

5. Paris Saint-Germain

The French side, as always, is stocked with talent. Even if Neymar does leave (which looks unlikely at this point), PSG has a stable of stars including soccer’s brightest young star in Kylian Mbappe. They have an edge on their other CL competition, as they are forced to pay much less attention to their domestic league than other competitors from more competitive leagues. Will this be the year that the talent finally meshes and PSG makes it deep in the Champions League?

4. Liverpool

The Reds will probably take exception to come in fourth on the list after winning last year’s trophy, but it’s not easy to repeat. Jürgen Klopp still has his top stars from last season, including Mo Salah and Sadio Mané, but they’re a year older and will have plenty of teams looking to take them down. Could they win back to back crowns? It certainly isn’t out of the realm of possibility, but it won’t be easy.

3. Juventus

Juventus bowed out early in last year’s Champions League despite the addition of five-time CL winner Cristiano Ronaldo. The Portuguese star was reportedly furious at the team’s shock exit at the hands of Ajax, so you can bet that he’ll be trying harder than ever to win the trophy this season. The amount of talent on their squad got even better with the summer addition of center back Matthijs de Ligt, and they’ll be considered one of the favorites this year.

2. Barcelona

Few could believe it when Barcelona blew a 3-0 first-leg advantage to bow out of the Champions League last season at the hands of the eventual champions in Liverpool. A team with talents such as Leo Messi, Luis Suarez, and Gerard Pique had to have been better than that, right? Well, even if they weren’t, they’re certainly one of the top favorites to take home this year’s crown after retaining their core and adding Antoine Griezmann and Frenkie de Jong. This is a team to reckon with, but can it get over the hump?

1. Manchester City

Pep Guardiola has won everything at Manchester City, including the past two Premier League crowns, except for the Champions League. 2019-20 looks to be the year that this could change. The dizzying talent contained in its roster combined with one of the best coaches in world soccer makes Man City the top favorite to take home the upcoming edition of the Champions League. Now it’s time for them to go out on the pitch and prove that they deserve to be considered the top dog.

The post Breaking Down the Top Favorites for the 2019-20 Champions League Crown appeared first on SportzBonanza.

While FC Barcelona didn’t play its best or prettiest game at Old Trafford on Wednesday night, they return home happy with their 0-1 win over a scrappy Manchester United squad.

In the first leg of the UEFA Champions League quarter-Finals, Barcelona had no easy task. They were matched up against legendary English club Man U and superstars such as Paul Pogba and David de Gea.

Despite coming in as one of the favorites to win the tournament, Barcelona wasn’t expected to have it easy at Old Trafford.

It looked like it might be Barcelona’s night in only the 13th minute of the game. A Lionel Messi cross found Luis Suárez right in front of the far post of the goal. The Uruguayan striker headed the ball off of Man U defender Luke Shaw, and the ball was diverted into the net.

This is where Barcelona scored their goal and took the lead that they wouldn’t relinquish.

The drama wasn’t over for the day, however.

In the 31st minute of the match, Messi jumped to contest an aerial matchup with Man U defender Chris Smalling.

Messi was involuntarily smacked across the face by Smalling’s hand, and he crumpled to the ground with blood pouring from his nose.

While he was able to continue, it looks likely that he suffered a broken nose in the collision.

Man U was unable to find the net despite looking stronger in the second half, and the draw will move back to Camp Nou with a slight Barcelona advantage next Tuesday night.

The post Barcelona Takes 0-1 Win over Manchester United appeared first on SportzBonanza.

After losing 0-2 to Paris Saint-Germain at Old Trafford, Manchester United’s chances to advance to the quarterfinals of the Champions League looked extremely remote.

However, despite key injuries to several players and the massive mountain that they had to climb, Ole Gunnar Solksjaer’s Red Devils accomplished the unthinkable.

United won 1-3 at Parc des Princes, and with this result, survived to advance to the next stage of the Champions League.

Manchester United was missing 10 senior team players for the match, including Paul Pogba and Juan Mata, and had to include several B-team players in their roster for Wednesday night’s game, but this didn’t stop them.

Man U scored early with a Romelu Lukaku goal in the game’s second minute to give them a flicker of hope.

This got more complicated, however, after Juan Bernal’s goal for PSG just minutes later to tie the match at 1.

Undeterred, however, Lukaku scored another goal after a PSG defensive mistake to make it 1-2 before halftime. The Red Devils knew that they could advance with just one more goal.

And they got it.

In the last fleeting moments of the game, in extra time, PSG’s Presnel Kimpembe committed a handball in the penalty area, giving Man U a penalty kick.

Marcus Rashford stepped to the spot and cooly buried the kick past Gianluigi Buffon to seal one of the most unlikely comebacks in UCL history.

The post Manchester United Stuns PSG to Advance to CL Quarterfinals appeared first on SportzBonanza.