*Atlético Madrid Humiliate Spurs
*Ruthless Bayern Wallop Atalanta Away
The good news for Liverpool is that the situation is salvageable, when it really might not have been.
The bad news is that they were distinctly second best for the first three-quarters of the first leg of their Champions League last-16 tie, Tuesday, 10 March.
Nobody who saw their second‑half collapse away against Juventus in the playoff round could be confident that Galatasaray are a team capable of squeezing the life out of the second leg.
There is a nervousness about them at the back, a persistent sense of misfortune about to strike, but going forward they are breezy, quick and fun.
Their only regret will be that, having taken an early lead through the former Wolves midfielder Mario Lemina, they did not add a second goal to give them more to defend at Anfield.
Arne Slot had acknowledged that his Liverpool side struggles to create chances from open play, but this really was an indictment of long-throw Britain, set‑plays seeming their only route to goal – although it should be a matter of concern to all English sides just how often the Spanish referee saw an offence amid what Premier League viewers have come to regard as the routine buffeting of a crowded six‑yard box.
“Every corner or free-kick if we only look at a Galatasaray player, the referee gave a free-kick,” said Slot, contrasting that to a shirt-pull on Virgil van Dijk that went unpunished in the tangle that led to a Liverpool goal being disallowed. “It’s safe to say we were not the only one impressed by the atmosphere today.”
And it will be a different game at Anfield next week. Other crowds whistle but none do so with quite the unanimity, ferocity or pitch of the Galatasaray crowd, which is all the more impressive when you consider the breathtaking nature of the walk up the hill to the Ali Sami Yen, which stands above Vadistanbul like a great citadel, protected on all sides by lanes and lanes of intersecting motorway.
Slot had spoken of how taken aback he had been by the noise when Liverpool lost at what is now known officially as Rams Park in October, and said he hoped his players would be more used to it this time around.
But it is probably not a noise you can get used to, a blood-curdling sound that leaves your ears ringing even in those blessed moments of relief when the home side had the ball.
Not that were many of those in the first five minutes in which Galatasaray looked distinctly anxious, repeatedly giving the ball away around their own box.
How Galatasaray Scored
But, as Slot has complained repeatedly this season, Liverpool have a habit of conceding to the first meaningful attack their opponents have, and so it was again.
“Their first attack led to a corner and you have to give credit that when they get a chance, they play it like it’s the last chance of their lives,” Slot said. “It’s something we can learn from: sometimes we treat chances like we’ll get 10 chances more.”
In September, it was with pace on the break that Galatasaray troubled Liverpool; this time it was the old vulnerability to set plays that undid them.
Somehow as Gabriel Sara’s corner found Victor Osimhen at the back post, he was being marked by Alexis Mac Allister, a four‑inch height difference magnified by the Nigerian’s great leap. Osimhen headed across goal and Lemina nodded in.
The early lead meant Galatasaray could play in just the way that suits them, counterattacking at great pace down the flanks and crossing for Osimhen. The former Napoli striker is the great favourite of the home fans, something reflected in a pre‑match tifo honouring his mother, who died when he was still a child.
It is easy to see why he is so popular. There are very few centre-forwards in the world with such a complete range of skills and it is frankly baffling that his agent got him into a contractual situation where none of the major Western European clubs would sign him.
It could have been far worse for Liverpool. Giorgi Mamardashvili, in for the injured Alisson, made a handful of good saves, and Osimhen seemed to have doubled the lead but he was denied by a generous decision from the video assistant referee that deemed Baris Yilmaz to have been offside in the buildup, forcing Ibrahima Konaté into an ill-judged back‑pass.
Liverpool Moves To Try And Equalize
But what VAR giveth, it taketh away and Liverpool soon had a goal of their own ruled out, the ball- apparently striking Konaté’s arm twice as it was bundled over the line from a Dominik Szoboszlai corner, although there may also have been a foul on Van Dijk.
There were chances for Liverpool in the final quarter, but this was Galatasaray’s night.
“I don’t think it’s possible that so many things can go against us as they have in the last two games [against Galatasaray],” Slot said.
One goal may not be enough.
Yamal Hurts Newcastle Hopes As Barcelona Snatch Draw
It was a night when the Tyneside passions pulsed; the nervous energy, too, because this was something unprecedented – a first Champions League knockout stage tie in Newcastle’s history.
It was not just the gilded level of the opposition that fired the excitement, the imagination. Eddie Howe was in little doubt that it was the biggest game Newcastle had ever played.
Newcastle had to do more than subdue Barcelona, the champions in Spain last season and league leaders this time out.
They had to manage the occasion because it was one that came to rest on the edge of a knife. As the minutes ticked down, the clear chances so scarce, they knew that one moment was likely to be decisive. At either end.
When they made it happen towards the end of regulation time, it was the prompt for their hopes to surge. Harvey Barnes had been denied by the post on 75 minutes after a lovely team move, with Joelinton flagged for offside when he put the rebound into the net.
Newcastle Score
Barnes refused to believe it would form the basis of his story and there was joy in the home stands when he ghosted unmarked on to a cross from the substitute, Jacob Murphy.
Nobody in a Barcelona shirt tracked him – it was a defensive breakdown at a crucial point – and the finish was true.
The breakthrough was deserved and their fans felt the conviction rampage through their thoughts before next Wednesday’s Camp Nou return.
How Barca Drew Level
Not so fast. Barcelona had not offered much in the final third. Newcastle were the better team across the piece, the performance defined by power and a willingness to run.
But with time almost up, the visitors worked the ball into the area for Dani Olmo, on as a substitute, and the move he put on Malick Thiaw was too cute for the Newcastle centre-half.
Olmo faked to go one way and exploded in the other direction, momentarily throwing Thiaw, who jabbed out a leg and immediately regretted doing so. He could not undo what was done.
The contact was there, it was a clear penalty and when Lamine Yamal converted, it added up to the most bitter of pills for Newcastle. The tone of the evening had shifted in little more than the blink of an eye.
Ahead The Game
The buildup had been a mini-epic in its own right, Howe not shying away from the game’s importance – far from it – and the history was a major part of it.
The clubs are united by a love for Sir Bobby Robson, who managed both of them. And, from a Newcastle perspective, there was that first match in this competition here against Barcelona – the never-to-be-forgotten 3-2 win in 1997. Tino Asprilla and Keith Gillespie, the heroes from that night, were back in town for this one.
Newcastle’s Lineup Preferred Pace
Howe preferred William Osula to both Nick Woltemade and Yoane Wissa in the No 9 role – with Anthony Gordon fit enough only for the bench after illness.
It was a big call; a damning one for Woltemade and Wissa. Howe wanted pace where it stood to matter the most. Also intensity.
Newcastle were turbocharged for the opening 15 minutes and Barcelona had a storm to weather. Dan Burn went close after Lewis Hall headed a half-cleared corner back towards goal and there was the moment when Anthony Elanga drew a low save out of Joan García.
Elanga was deemed to have been offside. He looked to have been OK. Elanga made a number of dangerous incisions up the right. He lacked the end product.
What did Barcelona’s vaunted attack have in the first half? Not much. They almost pressured Burn into putting through his own goal while Fermín López banged a shot straight at Aaron Ramsdale. Hansi Flick, Barça’s manager, would lament too many turnovers, too many errors.
Thrilling ‘War’ Between Yamal & Defender Hall
Hall versus Lamine Yamal was a gripping duel and the Newcastle left-back more than stood up to it. He was a picture of concentration and commitment; surging forward runs, as well. Hall was fortunate to escape a booking on 19 minutes for pulling Lamine Yamal back. But so was the Spaniard when he slammed into Hall after playing a loose pass just before the interval. Call it evens. The Newcastle crowd hummed with a general sense of indignation towards the officials.
Newcastle looked to play passes up the channels, to bring their physicality to bear. Jacob Ramsey caught the eye in midfield; Joelinton did too. It was their remorselessness as much as anything else.
Second Half
Newcastle forced Barcelona back in the second half and Flick’s team struggled to create, albeit Robert Lewandowski prodded just off target from a Raphinha cross on 66 minutes.
Both managers made effective substitutions, Howe getting Gordon on up front as part of a triple change that included the introductions of Murphy and Tino Livramento.
There was a glimpse of Marcus Rashford on the Barcelona left and, after Barnes had his moment, there was also Olmo.
*PHOTO CAPTION: Osimhen (m) celebrates with his teammates after the goal.
ALL RESULTS:
*Galatasaray – Liverpool 1:0
*Atalanta – Bayern Munich 1:6
*Atl. Madrid – Tottenham 5:2
*Newcastle – Barcelona 1:1.
