FOOTBALL – Atalanta sealed an important Champions League comeback victory, overturning Chelsea 2-1 at home last night through goals from Gianluca Scamacca and Charles De Ketelaere.
The win put the Bergamo side near the top of the Champions League table, giving them a major step toward direct qualification for the round of 16 with 13 points, while Chelsea sit in the knockout phase play-off section on 10.
Joao Pedro broke the deadlock for Chelsea after 25 minutes, pouncing on a quickly taken corner that caught Atalanta sleeping. He swept in a pinpoint low cross from Reece James and, after a brief VAR check confirmed he had timed his run perfectly, the goal stood.
Chelsea kept control up to the interval but Atalanta returned with far more intent after the break and soon thought they had levelled when Ademola Lookman tapped in a cross. But Lookman had strayed clearly offside and the goal was ruled out with little protest.
The momentum had clearly shifted to the hosts and in the 55th minute De Ketelaere battled his way down the side of the box and lifted a clever ball into the middle, where Scamacca broke free from his marker and steered a header into the net for the equaliser.
Atalanta had fully taken command, with Chelsea struggling to cope with the Italians’ rapid flank play. Seven minutes before stoppage time, De Ketelaere burst into the box and fired a low effort that keeper Robert Sanchez could only parry into the roof of the net, completing the hosts’ comeback.
Chelsea pushed hard to rescue a point in the closing stages, creating several late chances, but the margins were not on the London club’s side as the attempts were either saved or missed the goal.
Liverpool midfielder Dominik Szoboszlai scored an 88th-minute penalty to give his side a 1-0 win at Inter Milan that boosts their hopes of a top-eight finish and direct qualification for the last 16.
Liverpool thought they had taken the lead through a close-range header from Ibrahima Konate, but a lengthy VAR review saw the goal chalked off for a Hugo Ekitike handball moments before.
The Premier League side had plenty of possession but struggled to create shots on target, and it took Alessandro Bastoni pulling the shirt of substitute Florian Wirtz late on and the referee pointing to the spot after another VAR review to give them the chance they desperately needed.
Szoboszlai stepped up and slammed the ball past keeper Yann Sommer to lift his side to eighth place in the table on 12 points after six of their eight group games. Inter are in fifth place, also on 12 points but with a superior goal difference.
Jules Kounde’s quickfire brace of headers helped Barcelona fight back to edge past Eintracht Frankfurt 2-1, marking a much-needed win for the Catalan side.
After a draw against Club Brugge and a loss to Chelsea, Barcelona found their stride to climb to 14th in the standings, level on 10 points with several teams, as they aim for a top-eight finish to secure direct qualification for the last 16. Frankfurt, meanwhile, sit 30th with four points from six matches.
Frankfurt struck first in the 21st minute through Ansgar Knauff on the counter but Barca’s persistence paid off as Kounde scored twice early in the second half.
In the 50th minute he nodded home from just inside the box from Marcus Rashford’s cross and, in the 53rd, the French defender jumped high in a crowded box to head the winner from a Lamine Yamal cross.
Tottenham Hotspur maintained their strong home form with a 3-0 win against Slavia Prague thanks to an own goal and penalties for Mohammed Kudus and Xavi Simons.
The London club were made to work hard by the visitors but eventually eased to a third win on their own turf in this year’s competition to boost their hopes of a top-eight finish.
Atletico Madrid came from behind to beat PSV Eindhoven 3-2 away and move up to seventh spot, all but ensuring their progress to the knockout stages.
Julian Alvarez, David Hancko and Alexander Sorloth all took advantage of some sloppy defending by their Dutch hosts to score after PSV had taken an early lead through Guus Til.
The Spanish side had to hold on desperately at the end as PSV came surging back when Ricardo Pepi pulled back a goal five minutes from time.
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