Champions League: The chips are down. Zenit and CSKA represent Russia

CSKA Moskva eliminated Portugal's Sporting CP in last nights' Champions League play-off after losing 2-1 in Lisbon, and winning 3-1 in Moscow, joining Zenit St. Petersburg in the Champions League group stage for this soccer year 2015-2016.

 

Dinamo Zagreb (Croatia) 4 Skënderbeu (Albania) 1 Aggregate 6-2

Malmö (Sweden) 2 Celtic (Scotland)  0 Agg: 4-3

Maccabi Tel-Aviv (Israel) 1 Basel (Switzerland) 1 Agg. 3-3 Maccabi pass, away goals

Shakhtar Donetsk (Ukraine) 2 Rapid Wien (Austria) 2 Agg: 3-2

AS Monaco (France) 2 Valencia (Spain) 1 Agg: 3-4

APOEL 1 (Cyprus) Astana 1 (Kazakhstan) Agg:1-2

Partizan Belgrade (Serbia) 2 BATE Borisov (Belarus) 1 Agg: 2-2 BATE pass (away g.)

Bayer Leverkusen (Germany) 3 Lazio (Italy) 0 Agg: 3-1

CSKA Moskva 3 Sporting CP 1 Agg: 4-3

Club Brugge (Belgium) 0 Manchester United (England) 4 Agg: 1-7

First Leg

Champions League Qualifiers: First legs completed, CSKA has a sporting chance!

The result of the first leg of the Champions League qualifying games was negative to CSKA Moskva, losing 2-1 in Lisbon to Sporting Clube de Portugal but the tie for the Muscovites is very much down but not out. Sporting CP travels to Moscow defending a result crafted by Gutiérrez (12) and Slimani (82) after Doumbia equalized on 40'.

The result of the first leg of the Champions League qualifying games was negative to CSKA Moskva, losing 2-1 in Portugal's capital city to Sporting Clube de Portugal but the tie for the Muscovites is very much down but not out. Sporting CP travels to Moscow defending a result crafted by Gutiérrez (12) and Slimani (82) after Doumbia equalized on 40'.

Leonid Slutski's side sits atop the Russian Premier League with six wins in the bag and this away tie against a sleek new-look Sporting CP under new coach Jorge Jesus (ex-Benfica, arch rivals across northern Lisbon) was the first defeat of the season, while being Sporting's third competitive game and the third victory.

Sporting's ball possession was far superior, 63% against CSKA's 37% but the scoreline shows just how dangerous CSKA can be in their masterful counter-attacking strategy, soaking up pressure, putting men behind the ball and launching attacks like rockets down the wings, trying to find Seydou Alan Doumbia, from Ivory Coast, playing at CSKA since 2010.

Sporting CP (Portugal) 2 CSKA Moskva (Russia) 1

Astana 1 (Kazakhstan) APOEL 0 (Cyprus)

Manchester United (England) 3 Club Brugge (Belgium) 1

Lazio (Italy) 1 Bayer Leverkusen (Germany) 0

BATE Borisov (Belarus) 1 Partizan Belgrade (Serbia) 0

Basel (Switzerland) 2 Maccabi Tel-Aviv (Israel) 2

Valencia (Spain) 3 AS Monaco (France) 1

Celtic (Scotland)  3 Malmö (Sweden) 2

Rapid Wien (Austria) 0 Shakhtar Donetsk (Ukraine) 1

Skënderbeu (Albania) 1 Dinamo Zagreb (Croatia) 2

The draw

Group A

FC Shakhtar Donetsk (Ukraine) Malmö FF (Sweden) Paris Saint-Germain (France) Real Madrid CF (Spain)

Group B

Manchester United FC (England) PFC CSKA Moskva (Russia) PSV Eindhoven (Netherlands) VfL Wolfsburg (Germany)

Group C

Club Atlético de Madrid (Spain) FC Astana (Kazakhstan) Galatasaray AŞ (Turkey) SL Benfica (Portugal)

Group D

Juventus (Italy) Manchester City FC (England) Sevilla FC (Spain) VfL Borussia Mönchengladbach (Germany)

Group E

AS Roma (Italy) Bayer 04 Leverkusen (Germany) FC Barcelona (Spain) FC BATE Borisov (Belarus)

Group F

Arsenal FC (England) FC Bayern München (Germany) GNK Dinamo Zagreb (Croatia) Olympiacos FC (Greece)

Group G

Chelsea FC (England) FC Dynamo Kiev (Ukraine) FC Porto (Portugal) Maccabi Tel-Aviv (Israel)

Group H

FC Zenit (Russia) KAA Gent (Belgium) Olympique Lyonnais (France) Valencia CF (Spain)

Next round: September 15/16

Aleksei Federov

Pravda.Ru

Sportsdesk