Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/410228
21 Sport maltatoday, WEDNESDAY, 5 NOVEMBER 2014 FOOTBALL Luis Enrique under pressure at Barcelona BARCELONA coach Luis Enrique goes into tonight's Champions League group game against Ajax with the murmurs of discontent among his own players gradually getting louder after two straight defeats. Reportes in the Spanish media suggest that Enrique is losing the faith of the dressing room of the Spanish giants following a number of controversial tactical decisions. However, Barcelona president Josep Maria Bartomeu insists that there is no crisis at the Camp Nou, claiming that Enrique retains the full support of the club. After a terrific start to the new Liga season, the Blaugrana have slipped from first to fourth on the back of consecutive defeats away to Real Madrid and at home to Celta. There have been reports within the Spanish press of key players being disgruntled with the start- ing line-up and tactics for the 3-1 loss at the Santiago Bernabeu. However, Bartomeu does not be- lieve that two successive setbacks is any cause for concern and re- mains adamant that Luis Enrique is the right man for the job. "It's not a crisis, we are just 25 per cent of the way through the season. It takes patience. Success will come. This is only the begin- ning and the trust in Luis Enrique is total.There is a lot of La Liga left to play and we have a lot of talent. We have confidence in this team." He added that Barcelona are not worried "but rather excited about what Luis Enrique is doing." After back-to-back Liga losses, Barca will be desperate to return to winning ways when they face Ajax in the Champions League tonight. The Catalans are second in Group F, one point behind Paris Saint-Germain, and can seal their place in the last 16 if they triumph in Amsterdam and bottom-placed APOEL fail to win at the Parc des Princes. Benzema the hero as Real Madrid beat Liverpool REAL Madrid booked their place in the Champions League last 16 with a narrow but comfortable victory over a depleted Liverpool side at the San- tiago Bernabeu. French striker Karim Benzema scored the decisive goal for the reigning European champions on the 27th minute, from a low cross by Marcelo. Portuguese superstar Cristiano Ronaldo endured a rare off-night against a Liverpool who were with- out captain Steven Gerrard and Ital- ian striker Mario Balotelli. The Reds' manager Brendan Rodg- ers introduced Gerrard and Raheem Sterling in the second half in a bid to find a Liverpool equaliser, but the visitors rarely troubled the Madrid defence. In the other Group B match Basel moved closer to the last 16 of the Champions League after easing to a 4-0 victory against Ludogorets. Paulo Sousa's side entered the match bottom of the group, but level on three points from three games with Liverpool and Ludogorets. Breel Embolo and Derlis Gonzalez punished poor defending by the Bulgarian side with first-half goals before Shkelzen Gashi and Marek Suchy underlined the gulf between the two sides after half-time. In Turin, Juventus surrendered a one-goal lead to go one behind against Olympiakos, but an own goal and a strike from Paul Pogba saw them rescue the three points. The Bianconeri came from behind to beat Olympiacos 3-2 and breathe life into their UEFA Champions League campaign. The Italians now sit in second place together with the Greek side, with both teams having six points. In Sweden, Koke and Raul Garcia's strikes gave Atletico Madrid a 2-0 victory at Malmo and a commanding lead in Champions League Group A. The Spanish champions went ahead on the half hour through Koke's neat flick and sealed the points 12 min- utes from time courtesy of Garcia's emphatic finish. Elsewhere, South Korean striker Heung-Min Son was the hero for Bayer Leverkusen as his two goals saw them record a vital 2-1 win over Zenit St Petersburg. The win places the Bundesliga side in pole position to advance to the knock-out stages as they sit on top of Group C with nine points out of four matches. In thje other group game, Benfica edged an absorbing encounter at the Estadio da Luz to put themselves back in contention for a spot in the knock-out stages. Nicolas Gaitan's corner was flicked on by Derley at the near post and Talisca bundled it past Monaco goal- keeper Danijel Subasic. The win means Benfica move level with third-placed Zenit St Peters- burg, a point behind Monaco in sec- ond. In Group D, Arsenal squandered a 3-0 lead against a battling Ander- lecht side who scored a dramatic equaliser on the 90th minute. Mikel Arteta, Alexis Sanchez and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain had seemingly put the Gunners out of sight, but Anthony Vanden Borre's strike on the hour gave the Belgians a glimmer of hope. Vanden Borre struck again from the penalty spot to reduce the deficit to one, before the visitors poured for- ward in search of an unlikely equal- iser. And Aleksandar Mitrovic glanced a header past Wojciech Szczesny as the clock crept into injury time to cap a remarkable match. In the other Group D game, Borus- sia Dortmund shrugged off their dismal domestic form to sweep past Galatasaray 4-1 and cruised into the last 16 of the Champions League with two matches to spare. Goals either side of half-time put the hosts in control and, though Hakan Balta pulled a goal back for the Turks, Ciro Immobile restored the two-goal lead and a late own goal by Semih Kaya sealed it for Jurgen Klopp's side. Luis Enrique Malmo FF – Atletico Madrid ............................................... 0-2 Juventus – Olympiakos ...................................................... 3-2 Basel – Ludogorets ...........................................................4-0 Real Madrid – Liverpool .................................................... 1-0 Benfica – Monaco ............................................................. 1-0 Zenit St Petersburg – Bayer Leverkusen .............................. 1-2 Arsenal – Anderlecht ........................................................ 3-3 Borussia Dortmund – Galatasaray ...................................... 4-1 Karim Benzema