The Malta Independent 24 April 2024, Wednesday
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UEFA Champions League: Ronaldo held scoreless in Madrid as Atletico beat Juventus

Associated Press Wednesday, 20 February 2019, 23:09 Last update: about 6 years ago

Atletico Madrid kept Cristiano Ronaldo in check on Wednesday, defeating Juventus 2-0 in a first-leg match in the round of 16 of the Champions League.

Defenders Jose Maria Gimenez and Diego Godin scored late goals to give Atletico the win in a game in which video review played a key role, with two big calls going against the hosts.

Ronaldo, jeered nearly every time he touched the ball, had a quiet performance in his first match in the Spanish capital since leaving Real Madrid last summer. He came close to scoring with a booming shot from a free kick less than 10 minutes into the match, but had few opportunities after that.

Heavily marked from the start, Ronaldo wasn't able to add to his good record against the old rival, which he helped eliminate in four straight seasons in the Champions League while playing for Real Madrid.

Atletico had a first-half penalty for a foul on Diego Costa reversed by video review, and VAR also disallowed a second-half goal by Alvaro Morata.

But Gimenez found the net from inside the area in the 78th, and Godin added to the lead with an angled shot in the 83rd.

 

10-man Man City scores 2 late goals, beats Schalke 3-2

Manchester City scored two late goals, including a 90th-minute winner from Raheem Sterling, to beat Schalke 3-2 in the last 16 of the Champions League on Wednesday on another night when the video assistant referee was a talking point.

After Leroy Sane equalized for 10-man City in the 85th with a curling free kick against his former club, Sterling got the better of Bastian Oczipka after chasing a long clearance from goalkeeper Ederson Moraes and calmly finished into the bottom corner.

Trailing to Sergio Aguero's 19th-minute goal, Schalke needed help from the VAR in scoring two penalties during a chaotic seven-minute span at the end of the first half.

The German team was awarded the first of its penalties when Nicolas Otamendi was adjudged to have handled a shot from Daniel Caligiuri. After a delay of nearly four minutes — the referee wasn't helped by the pitchside monitor reportedly not working — Nabil Bentaleb converted from the spot in the 38th.

The midfielder did so again in the 45th and this time the decision was more straightforward after Fernandinho, playing as a makeshift center back, tugged back Salif Sane at a free kick.

Otamendi was handed a second yellow card in the 68th for a foul on substitute Guido Burgstaller but City still managed to recover in Gelsenkirchen.

The English champions are still in the hunt for trophies on four fronts this season. They are top of the Premier League, play in the final of the English League Cup on Sunday, and are into the quarterfinals of the FA Cup.

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