Napoli has not yet reached the last 16 rounds of the Champions League. In the quality and attractive match played at Santiago Bernabeu, the Italians lost 4-2 to Real Madrid.
SC Braga has few opponents for second place in Group C, as they could not get more than a 1-1 draw at home against Union Berlin. Napoli may need a minor defeat against Portugal to make progress in two weeks.
In Group D, Benfica missed their first win of the season. Against the Internazionale B team, the Portuguese took a 3-0 lead in the first half, but Inter broke back to 3-3 after half-time.
Napoli can guarantee their place in the champions’ ball. The Italian champions then needed Real to achieve at least the same result as Portuguese Braga against Union Berlin at home.
The Italians also made an excellent start in Madrid. Giovanni Simeone, son of Atlético coach Diego Simeone, made a smart attack and surprisingly put Napoli ahead 1-0.
child prodigy
Real responded quickly through Rodrygo, who was in top form. The Brazilian, who scored two great goals this weekend, put the ball into the crossroads in an unstoppable way. Then Real’s other genius made his presence felt: Jude Bellingham made it 2-1 against the ropes after David Alaba’s measured cross.
Shortly after the break Napoli equalized again through André-Frank Zambo Anguissa, who first curled a cross to his feet and then fired in a devastating shot from an awkward angle.
After that, Napoli’s chances improved even more with Victor Osimhen coming off a thigh injury as a substitute. As the second half progressed, Napoli were forced to retreat further.
Goalkeeper Meret did well to parry Bellingham’s effort but soon made a serious mistake with a hidden shot from 19-year-old Nicolás Paz: 3-2. Joselu also scored in extra time, making the final score 4-2.
Braga remains hopeful
Defeat means Napoli still have to worry, even if it doesn’t seem like it. Of course, when Braga found themselves with ten men at home against Union Berlin after receiving a red card for Sikou Niakaté.
Shortly before half-time, Robin Gosens (former Herakles and FC Dordrecht player) gave Berlin the lead with an accurate shot. Braga did not give up and after the break Álvaro Djalo Union defender Leonardo Bonucci ran in and scored Braga’s ten-point basket in the pouring rain to make the score 1-1.
If Braga can win in Napoli by at least two goals, they will qualify for the round of 16 in two weeks.
The cards have already been largely reshuffled in Champions League Group D. Last year’s surprise finalists Real Sociedad and Internazionale were already confident of advancing to the last 16.
For Inter, the away game against Benfica, still winless, was above all a frustrating interruption between the top teams in Serie A, Juventus (1:1) and Napoli, so coach Simone Inazghi left most of his core strength to rest .
Hat trick João Mario
This gave Davy Klaassen the opportunity to assert himself again alongside Stefan de Vrij, one of the few who retained his place. The Italian leaders got there quickly: Within five minutes João Mário had pushed the ball past first goalkeeper Emil Audero.
And it didn’t stop there. Just over half an hour later it was 3-0 and Mario had scored a hat-trick. And remarkably, the assist came three times from the same foot of Dane Casper Tengstedt.
But not everything the Portuguese touched turned to gold. He lost sight of Marko Arnautovic shortly after half-time, and although the goal was initially disallowed by the referee for offside, VAR awarded the goal to the former FC Twente player: 3-1.
Inter were still believing in a comeback a short time later when Davide Frattesi suddenly headed Francesco Acerbi’s aerial cross into the goal to make it 3-2.
And it happened, because in the 70th minute Inter won a penalty following Nicolas Otamendi’s slight foul on Marcus Thuram. Alexis Sánchez kept his calm and made the score 3-3.
Real Sociedad met with Schlager
Starting the game as league leaders, Real Sociedad created opportunity after opportunity at home against Red Bull Salzburg, but each time they came up against outstanding goalkeeper Alexander Schlager.
The match remained at 0-0 in the Basque Country. The Basques will be able to fight for first place in Group D with Inter in two weeks.
Source: NOS
I’m George Gonzalez, a professional journalist and author at The Nation View. With more than 5 years of experience in the field, I specialize in covering sports news for various print media outlets. My passion for writing has enabled me to craft stories that capture the attention of readers all over the world.
