Benfica’s Alfa Semedo (right) runs to score his side third goal
AEK ATHENS 2, BENFICA 3
Substitute Alfa Semedo rescued 10-man Benfica with a late goal to secure a 3-2 win over AEK Athens yesterday [Macau time] as the Greek champion was punished for chaotic defending with a second straight Champions League defeat.
AEK had come from two goals down to level the match after Ruben Dias was sent off just before the break. But Semedo was left unchallenged and ran through the static AEK defense to fire past goalkeeper Vasilis Barkas in the 74th minute at Athens’ Olympic Stadium.
“I came on to help the team and I’m so happy to get that goal,” Semedo said. “The coach (Rui Vitoria) told me to support the counterattacks.”
Benfica looked to have wrapped up the Group E match early, scoring twice in the opening 15 minutes.
Haris Seferovic tapped in the opener in the sixth minute after AEK goalkeeper Vasilis Barkas blocked a shot from Gedson Fernandez. The Portuguese side looked threatening on every push forward and added another nine minutes later when the unmarked Alex Grimaldo headed in a free kick from Pizzi.
But the visitors lost control after Dias received a second booking for a foul on Ezequiel Ponce.
Viktor Klonaridis scored twice in the second.
BAYERN 1, AJAX 1
AEK lost its opening game 3-0 at Ajax, and showed little imagination before the break, while center-back duo Marios Oikonomou and Dmytro Chygrynskiy struggled to contain Benfica’s three forwards.
“We started out looking scared and there’s no real explanation for that,” AEK coach Marinos Ouzounidis said. “When they went down to 10 men, we reacted well and should have won it. That third goal came after we had worked so hard. It was very unfortunate,”
Bayern and Ajax drew 1-1 in the group’s other game. Derek Gatopoulos, Athens, AP
Juve wins, Madrid loses without Ronaldo
Real Madrid is having trouble scoring with Cristiano Ronaldo no longer on the team. His new club, Juventus, did just fine without him. For the first time in more than a decade, Madrid has gone three straight games without a goal after losing 1-0 at CSKA Moscow in an early setback to the Spanish club’s title defense in the Champions League. Madrid is running into some problems in the post-Ronaldo era, having won only two of its last six games in all competitions. They arrived at Luzhniki stadium — where Spain lost to Russia in the last 16 of the World Cup — having also failed to score in its last two Spanish league games. Not since January 2007 has Madrid gone scoreless in three consecutive games. Ronaldo, who joined Juventus from Madrid in a deal worth 112 million euros (USD131.5 million) this offseason, was missing for the Italian champions for their match against Young Boys after his sending-off against Valencia in the opening round of group play. Paulo Dybala stepped up in the Portuguese star’s absence by scoring a hat trick in a 3-0 win to put Juventus top of its group. Another of Ronaldo’s former clubs is struggling, too. Manchester United’s bus got stuck in traffic — leading to a delayed kickoff against Valencia — and the team never got going on the field either in a dull 0-0 draw at Old Trafford.
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