Key events
The latest scores
GOAL! Chelsea 1-0 Barcelona (Kounde og 28)
Jules Kounde has put Chelsea ahead at Stamford Bridge. Confused? You won’t be after an audience with Scott Murray.
GOAL! Bodo/Glimt 1-0 Juventus (27) Bodo/Glimt take the lead against Juventus. A corner from the right is flicked across goal and sidefooted into the net by Ole Didrik Blomberg. As things stand Juve are 29th in the Champions League table.
24 min: Chelsea 0-0 Barcelona Enzo Fernandez has had another goal disallowed at Stamford Bridge. Scott Murray is following that game.
GOAL! Man City 0-1 Leverkusen (Grimaldo 23)
Well well. Alex Grimaldo has put Leverkusen ahead at the Etihad. After a smooth Leverkusen counter, a cross from the right was touched off by Kofane to the onrushing Grimaldo, who rattled a first-time shot past James Trafford.
That’s Grimaldo’s eighth goal of the season, quite an effort for a wing-back.
20 min: Marseille 0-1 Newcastle Joe Willock lands an elbow on Darryl Bakola and is booked. I’m pretty sure he was only trying to block Bakola with his elbow but he caught him in the face with a stiff one.
19 min: Marseille 0-1 Newcastle A slash on the half turn from Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is well saved by the diving Nick Pope. Marseille are coming into the gme.
15 min: Marseille 0-1 Newcastle So far so good for Newcastle, who have scored 11 goals without reply in the Champions League since they went 2-0 down to Barcelona in the first game.
Newcastle are playing a back three, incidentally, with Livramento and Murphy as the wing-backs.
The latest scores
8 min Slavia Prague 0-0 Athletic “Currently sat in Prague where I am struggling with the time,” writes Graham Randall. “Usually on GMT-5 but now on GMT+1. Couldn’t get a ticket to Slavia v Bilbao but did go on Saturday. Unfortunately couldn’t make the Dukla Praha game. Which was annoying.”
7 min: Chelsea 0-0 Barcelona Chelsea have had an early goal ruled out at Stamford Bridge. Scott Murray has all the deets.
7 min: Marseille 0-1 Newcastle Yep, Tonali was onside and Newcastle are ahead in France.
GOAL! Marseille 0-1 Newcastle (Barnes 6)
Harvey Barnes continues his brilliant form, finishing emphatically from 10 yards. Sandro Tonali’s cutback was diverted across the area by Anthony Gordon and Barnes snapped a left-foot shot past Geronimo Rulli.
There’s a check for offside against Tonali; it’s tight but I think he’s okay.
4 min: Marseille 0-0 Newcastle Malick Thiaw’s looping header is cleared off the line – but no matter because…
Kick off
Peep peep! The 8pm games are under way, and these are the latest scores.
“I so desperately want to be in Marseille for this one,” writes Chris Paraskevas, who instead is in Australia, where no major sport has taken place in the past week. Nope. Nada. Sweet bugger all.
“Being a huge fan of the French Connection, I would be geeking out on all the different ‘shooting’ locations, if you catch my drift. And in case you were wondering: yes, I definitely would have dressed up in my full-body Magpie outfit, despite the warnings of local police. Honestly, what could possibly go wrong on a trip like that? Usually when I get picked up by the cops I get away a warning/overnighter…”
I’ve never understood adults dressing up in outfits. Don’t get it at all. Nope.
“So,” says Eddy Nason, “is the new quiz being brought to you by Ant & Dec? It is a World Cup year coming after all… Also, enough of this European fancy-dannery, there’s a top of the table six-pointer in the Championship to worry about tonight!”
I think I’d rather be covering Middlesbrough v Coventry. Alas, The Man gets what The Man wants. But we will have goal updates from all tonight’s other games on our live scores page. The Man told me to link to that as well.
Why is it The Man anyway?
This is an important night for Newcastle, who will be sniffing automatic qualification for the last 16 if they win in Marseille. Their last three matches are Leverkusen (A), PSV (H) and PSG (H).
Manchester City will take nothing for granted after last year’s misery, especially as their away form is so unreliable. After tonight they play Real Madrid (A), Bodo/Glimt (A) and Galatasaray (H).
“Hi Rob,” writes Krishnamoorthy V. “Could one call the match that your colleague Scott Murray is helming as ‘match of the teens’?”
One could. One could do a lot of things. One could refer to oneself as one for the rest of one’s natural-born days. One could use this as an excuse to post the brilliant opening song from Paul Thomas Anderson’s feelgood romp Magnolia.
On the ball – guess the footballer
The Guardian has kicked off a new chapter in puzzles with the launch of its first daily football game, On the ball. It is now live in the app for both iOS and Android … so what are you waiting for?
Leonardo Balerdi starts for Marseille against Newcastle. And an engaging fellow he is.
There was one game before the 2022 World Cup when all my friends messaged me: ‘Do NOT injure Messi.’ I said: ‘Don’t say that!’ Playing against him was special but he played for PSG and I wanted to beat him.
Full time: Galatasaray 0-1 Union SG
Promise David’s goal has given Union SG a cracking victory in Turkey. They move to six points from five games; Gala stay on nine.
Full time: Ajax 0-2 Benfica
Jose Mourinho has won his first Champions League game Before Covid, 26 November 2019 to be precise. Ajax stay bottom with five defeats from five.
Leandro Barreiro’s superb late goal has put Benfica 2-0 up at Ajax. Union SG are 1-0 ahead away to Galatasaray.
Marseille v Newcastle team news
Eddie Howe makes three changes to the team that beat Manchester City. Dan Burn, Anthony Gordon and Joe Willock replace Lewis Hall, Joelinton and Nick Woltemade. Burn and Gordon are returning after suspension and injury respectively.
Mason Greenwood, the leading scorer in Ligue 1 with 10, starts for Marseille. Andre Gomes is on the bench.
Marseille (possible 4-2-3-1) Rulli; Weah, Pavard, Balerdi, Emerson Palmieri;
Vermeeren, Hojbjerg; Greenwood, Bakola, Igor Paixao; Aubameyang.
Subs: de Lange, Van Neck, Egan-Riley, Garcia, Gomes, O’Riley, Kondogbia, Nadir, Vaz, Mmadi.
Newcastle (4-3-3) Pope; Livramento, Thiaw, Schar, Burn; Bruno Guimaraes,
Tonali, Willock; J Murphy, Gordon, Barnes.
Subs: Thompson, Ramsdale, Hall, Botman, Joelinton, Elanga, Woltemade,
Alex Murphy, Ramsey, Miley, Alabi.
Referee Maurizio Mariani (Italy)
Man City v Leverkusen team news
Crikey, stop the press: Pep Guardiola has made ten changes from the defeat at Newcastle. Nico Gonzalez stays in the starting XI; the rest are on the bench.
The Leverkusen team includes former Liverpool defender Jarell Quansah.
Man City (possible 4-3-3) Trafford; Khusanov, Stones, Ake, Ait Nouri; Lewis, Gonzalez, Reijnders; Bobb, Marmoush, Savinho.
Subs: Bettinelli, Donnarumma, Dias, Haaland, Cherki, Doku, Silva, Matheus Nunes, Foden, O’Reilly, Gvardiol.
Bayer Leverkusen (possible 3-4-2-1) Flekken; Quansah, Bade, Belocian; Poku, Garcia, Maza, Grimaldo; Tillman, Kofane; Schick.
Subs: Lomb, Echeverri, Ben Seghir, Tella, Jeremiah Mensah, Culbreath, Hawighorst, Pohl, Schlich, Naba Mensah.
Referee Joao Pedro Pinheiro (Portugal)
Chelsea v Barcelona team news
Wesley Fofana, Moises Caicedo, Alejandro Garnacho, Malo Gusto and Estevao all come into the Chelsea side. Out go Tosin Adarabioyo, Andrey Santos, Jamie Gittens, Joao Pedro and Liam Delap.
Lamine Yamal starts for Barcelona; Marcus Rashford is on the bench.
Chelsea (possible 4-3-3) Sanchez; James, Fofana, Chalobah, Cucurella; Gusto, Caicedo, Enzo; Estevao, Pedro Neto, Garnacho.
Subs: Jorgensen, Adarabioyo, Badiashile, Delap, Bynoe-Gittens, Santos, Joao Pedro, Hato, George, Acheampong, Guiu, Buonanotte.
Barcelona (possible 4-2-3-1): Joan Garcia; Kounde, Araujo, Cubarsi, Balde; Eric Garcia, De Jong; Yamal, Lopez, Torres; Lewandowski.
Subs: Szczesny, Kochen, Raphinha, Rashford, Christensen, Casado, Gerard, Olmo, Bernal, Dro Fernandez, Bardghji.
Referee Slavko Vincic (Slovenia).
We have a separate live blog for Chelsea v Barcelona. Scott Murray, the MBM version of Diego Maradona is on duty for that.
The only previous meeting between Marseille and Newcastle was the Uefa Cup semi-final of 2003-04, won by an emerging superstar from Ivory Coast. Manchester City and Bayer Leverkusen have never met before. Chelsea and Barcelona have a peedie bit of history.
Just one goal in the first half of the two early games. Samuel Dahl sixth-minute sizzler has given Jose Mourinho’s Benfica™ a 1-0 lead away to Ajax.
Marseille v Newcastle preview
Although Newcastle arrived in the south of France on Monday fresh from their restorative 2-1 home Premier League win against Manchester City on Saturday, and having beaten Union Saint-Gilloise, Benfica and Athletic Bilbao in the Champions League, their sole away victory since early April came in Brussels at Union SG.
Not that Howe was overly keen to discuss the psychological aspect of this travel sickness. “The Champions League is different to Premier League games,” said a manager whose team are sixth in the European table, with nine points from a possible 12 and automatic progression to the knockout phase almost within touching distance. “I don’t know if you can compare them.”
Preamble
Hello and welcome to another orgy of Champions League football. There are nine games tonight, with three English teams involved. Chelsea meet Barcelona* in the match of the night, Newcastle go to Marseille and Manchester City – vulnerable away but magnificent at home – host Bayer Leverkusen.
We’re at the halfway point of the league stage, so the table is starting to take shape. All six English teams are in the top 12 – but there are only two points between fifth and sixteenth, so there’s a whiff of snakes and ladders about the whole thing. It’s all up for grabs.
These are tonight’s games, all 8pm kick-offs unless stated.
Ajax 0-1 Benfica (5.45pm)
Galatasaray 0-0 Union SG (5.45pm)
Bodo/Glimt v Juventus
Chelsea v Barcelona
Dortmund v Villarreal
Man City v Leverkusen
Marseille v Newcastle
Napoli v Qarabag
Slavia Prague v Athletic Bilbao
* You’re thinking about Ronaldinho, aren’t you?
