Tottenham 0-0 Chelsea

Tottenham 0-0 Chelsea: Kane & Spurs thwarted as Blues hold on for draw 

Tottenham extended their unbeaten run in the Premier League to a club record 13 games with a 0-0 draw against Chelsea at White Hart Lane.

Mauricio Pochettino's side controlled possession for much of Sunday's match but were unable to turn it into goals in a contest which starkly contrasted Tottenham's 5-3 win in last season's corresponding fixture.

Jose Mourinho's decision to drop Diego Costa left his side lacking in attack, with an interchangeable front four - spearheaded by Eden Hazard - only threatening on the break.

John Terry was absent due to injury for Chelsea, and his presence was quickly felt as Harry Kane forced Asmir Begovic into a pair of early saves.

Chelsea grew into the game but did not test Hugo Lloris until the 68th minute, when the Frenchman denied Hazard with an excellent stop.

Neither goalkeeper was to beaten before the final whistle, leaving Mourinho's side 14th in the table with one win in their last five Premier League matches.






Tottenham - who made one change with Ryan Mason replacing the suspended Dele Alli - applied the early pressure and Begovic showed bravery and skill to twice deny Kane, first at the striker's feet before taking two attempts to hold a powerful, deflected drive.

Mourinho's men began to create better opportunities and, after Hazard sent a header off target, Pedro fired a swerving strike from 20 yards over the crossbar.

Tottenham continued to enjoy the majority of possession, although Son Heung-min was unable to make it count when he directed a free header straight at Begovic with 27 minutes played and the Bosnian was forced into further action soon after, diving low to his left to turn Mousa Dembele's skidding 25-yard hit around the post.

The absence of a recognised striker meant Chelsea lacked a target inside the box, with Oscar's shank into the side netting ensuring they ended the half without a shot on target.

Kurt Zouma narrowly missed out on a simple finish from a Willian free-kick early in a second period that saw few chances.

Shortly after the hour, Son provided an attacking injection via a one-two with Erik Lamela - on in place of the injured Mason - but his shot was sent straight at Begovic.

It was a rare chance for Tottenham in the second half, and with 68 minutes gone they required a fine save from Lloris stop Hazard finding the net with an impressively executed volley.

Chelsea retreated further in the latter stages and looked to break at pace, but Pedro again failed to test the opposition keeper with a wayward strike from the edge of the area.

Costa remained on the bench despite Chelsea's need for a goal, and threw his substitutes' bib away in disgust in stoppage time when Ruben Loftus-Cheek emerged as Mourinho's final change to cap yet another frustrating outing for the champions.

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Liverpool 1-0 Swansea

Liverpool 1-0 Swansea: Milner penalty settles scrappy encounter 

James Milner scored from the penalty spot for the second game running to earn Liverpool a hard-fought 1-0 win over Swansea City at Anfield on Sunday.

Milner was on target with a penalty in Thursday's Europa League victory over Bordeaux, and he proved Liverpool's matchwinner against Garry Monk's side after the hosts had looked set for a frustrating stalemate.

Liverpool were on top for large spells prior to Milner's goal shortly after the hour but lacked a cutting edge without playmaker Philippe Coutinho, who was not risked following a hamstring problem picked up in the 4-1 win over Manchester City.

Jurgen Klopp's team were a long way off reproducing their stunning display at the Etihad Stadium but Milner's penalty, following a questionable decision for a Neil Taylor handball, ensured the German enjoyed a first Premier League win at Anfield.

Captain Jordan Henderson and striker Daniel Sturridge both made their long-awaited returns from injury to feature under Klopp for the first time - adding gloss to a third victory in a row in all competitions that lifts Liverpool to sixth in the table.

Swansea will consider themselves unfortunate, but a run of just one win in 10 league outings means the pressure continues to build on Monk.







Following back-to-back wins over City and Bordeaux, Liverpool began confidently and almost went ahead five minutes in via Kyle Bartley.

Jordon Ibe burst forward and Bartley's challenge diverted the ball onto Lukasz Fabianski's right-hand post as Swansea were given an early let-off.

Ibe - one of two Liverpool changes due to Coutinho's injury and Lucas Leiva's suspension - was heavily involved in the opening stages as Liverpool dominated possession.

Missing suspended former Liverpool man Jonjo Shelvey, Swansea gradually grew into the game around the half-hour mark but, like their hosts, failed to muster a shot on target before the interval.

Having survived early Liverpool pressure, Swansea were on top after the break but Ibe had the first effort of the second period when he forced Fabianski into a save down to his right.

Klopp's men continued to lack a decisive pass in the final third but, when Taylor was harshly adjudged to have handled Ibe's delivery, Milner produced an impressive penalty to beat Fabianski and break the deadlock.

Henderson was introduced soon after for his first appearance since mid-August and assumed the captain's armband from Milner before Sturridge featured for the first time in almost two months.

The striker missed the midweek Europa League success after sustaining a knock in training but almost got himself on the end of Milner's wayward shot at the far post shortly after his introduction.

Swansea substitutes Jefferson Montero and Befetimbi Gomis saw late shots blocked, as Liverpool's momentum continues to grow ahead of Wednesday's League Cup quarter-final at Southampton.

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Bayern Munich 4-0 Olympiacos

Bayern Munich 4-0 Olympiacos: Guardiola's men clinch first place with easy win 

Bayern Munich secured top spot in Group F of the Champions League in emphatic fashion on Tuesday, recording a 4-0 victory over nearest rivals Olympiacos, despite the dismissal of Holger Badstuber.

First-half goals from Douglas Costa, Robert Lewandowski and Thomas Muller meant Pep Guardiola's side had the three points wrapped up inside the first 20 minutes at the Allianz Arena.

The hosts were forced to play the majority of the second half with only 10 men, as Badstuber was sent off after bringing down Olympiacos forward Brown Ideye when he was through on goal.

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Yet despite the numerical disadvantage, Bayern added a fourth goal through Kingsley Coman, taking their tally in this season's competition to 17 goals in five matches.

Despite the heavy defeat, Olympiacos still control their own destiny in the battle to reach the knockout stages.

They host Arsenal in the final round of fixtures knowing a draw will be enough to see them advance to the last 16.

Bayern simply thrashed their opponents in the opening quarter, with Costa breaking the deadlock when he slotted home a rebound with his left foot, after visiting goalkeeper Roberto initially parried Jerome Boateng's long-range effort.

Lewandowski doubled the home side's lead eight minutes later, albeit in rather fortuitous circumstances.





Coman's weak shot unwittingly struck the Polish forward, who then reacted quickly to fire the loose ball into the bottom left corner.

A third goal arrived when Arjen Robben's clever header back into the centre of the area allowed an unmarked Muller to tap home.

The only disappointment for Bayern in an opening half they dominated was the loss of Robben to injury. The Dutchman headed straight down the tunnel after being replaced by Joshua Kimmich but Bayern later tweeted his withdrawal was merely precautionary.

Badstuber didn't last the full 90 minutes either, though his departure was due to him being shown a straight red card.

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Barcelona 6-1 Roma

Barcelona 6-1 Roma: Messi nets two on return to starting XI

  

Lionel Messi scored twice on his return to the Barcelona starting XI as the European champions cruised to a crushing 6-1 victory over Roma and secured top spot in Group E.

Luis Suarez opened the scoring after 15 minutes of the match at Camp Nou on Tuesday and Messi struck three minutes later to put the hosts in complete control.

The game was over as a contest just before half-time when Suarez scored a stunning volley, before Messi, Gerard Pique and Adriano added gloss to the scoreline in the second half.

BATE Borisov's draw with Bayer Leverkusen earlier in the day meant Barca were already sure of a place in the last 16, but their victory means they have wrapped up top spot ahead of their final game against the Bundesliga side.

Despite only having five points from as many games after a harrowing 90 minutes which also saw Edin Dzeko miss a late penalty before then netting a consolation, Roma are still in pole position to qualify in second place.

The Italians now have to better Leverkusen's result against Barca when they play BATE to reach the knockout stage.

After making his return from two months out injured as a substitute in El Clasico, Messi started as captain, with Andres Iniesta on the bench, and could have had a hat-trick within the first 10 minutes.

The Argentina star saw one shot saved by Wojciech Szczesny, had another effort ruled out for offside and then shot just wide after latching on to a brilliant through ball from Sergio Busquets.







Roma had a great chance of their own to take the lead when Dzeko looped a header over a stranded Marc-Andre ter Stegen, but the striker saw his attempt drift just over the crossbar.

Barca went in front when Dani Alves surged down the right to latch on to Neymar's excellent pass and squared for Suarez, who tucked the ball into an empty net at the far post.

It was two for Barca just three minutes later. Messi exchanged two passes with Neymar, Suarez's chip sent the skipper through and he dinked the ball over Szczesny to cap a wonderful move involving the front three.

Barca dominated possession for the rest of the first half and when Neymar's cross was headed out by Seydou Keita, Suarez unleashed a lethal volley into the far corner which had Thomas Vermaelen applauding.

The home side made a fast start after the break, with Szczesny getting up to push Neymar's effort away from the top corner.

Ter Stegen impressively saved a low effort from Iago Falque in a rare Roma foray forward and soon enough Barca had scored two more in quick succession.

On 56 minutes, Neymar and Suarez combined to feed Messi and he squared for Pique – who was still up from a corner – to tap home before the defender was substituted.

The fifth came three minutes later. Neymar found Suarez from the left and the Uruguayan's shot was helped towards goal by Messi. Szczesny did well to save, but the returning star converted the rebound.

A twisting run from Neymar resulted in him curling a shot just off-target as he was denied what would have been a deserved goal, while Maicon was fortunate not to concede a penalty after clipping Suarez as he drove towards goal.

Neymar only had himself to blame for not scoring on 77 minutes after winning a penalty himself but seeing his poorly struck spot-kick saved by Szczesny. Luckily, Adriano was on hand to slam the rebound into the roof of the net.

Ter Stegen then matched Szczesny by denying Dzeko from 12 yards after he had been fouled in the box by Vermaelen, but the striker finally broke his resistance by heading in Lucas Digne's cross late on.

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Porto 0-2 Dynamo

Porto 0-2 Dynamo: Yarmolenko & Gonzalez on target in comfortable win 

Andriy Yarmolenko starred as Dynamo Kiev kept alive their hopes of qualifying for the Champions League round of 16 with an impressive 2-0 win at Porto.

Yarmolenko and Derlis Gonzalez grabbed the goals to secure the spoils at Estadio do Dragao, meaning Kiev sit two points behind joint leaders Porto and Chelsea in Group G going into the final matchday next month.

Porto entered their second match of seven in a marathon 23-day span knowing a point would secure their spot in the knockout phases with a game to spare.

Things did not go to plan during a frustrating opening half as Dynamo entered the break ahead thanks to Yarmolenko's penalty.

The visitors then wrapped up an impressive night's work after half-time as Gonzalez grabbed a decisive second goal thanks to an Iker Casillas error.

That leaves the group dramatically poised, with Dynamo needing to beat Maccabi Tel-Aviv and hope there is a victor in Porto's trip to Chelsea.

The hosts began impressively and created the first opening in just the second minute as Danilo Pereira drove forward and narrowly missed the target with a powerful effort from range.







That set the tone for the early part of the game, with Yacine Brahimi next to threaten when firing over following a one-two with Giannelli Imbula.

Kiev improved significantly thereafter and would have opened the scoring were it not for Casillas.

The former Real Madrid goalkeeper produced a stunning save to keep out Gonzalez's superb 20-yard curler.

The visitors came even closer in the 28th minute as Denys Garmash met Yarmolenko's pin-point cross with a bullet header that cracked the inside of the post. His misfortune should have been Junior Moraes' gain, but the striker stabbed the rebound wide after reaching the ball on the stretch.

Yet Kiev did not have to wait much longer to break the deadlock as Yarmolenko sent Casillas the wrong way from the spot after Serhiy Rybalka went down under a challenge from Imbula.

The winger continued to look the biggest threat, unleashing a powerful effort from a tight angle that Casillas tipped over.

Porto emerged from the break vastly improved and should have equalised in the 59th minute when Cristian Tello hit straight at the goalkeeper.

Similar profligacy then denied Kiev at the other end as Garmash found himself clean through following a defensive mix-up, only to see his effort easily saved by Casillas.

A crucial second would come in the 64th minute, though, when Gonzalez surged forward and unleashed an effort, Casillas inexplicably tipping the ball up into the air and over the line, leaving the hosts 2-0 down and with time running out.

Having been frustrated for much of the closing stages, Porto were almost gifted a route back into the game when Aleksandar Dragovic deflected Andre Andre's cross-cum-shot onto the post.

And the Portuguese side's frustration was summed up when the woodwork denied Andre again in the dying seconds, his effort deflecting on to the underside of the bar, the hosts suffering a defeat that could yet cost them a place in the round of 16.

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Maccabi Tel-Aviv 0-4 Chelsea

Maccabi Tel-Aviv 0-4 Chelsea: Blues stroll to success in Israel

  

Goals from Gary Cahill, Willian, Oscar and Kurt Zouma gave Chelsea a comfortable victory over Maccabi Tel-Aviv in Israel on Tuesday.

It was a tale of two centre-backs during the first-half at the Sammy Ofer Stadium where, after Gary Cahill showed fine anticipation to open the scoring, former Chelsea man Tal Ben Haim made the hosts' task even bigger by kicking out at Diego Costa and being sent off on the stroke of the interval.

Despite their numerical disadvantage, Maccabi caused Chelsea some moments of discomfort as a tense Jose Mourinho saw his team's early fluency desert them.

It was left to Willian, one of Chelsea's star performers in their difficult campaign, to lift a customary free-kick over the defensive wall in the 73rd minute and beyond Predrag Rajkovic – the impressive Maccabi goalkeeper who was aggrieved to see Oscar net a powerful header from Baba Rahman's cross four minutes later.

Oscar turned provider for Kurt Zouma, on for injured captain John Terry, to convert a stoppage-time corner to leave Chelsea with consecutive wins to their name for only the second time this season heading into Sunday's Premier League London derby against Tottenham.

Dynamo Kiev's 2-0 win at Porto means a three-way battle for qualification will be played out in the final round of group matches, with pointless Maccabi playing for pride.

Mourinho complained about the playing surface before the match and his team looked uncomfortable during the opening exchanges.







Tal Ben Haim II, the namesake of the home side's soon-to-be villain, delivered a wonderful cross from the right in the second minute that Dor Peretz headed wastefully over from close range.

Oscar and Cesar Azpilicueta were two of four players recalled to Mourinho's starting XI following the weekend win over Norwich City and they combined in the seventh minute – Oscar's backheel side-footed over by the Spain full-back.

That set in motion a period of Chelsea dominance that was rewarded in the 20th minute.

Cahill rose highest to meet Willian's corner and the centre-back reacted sharply after Rajkovic tipped his header onto the post to poke home.

Diego Costa fired an ambitious overhead-kick off target from Azpilicueta's cross before being involved in the flashpoint that saw Maccabi's most experienced campaigner lose his composure entirely.

Ben Haim missed with his initial kick at Costa but a second crude hack earned the defender a deserved red card.

The 10-men had a chance to level amid a scrappy start to the second-half – Eli Dasa racing in behind Chelsea left-back Rahman and forcing Asmir Begovic to save with his chest.

Mourinho displayed clear frustration on the touchline in response to that lapse and the hosts continued to cause unforeseen problems, with Peretz failing to get a decisive touch to Eran Zahavi's 59th-minute free-kick.

Rajkovic produced two stunning reaction saves in quick succession to thwart Hazard and Azpilicueta before Maccabi sprung forward on the break and Begovic produced a similarly superb fingertip stop that denied Zahavi.

A wasteful pass from Hazard drew further ire from Mourinho, who sent on Pedro in place of the playmaker in the 69th minute and there was concern for the manager soon afterward when Terry left the field on a stretcher with an apparent foot problem.

Willian's latest sumptuous dead-ball effort was enough to lift spirits in the visiting dugout and Rahman put an unsure display behind him to deliver a wonderful cross for Oscar to convert.

Zouma then headed home with comparable authority and the victory means Chelsea are level on 10 points with Porto ahead of welcoming the Portuguese giants to Stamford Bridge, with Kiev poised two points further back.

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Juventus 1-0 Manchester City

Juventus 1-0 Manchester City: Mandzukic sends Italians top

  

Mario Mandzukic's first-half goal secured a 1-0 victory for Juventus over Manchester City and sent the Italians through to the knockout stage and back into first place in Group D.

Mandzukic got Juve's first goal when they came from behind to secure a 2-1 win in Manchester on matchday one and the Croatia striker's 18th-minute strike was enough to seal the points this time around.

Having made sure of their own last-16 berth with a superb 3-1 win at Sevilla in their previous game, City manager Manuel Pellegrini urged his team to grab top spot with victory in Turin.

On the back of their humiliating 4-1 loss to Liverpool on Saturday, the Premier League side turned in a much-improved showing but lacked a cutting edge to lend Juve the advantage in the battle for a seeded place in the knockout draw.

Juve only need a point from their final match at Sevilla to finish first ahead of City, who have been dumped out by Barcelona in the past two seasons as second-place qualifiers and will now fear a similar fate against a European heavyweight.

Substitute Raheem Sterling passed up a glorious chance to equalise in the closing stages before a miserable night for Pellegrini was compounded by an apparent groin injury to Joe Hart.







City had little to show for patient build-up play during the opening stages until Kevin De Bruyne's cross from the left broke for Fernandinho, a goalscorer against Sevilla, who blazed wastefully over on this occasion.

It was a miss the visitors would regret almost instantly as Paul Pogba orchestrated a Juventus break, skipping past De Bruyne to feed Alex Sandro before the wing-back's measured delivery was slotted home on the volley by Mandzukic.

A stunning reaction save by Hart prevented Mandzukic from adding a second on the end of Stephan Lichtsteiner's 28th-minute knockdown.

A woeful backpass from Claudio Marchisio almost let City striker Sergio Aguero in for an equaliser ahead of the interval but veteran goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon stood firm.

Another wonderful Sandro cross was impressively cleared by Nicolas Otamendi with Mandzukic lurking early in the second half before City came agonisingly close to an equaliser.

Fernando guided De Bruyne's left-wing corner towards the bottom corner, where Buffon touched his header onto the base of the post and gathered with Yaya Toure lurking.

Once again, City were at their most vulnerable having almost scored - Alvaro Morata, on for a limping Mandzukic, broke free of the away defence and his lofted attempt over Hart was turned on to the post by Stefano Sturaro.

Aguero, largely starved of service, had a 67th-minute volley deflected wide before making way for Sterling and Pellegrini's new attacking spearhead endured a moment to forget 10 minutes from time.

The England forward looked set to keep City in control of the race for top spot but he scuffed a left-footed shot wide from De Bruyne's low cross with the goal gaping.

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