Dinamo urged not to underestimate Celtic

WORLD SPORT
Email: [email protected]
Gulf Daily News Thursday, 2nd October 2014
39
Dinamo urged not to underestimate Celtic
GLASGOW: Croatia legend
Robert Prosinecki has warned
former club Dinamo Zagreb it
would foolish to underestimate Celtic
after detecting hints of complacency
in his homeland.
The Parkhead outfit’s two Champions League exits to Legia Warsaw
and Maribor have convinced some
in the Croatian media that Ronny
Deila’s men are there for the taking
in Glasgow tonight.
But ex-Real Madrid and Barcelona
playmaker Prosinecki pointed out
that Dinamo are a shadow of the side
they were in his 1990s heyday – and
believes Celtic will be formidable
opponents as they seek the victory he
feels will leave them on the cusp of
qualifying for the knockout stages of
TONIGHT’S EUROPA LEAGUE FIXTURES
Second round of group matches:
Groups A to F (10.05pm Bahrain time)
GROUP A
FC Zurich (SUI) v Borussia M’gladbach (GER)
Villarreal (ESP) v Apollon Limassol (CYP)
GROUP B
HJK Helsinki (FIN) v Club Brugge (BEL)
Torino (ITA) v FC Copenhagen (DEN)
GROUP C
A. Tripolis (GRE) v Partizan Belgrade (SRB)
Tottenham Hotspur (ENG) v Besiktas (TUR)
GROUP D
Astra Giurgiu (ROM) v Salzburg (AUT)
Celtic (SCO) v Dinamo Zagreb (CRO)
GROUP E
Dinamo Moscow v PSV Eindhoven (NED)
Estoril (POR) v Panathinaikos (GRE)
GROUP F
Saint-Etienne (FRA) v Dnipro D’petrovsk (UKR)
Inter Milan v Qarabag (AZE)
the Europa League.
“I keep reading stories in Croatia
that Celtic are weak these days just
because of what happened against
Legia Warsaw and because Maribor beat them,” said the 45-year-
Groups G to L (kick-offs 8pm Bahrain time
unless stated)
GROUP G
Feyenoord (NED) v Standard Liege (BEL)
Rijeka (CRO) v Sevilla (ESP)
GROUP H
FC Krasnodar (RUS) v Everton (ENG)
(7pm)
VfL Wolfsburg (GER) v Lille (FRA)
GROUP I
Sparta Prague (CZE) v Young Boys (SUI)
Slovan Bratislava (SVK) v Napoli (ITA)
GROUP J
Dynamo Kiev (UKR) v St. Bucharest (ROM)
Aalborg (DEN) v Rio Ave (POR)
GROUP K
Guingamp (FRA) v PAOK (GRE)
Dinamo Minsk (BLR) v Fiorentina (ITA)
GROUP L
Lokeren (BEL) v Metalist Kharkiv (UKR)
Trabzonspor (TUR) v Legia Warsaw (POL)
old, part of a Dinamo team who
lost 1-0 to Celtic in a Champions
League qualifier in 1998 but went
on to crush them 3-0 in Zagreb.
“They are not – and Dinamo
don’t have the same standard as
team as when we last played Celtic.
“If Celtic’s stadium is close to being full, it will be a very, very tough
night for Dinamo.
“Celtic took a point in Austria
against Salzburg and they know
if they can win, this will be a key
outcome for them. It will almost
guarantee their qualification.’
The former Yugoslavia midfielder,
who had two spells with Dinamo
before managing Red Star Belgrade,
recalled his own trip to Parkhead,
saying: “We lost 1-0 in Glasgow. We
were the better team and missed two
great chances, but in football the
better team doesn’t always win.”
Liverpool bow
to brave Basel
l Arsenal and Real register fine victories
BASEL: Swiss champions FC Basel
claimed another English Premier League
scalp when they deservedly
beat a sloppy Liverpool 1-0
with a Marco Streller goal in
the Champions League early
this morning.
The Basel captain turned the
ball in from close range after
goalkeeper Simon Mignolet
saved a goal-bound header seven minutes into the second half
as the Swiss pulled off another
European upset.
Basel, who bounced back from
a 5-1 mauling by Real Madrid in
their opening game, have previously beaten Chelsea and Manchester United in the Champions
League in the last four seasons
and knocked Tottenham Hotspur
out of the Europa League.
Liverpool,
who
began
Group B with a home win over
Ludogorets Razgrad, gave Basel goalkeeper Tomas Vaclik
very little to do and Raheem
Sterling fluffed their best
chance in the 75th minute when
Adam Lallana sent him clear
but he hesitated too long and
was dispossessed.
Liverpool and Basel both
have three points after two
games, behind Real Madrid
who top the group with six.
Steven Gerrard summed up
Liverpool’s evening when he
wasted two early set pieces
with poor delivery.
Danny Welbeck scored his first
career hat-trick as Arsenal overpowered Galatasaray 4-1 and
survived with 10 men for the last
half-hour after goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny was sent off.
Cristiano Ronaldo helped title holders Real Madrid survive
an early scare in Bulgaria and
come away with all three points
from a 2-1 win over Ludogorets
Razgrad in Sofia.
Ludogorets, a modest provincial club who have only been in
n Spartak fans banned
for Hulk racist abuse
MOSCOW: Spartak Moscow will
have to play their next Premier
League away match with their
fan sector closed after the club’s
supporters were penalised for
having racially abused Zenit’s
Brazilian star Hulk at the weekend.
The decision was taken yesterday
after Russia’s Football Union
(RFU) disciplinary panel
investigated the incident, which
had been included in the report
filed by the RFU delegate at the
match.
“The RFU has ordered Spartak
to play their next Premier League
away match with their fan sector
closed as a punishment for their
fans’ racial abuse of Zenit forward
Hulk during the match at Saint
Petersburg on the weekend,” Artur
Grigoryants, the head of the RFU
disciplinary board, told the press.
n Park joins Al Shabab
SEOUL: South Korean striker
Park Chu-young has signed a
one-year contract with Saudi
Arabian side Al Shabab, the
latest attempt to kick-start the
talented forward’s flagging
career.
Park, who has scored 24 goals in
more than 60 matches for South
Korea, had been without a club
since ending a three-year spell
with English Premier League
side Arsenal in June.
The 29-year-old former
international captain spent most
of his final two years on loan at
other clubs and was included in
South Korea’s squad for their
woeful World Cup campaign in
June where they exited Brazil
with just one point at the group
stage.
n Ramsey and Allen ruled out
LONDON: Midfielders Aaron
n Basel’s Streller, right, scores against Liverpool goalkeeper Simon Mignolet. Inset, Streller celebrates with team mates
existence for 13 years, stunned the 10-time
European champions with a sixth-minute
strike and threatened throughout despite Ronaldo taking a hand.
The Portuguese star missed one penalty and
had a goal disallowed before scoring from a
second spot-kick to spare Real’s blushes – all
in the first 25 minutes.
French striker Karim Benzema made sure
Real’s reputation remained intact with the
winning goal 13 minutes from time.
Strike
A second-half strike by Arda Turan gave
Atletico Madrid a 1-0 win against Juventus
in Group A.
Juventus dominated possession but paid
for a lack of penetration when Juanfran Torres crossed from the right and Turan stabbed
the ball home at the far post with goalkeeper
Gianluigi Buffon stranded in the 75th minute.
All four teams in the group now have three
points, with Malmo beating Olympiakos 2-0.
Juventus gradually took control as the first
half wore on, with midfielder Claudio Marchisio unleashing a shot from 20 metres that
flew wide of Miguel Moya’s goal.
After the break, the Italian side began to
convert its overwhelming possession into
pressure on the 2014 finalist’s defense, only
for Turan to grab the winner.
South Korean Son Heung-Min scored
a goal and was involved in another to help
Bayer Leverkusen breathe life into their campaign with a 3-1 win at home to Portuguese
side Benfica. Zenit St Petersburg and Monaco’s goalless draw earlier yesterday means
Leverkusen remain third in the Group C table, a point adrift of them.
Colombian international Adrian Ramos
struck twice after forward Ciro Immobile
had opened the scoring in the third minute
as Borussia Dortmund swept to a convincing
3-0 victory over Anderlecht in Group D.
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE
GROUP A
Atletico Madrid
1 Juventus
0
(Turan 74)
Malmo
2 Olympiakos
0
(Rosenberg 42, 82)
GROUP B
Ludogorets
1 Real Madrid
2
(Marcelinho 6) (Cristiano Ronaldo 25-pen,
Benzema 77)
Basel
1 Liverpool
0
(Streller 52)
GROUP C
Leverkusen
3 Benfica
1
(Kiessling 25, Son Heung-min 34,
Calhanoglu 64-pen) (Salvio 62)
Zenit
0 Monaco
0
GROUP D
Arsenal
4 Galatasaray
1
(Welbeck 22, 30, 52, Sanchez 41) (B. Yilmaz
63-pen)
Anderlecht
0 Dortmund
3
(Immobile 3, Ramos 69, 79)
Ramsey and Joe Allen are set
to miss Wales’ upcoming Euro
2016 qualifiers against BosniaHerzegovina and Cyprus in
Cardiff, manager Chris Coleman
said yesterday. The pair will be
sidelined for the game against
the Bosnians on October 10 and
Cyprus three days’ later.
Arsenal rising star Ramsey
damaged a hamstring in the north
London derby against Tottenham
Hotspur last weekend and has been
ruled out for the next four weeks.
Meanwhile Liverpool’s Allen has
not played since Wales’ opening
Euro 2016 victory in Andorra on
September 9 following a hernia
operation.
n Bordeaux’s Sane sidelined
BORDEAUX, France: Bordeaux
captain Lamine Sane will
be out for up to seven weeks
after surgery on his right knee
yesterday.
Sane was hurt a month ago in a
2-1 win over Evian in the French
league, and was operated on in
Marseille by orthopedic surgeon
Jean-Pierre Franceschi.
The club said the Senegal centre
back will be sidelined “between
five to seven weeks.”