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After two straight losses, against Paris SG and Real Madrid, Malmö FF finally got the victory they needed in the 2015-16 Champions League. Against visiting Shakthar Donetsk, Markus Rosenberg scored the first goal in the 17th minute. That can be an important milestone in Malmö’s European adventure: the third placed team in the group will go through to play in the Europa Lague.

Markus Rosenberg scored 1-0

Shakthar had most of the ball possession (about 2/3 the entire game). However, Malmö played with high pressure. This disarmed the Ukrainian midfield and they had to rely on long passes which made them look uncomfortable. In the 17th minute of the first half, Pa Konate reached Markus Rosenberg with a brilliant pass. Rosenberg made no mistake when he put the ball in the net behind Andrij Pyatov. After the goal, Malmö fell back in their positions for a while and Shakhtar could move their game up field. However, this gave Malmö some excellent chances for 3 against 3 rushes and similar break-outs. However, no more goals were scored in the first half.

In the other half, Malmö were close to increasing their lead. Still, Shakhtar had the possession but Malmö got the better chances to score. In the 55th minute they were awarded a penalty after 33-year old Croatian defender Darijo Srna had interfered Jo Inge Berget in the penalty area. Srna had a tough night, with a head injury in the first half, the penalty and some other referee decisions against him. However, Andreij Pyatov made a nice save on the penalty kick, keeping Malmö’s lead down to one goal.

Malmö had a good night. Many players delivered their best all over the field: Po Konate, who assisted on the first goal, was excellent. Johan Aronsson made a solid defensive match. Erdal Rakip gave the team new energy in the second half with his two-way plays and offensive runs. Three points were well deserved and the score could have been both 2- and 3-0, but the match ended 1-0.

The result means that Malmö is placed third in group A. The next match is a return against Shakhtar Donetsk. Because of the unrest in Ukraine, Shakhtar will play their home matches at Arena Lviv, which was also used in the 2012 European Championships. The game will be an important decider of the third place if we rule out that neither Shakhtar or Malmö will get any points against Real Madrid and Paris SG (who played 0-0 in Paris this round).

Standings after Champions League’s third round

PSG is at the top of group A after the tie against Real Madrid

Wolfsburg is at the top of group B before Manchester United. The Germans defeated PSV Eindhoven while Man U got a tie away against CSKA Moscow

Atlético Madrid crushed FC Astana 4-0 while Galatasaray defeated Benfica 2-1. Atlético is in the top of group C before Benfica. Galatasaray is trailing 2 points behind.

Juventus and Manchester City got one home win each and is placed one and two in group D, as expected.

Last year’s champions, Barcelona, defeated FC Bate Borisov away and is at the top of group E at 7 points. Bayer Leverkusen played a tied goal fiesta against Roma, 4-4, and is placed second in the group.

Arsenal got a heavyweight victory at home, defeating Bayern Munich 2-0. However, they are only placed third in group F where Bayern is in the lead before Olympiacos.

Chelsea only got a goalless tie against Dynamo Kiev and are now placed third in group G. They are also struggling in Premier League. Porto is in the lead after defeating Maccabi Tel-Aviv.

In group H, Valencia and Zenit got a home victory each. FC Zenit is undefeated at the top of the group before Valencia.

In the second round of the 2015-16 Champions League group stage, Real Madrid was visiting Swedbank Stadium in Malmö, Sweden. Before the match, Real’s Portuguese superstar Cristiano Ronaldo had gone three games without a single goal. Frustrating, especially since he was just one goal away from the 500 goal milestone.

Ronaldo scored goal 500 and 501

As expected, Malmö FF had not much to put against the Spanish giant Real Madrid. Although the Swedes defended themselves with some success, in the end, this game was pretty much a question about how many goals Real Madrid should score. The possession was about 30-70 in favor of Madrid. After 28 minutes of play, Ronaldo got the ball in Malmö’s penalty area and he did no mistake: 0-1 Real, and he had finally scores his career goal number 500. The score could have been 0-2 after the first half, but Malmö was saved by the crossbar.
In the second half, Malmö got the chance to equalize the score, however their best striker, Markus Rosenberg, failed to convert on the header. Instead, lights went out with 12 minutes left of the match: Yoshimar Yotún got his second yellow card in the game and Malmö had to finish the match with 10 players on the field. If you are to have a chance against teams like Real Madrid, that’s not the way you want the match to develop. The red card was kind of harsh though, since Yotún pretty much just went into a duel for the ball.
After 90 minutes of play, Ronaldo scored his second goal of the match and 2-0 became the final result. He is now on even streak with Raul’s record of goals in Real Madrid (323) and will probably beat that record in short.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic scored for Paris SG

Paris Saint Germains and Zlatan Ibrahimovic played the other match in the group away against Ukrainian Sjachtar Donetsk. Aurier scored the first goal for PSG after 7 minutes of play and David Luiz scored the second halfway into the first half. Swedish striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic finalized the scoring to 3-0 late in the second half. That was his first goal of the 2015-16 Champions League. In the first match, PSG won against Malmö FF. PSG and Real now have 6 points each. October 21 they will face each other in Paris to see who gets the first spot in the group.

Other results:

FC Astana 2-2 Galatasaray
Mönchengladbach 1-2 Manchester City
Juventus 2-0 Sevilla
Manchester United 2-1 Wolfsburg
Atletico Madrid 1-2 Benfica
CSKA Moskva 3-2 PSV Eindhoven

In the first round of the 2015/16 Champions League Zlatan Ibrahimovic was put up against his countrymen when Paris SG played against Swedish Malmö FF at home. However, the Swedish striker scored no goals this time. Instead, Ángel Di María scored PSG:s first goal of the tournament in the fourth minute.

Malmö vs Zlatan and Ronaldo

Malmö qualified to this year’s Champions League by defeating Celtic. Then they were drawn in the same group as Real Madrid, Sjachtar Donetsk and Paris Saint Germain. A nightmare for most teams, but most people in Sweden actually cheered since the draw meant that we get to see some superstars playing football here in Sweden this winter. Malmö FF is the motherclub of Zlatan Ibrahimovic which makes those two matches special. Cristiano Ronaldo and Real Madrid is always a blast to watch. Oh, and maybe we will actually get a point or two against Sjachtar Donetsk from Ukraine. This is the second year in a row we have a Swedish club in the Champions League which kind of is a big deal since it is a rare sight. The question before tonight’s game was how Malmö was supposed to stop PSG’s “CIA”-line with Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Edinson Cavani and Ángel Di María? Di María was recruited from Manchester United after a failed season.

Paris SG 2-0 Malmö FF

In the first match of group A, PSG got a good start with Di María scoring after just four minutes of play. The Argentinian striker had a good match with plenty of plays and opportunities. Paris players used their technical superiority and outplayed Malmö large parts of the match. Zlatan had some troubles hitting the goal though, he missed about four-five chances in the first twenty minutes. Cavani was kind of invisible in the first half. Malmö did not create a lot of chances on their offense. In the second half, Zlatan neatly extended a pass to Cavani who scored 2-0 in the 61:st minute. That also became the final score in an entertaining match. We are looking forward to see what Malmö can do at home when the European teams have to face King (Swedish) Winter. In the next round, Malmö will play against Real Madrid in Sweden (Wednesday, September 30).

Results, Champions League

In the other matches, Ronaldo scored a hat-trick against Sjachtar Donetsk, Real Madrid winning 4-0. PSV Eindhoven won against Manchester United 2-1 (they did not have any Angel of Maria to salvage them anymore. Wolfsburg barely beat CSKA Moscow 1-0. In group C Beinfica won against FC Astana 2-0 which also became the result when Atletico got an away victory against Galatasaray. Last year’s finalist Juventus won against City in Manchester, 2-1. Sevilla won against Borussia Mönchengladback 3-0.

Here you find match dates and groups for the 2015/2016 Champions League.

Groups with comments:

Group A

Paris SG
Real Madrid
Sjachtar Donetsk
Malmö FF

Comment: The only Swedish team in the tournament, Malmö FF will face Swedish superstar Zlatan Ibrahimovic in Paris SG, and Cristiano Ronaldo in Real Madrid. PSG and Real will advance to the round of 16.

Group B

PSV Eindhoven
Manchester United
CSKA Moskva
Wolfsburg

Comment: Maybe it is time for Manchester United in Champions League this year, despite some tough seasons. Will they get accompanied by Russia to the play offs?

Group C

Benfica
Atlético Madrid
Galatasaray
FC Astana

Comment: Spanish team Atlético Madrid will win this group. Perhaps Turkish club Galatasaray will join them in the round of 16?

Group D

Juventus
Manchester City
Sevilla
Borussia Mönchengladbach

Comment: Italian Champions and last year’s finalists Juventus will advance from this group, together with Manchester City.

Group E

Barcelona
Bayer Leverkusen
Roma
Bate Borisov

Comment: Last years champions, FC Barcelona, will win this group. Roma placed second in the Italian league last year and might pull through to the round of 16.

Group F

Bayern München
Arsenal
Olympiakos
Dinamo Zagreb

Comment: German Bundesliga champions Bayern München will go through from this group, together with last years FA-cup winners Arsenal.

Group G

Chelsea
Porto
Dynamo Kiev
Maccabi Tel Aviv

Comment: Premier League champions, Chelsea will probably win this group. Porto accompany them in the round of 16.

Group H

Zenit
Valencia
Lyon
Gent

Comment: A tad boring group. Valencia and Lyon?

Match dates, group phase

The preliminary matches are played the following dates:

15 – 16th September
29 – 30th September
20 – 21st October
3 – 4th November
24 – 25th November
8 – 9th December

Round of 16

The round of 16 is drawn December 14 and are played the following dates:

16 – 17th February
23 – 24th February
8 – 9th March
15 – 16th March

Quarterfinals

The quarterfinals are drawn March 18 and are played the following dates:

5 – 6th April
12 – 13th April

Semifinals

The semifinals are drawn April 15 and are played the following dates:

3-4th May

The Champions League Final

The final will be played at San Siro in Milano, May 28. Last year, Barcelona FC won the tournament after winning against Juventus in the final.

For more info, please visit UEFA’s official site for the Champions League.

Barcelona FC were favourites against Juventus in the 2015 Champions League-final. They did not disappoint anyone and won 3-1. Thanks to Ivan Rakitic’s goal they got the start they wanted. Juventus stayed in the game though, much thanks to veteran goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon.

Juventus tied the game in the second half

Juventus played a good defensive game, but had a hard time creating something offensively. In the 55th minute they got the change though: Carlos Tévez shot the ball and Álvaro Morata did no mistake on the rebound, making it 1-1. The match was now an open story and one could sense some nervously Barcelona players. Then, their superstars stepped forward. Lionel Messi drove forward with the ball, taking the shot. Buffon’s rebound went left, straight on the feet of Luis Suárez who could give Barcelona the 2-1 lead in minute 68. Neymar got the chance a while later but his header were disapproved since the ball also touched his arm. A good and correct call by the referees. However, at stoppage time, Neymar got his second chance of the game, scoring 3-1 Barcelona, which also became the final result. The Spanish offensive 4-4-3 lineup beat Italian defensive 4-4-2.

Aftermath

After the 2015 Champions League final, two great players will leave the European top football: Barcelona’s Xavi and Juventu’s Andrea Pirlo. From this night, we will remember them in a great game that was decided by solid play. We could enjoy some great football, forgetting FIFA scandals and bribes. Seeing the world’s best players on the field at the Olympic stadium in Berlin, we could sense hope that a dream about a clean sport that ties people together instead os separating them, will come true. If that is going to happen, we have to treat and care for the sport. Football can and will bring countries, people and cultures closer to each other. It is the symbol of a united world of justice, where the team that is at their best for today will win the trophy this time.

Champions Leauge-winners the last 10 years

2014-15: Barcelona
2013-14: Real Madrid
2012-13: Bayern Munich
2011-12: Chelsea
2010-11: Barcelona
2009-10: Inter
2008-09: Barcelona
2007-08: Manchester United
2006-07: Milan
2005-06: Barcelona

Betbonus will return with reports from Champions League 2015/16. Stay with us!

June 6, at the Olympic Stadium in Berlin, Juventus and Barcelona will play the 2015 Champions League final. While Barcelona are favourites to win to the odds of 1,6, Juventus are underdogs at 6.0. A draw is played at 4.0. How then, are these odds treated the best way? Let us see what we have on the pitch. An Italian team with solid defences versus an offensive Spanish team with a Neymar-Messi-Suárez trio on top. There are a few possible scenarios based on the two teams current season:

Juventus

Juventus won the Italian league Serie A with a large margin and they recently also won Coppa Italia. They haven’t really been tested in the Champions League this year, except for the semifinal against Real Madrid. Now, if you can beat Real Madrid you can probably beat Barcelona too. However, Barcelona have been the better Spanish team in La Liga this year, winning both the league and the cup. Italian teams are known for they great defenses and can win and outmaneuver any team with just a 1-0 lead. Juventus have four losses in this season, three in the Italian league and one against Atlético Madrid in the Champions League group stage.

Barcelona

Few teams in modern history could have matched such an offensive as Barcelona’s Luis Suárez, Neymar and Lionel Messi. They have run over and won against most of their opponents this season. In 2014-15 Barcelona have five losses, one against Real Madrid away in La Liga and three against middle placed teams in the league. The last loss came in the Champions League semifinal against Bayern Münich but it was in an already decided series. As noted above, Barcelona have won two titles this season and have the chance of a third.

So where does this information takes us? First goal wins! If Juventus can manage to move the pressure up field and score an early goal, then they will probably withstand Barcelona’s offensive rushes. However, they will not be able to play on a 0-0 score for long so there is no point in betting at the draw. If Barcelona get the quick go-ahead goal, they will surely get the second and third as well. Be sure to pick up a good deposit bonus from one of our partner sites and make some money while you enjoy good football!

June 6 2015 the final in Champions League 2014/15 is played at the Olympic stadium in Berlin, Germany. In the final Italy will face Spain as Juventus and Barcelona fight for the tournament win. Juventus managed to beat the champions from last year, Real Madrid, in the semifinal while Barcelona eliminated Bayern Munich.

Juventus won unexpectedly against Real Madrid

Not many believed that Juventus could outlast Real Madrid in game two, despite getting a 2-1 victory in the first game at home. A 1-0 victory would be enough for Ronaldo and his friends, and they wont play a game in Santiago without scoring at least one goal. They good a good start, with Ronaldo scoring a penalty shot in the 23rd minute. However, one goal wasn’t enough for Real today, they would have to score two since former Real player Alvaro Morata scored the equalizer in the 57th minute. The Italians then managed to close the game and went ahead to the final with a total score of 3-2 from both legs. A superstitious person would have said that it was a cursed minute 57 that made Real Madrid failing to reach the final this year. A more down-to-earth person would say that their individual skills couldn’t match Juventus team skills.

Barcelona beat Bayern

Former Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola would try to beat his old team with the German team machine Bayern Munich. In the first leg they almost made it, until Lionel Messi woke up in minute 77. Two goals in the lap of three minutes and another one by Neymar ten minutes later made things much harder for Bayern. In game two they got a bit of hope with an early 1-0 lead seven minutes into the first half. However, the offensive ambitions created holes in their defenses and a team with qualities like Barcelona will take advantage of that. Neymar scored 1-1 in the 15th minute and 2-1 in the 29th. Despite two goals by Bayern and a win in the second leg, they failed to reach the final against a sovereign opponent.

Juventus vs Barcelona in the final

The final will be an interesting game. Barcelona have reached it by winning group F before Paris SG, Ajax and Apoel. In the round of 16 they beat Manchester City, in the quarterfinal Paris SG and as noted above, in the semifinal Bayern Munich. Juventus reached the final after getting second place in group A which Atlético won. Olympiakos got third spot and Swedish Malmö FF placed last with 3 points. In the round of 16 Juventus beat Borussia Dortmund and in the quarterfinal Monaco. Not bad teams but neither the cream of the crop. However, in the semifinal Juventus showed that they earn a place in the final by beating last years champions Real Madrid. The final is Juventus first since 2003. Barcelona’s forward Suarez and Juventus defender Chiellini will meet for the first time since World Cup 2014 where Suarez got suspended for biting the Italian defender.

Who will win the final then? We place our money on Barcelona FC. They have such a sophisticated offensive play that Juventus won’t be able to shut down. Neymar, Messi and Suarez will not only bite, but eat the Juventus defenses..

Four teams are fighting for two spots in the 2014/15 Champions League final. The final is played June 6th at the Olympic Stadium in Berlin, Germany. Thus, there is a chance for Bayern Münich to raise the trophy at home soil, but to get the chance for it they need to eliminate the Spanish giants Barcelona. In the other semifinal Italian team Juventus will face another strong Spanish team: Last years champions Real Madrid. The semifinals are played 5-6th of May and the second leg is played 12-13th of May. Juventus and Barcelona will start at home.

Results from the quarterfinals

In two of the quarterfinals only one goal differed between the teams: Juventus scored the decisive goal against Monaco trough a penalty in the first leg while the second game ended in a goal less draw. In the Madrid derby between Atletico and Real, which was a rerun of last year’s final, Real scored the only goal of the series in the second game. The other two quarterfinals offered plenty of goals though: Bayern Münich lost the first game against Porto with 1-3 but did a strong comeback at home, winning 6-1 = 11 goals in two matches. Barcelona did no mistake against Paris SG and won two consecutive games 1-3 and 0-2.

How will the semifinals end?

The semifinals can end in some interesting scenarios, one of them being an El Clásico at the Olympic Stadium in Berlin June 6th. That might even be the most probable matchup since both Barcelona and Real Madrid look incredible strong. However, we can’t look away from Bayern’s seven goals in the quarterfinals and the fact that Juventus can play a relaxed game as underdogs, even though they haven’t really been tested in this year’s Champions League. That will change in a few days, the Italians have to be on top of their game if they are to stand a chance against Real Madrid.

Four teams are fighting for two spots in the 2014/15 Champions League final. The final is played June 6th at the Olympic Stadium in Berlin, Germany. Thus, there is a chance for Bayern Münich to raise the trophy at home soil, but to get the chance for it they need to eliminate the Spanish giants Barcelona. In the other semifinal Italian team Juventus will face another strong Spanish team: Last years champions Real Madrid. The semifinals are played 5-6th of May and the second leg is played 12-13th of May. Juventus and Barcelona will start at home.

Results from the quarterfinals

In two of the quarterfinals only one goal differed between the teams: Juventus scored the decisive goal against Monaco trough a penalty in the first leg while the second game ended in a goal less draw. In the Madrid derby between Atletico and Real, which was a rerun of last year’s final, Real scored the only goal of the series in the second game. The other two quarterfinals offered plenty of goals though: Bayern Münich lost the first game against Porto with 1-3 but did a strong comeback at home, winning 6-1 = 11 goals in two matches. Barcelona did no mistake against Paris SG and won two consecutive games 1-3 and 0-2.

How will the semifinals end?

The semifinals can end in some interesting scenarios, one of them being an El Clásico at the Olympic Stadium in Berlin June 6th. That might even be the most probable matchup since both Barcelona and Real Madrid look incredible strong. However, we can’t look away from Bayern’s seven goals in the quarterfinals and the fact that Juventus can play a relaxed game as underdogs, even though they haven’t really been tested in this year’s Champions League. That will change in a few days, the Italians have to be on top of their game if they are to stand a chance against Real Madrid.

The first leg of the 2014/15 Champions League quarterfinals were played this week and we got to see some good football action.

FC Porto 3-1 Bayern Munich

Porto got the best thinkable start of this game when they were awarded a penalty shot. Ricardo Quaresma did no mistake and converted the penalty to 1-0. Quaresma also did 2-0. Thiago reduced the lead with a goal but this was Porto’s night. Martinez did the final goal, ensuring that Porto has a two goal lead with them for the second leg in Munich.

Paris SG 1-3 Barcelona

Paris were underdogs in this game and the absence of their Swedish star Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who got a red card i the quarterfinal against Chelsea, didn’t changed that. Barcelona have a talented offensive trio at their disposal: Neymar, Suarez and Messi. In this game it was Neymar who began the goal scoring while Suarez did two beautiful solo goals. Barcelona actually did the fourth goal as well, but it was a self-goal by Jeremy Mathieu. Huge advantage for Barcelona before the second leg meeting at Camp Nou.

Atletico Madrid 0-0 Real Madrid

Spanish derby and a rerun of last year’s final of the Champions League. Real won last year but they had to leave this game with no goals. Atletico played with great discipline and made Real star Cristiano Ronaldo appear almost invisible. However, in the second leg they have to create some offensive play as well, otherwise Real Madrid will probably go through to the semi final.

Juventus 1-0 Monaco

Two outsiders that have made it to the play offs this year. Italian team Juventus used the home field advantage, scoring the only goal of the game on a penalty early in the second half. Both teams had their chances to score more goals but Juventus will bring a one goal advantage to the return meeting in Monaco.

The second leg is played next week, 21-22 of April.