Kounde Leads Barça To Victory, Liverpool And Bayern Also Win

Jules Kounde scored a brace as Barcelona came from behind to beat Eintracht Frankfurt 2-1 on Tuesday, while Dominik Szoboszlai scored a late penalty to give Liverpool a 1-0 win against Inter Milan.

Bayern Munich also had to fight back to claim a 3-1 home win against Sporting, while Olympiacos beat Kairat Almaty 1-0 in the other early games.

João Pedro gave Chelsea a 1-0 lead but they fell to a 2-1 defeat to Atalanta as the Italians fought back with goals from Gianluca Scamacca and Charles De Ketelaere.

Elsewhere, Monaco beat Galatasaray 1-0, Atletico Madrid defeated PSV 3-2, Tottenham claimed a 3-0 win against Slavia Prague and Union Saint-Gilloise had two goals disallowed in a 3-2 defeat to Olympique Marseille.

No magic night for Frankfurt

Frankfurt stunned Barcelona 3-2 in the quarter-finals of the Europa League in 2022 and were hoping to surprise the hosts once again.

The Germans took the lead after Ansgar Knauff received the ball from Nathaniel Brown, held off Alejandro Balde on his why inside the box and fired a clinical finish in the 21st minute.

Barcelona hit back in the second half as Marcus Rashford whipped a cross from the left in front of goal and Kounde headed it in to equalize in the 50th.

Kounde then needed only three more minutes to turn the game around and give Barça the three points, this time rising to head in a cross from Lamine Yamal.

“Three points that are very important. It was a very difficult game, they defended very deep but we were in control and were capable of creating opportunities,” coach Hansi Flick told Movistar.

Barcelona are 14th, while Frankfurt are 30th and currently out of the qualification zone for the knock-out stage.

“We will fight until the very end. As long as it’s still possible, we will do everything to score points,” Frankfurt midfielder Mario Götze said.

Bayern wasteful in first half but still victorious

Bayern failed to break the deadlock despite having more chances in the first half and were stunned when Joshua Kimmich fired against his own target to give Sporting the lead in the 54th.

João Simões was aiming for Luis Suarez with his low cross inside the box, and Kimmich tried to intercept it but deflected the ball past goalkeeper Manuel Neuer.

Bayern, however, had a quick reaction as Serge Gnabry’s volley after a corner found the net in the 65th and teenager Lennart Karl, who had a goal ruled out in the fifth minute, turned the game around just four minutes later.

Defender Jonathan Tah then sealed the win in the 77th, with a powerful strike after being served by Gnabry’s header.

“It was an intense game. We didn’t reward ourselves in the first half,” 17-year-old Karl told broadcasters DAZN.

“Playing in the Champions League at 17 is something special for me. I’m proud of myself and proud of the team. Everything came together for the goal,” he added.

Bayern are second in the standings and with the win have at least secured a place in the play-off for the last 16. Sporting are 13th.

Due to Tuesday’s results, leaders Arsenal, who visit Club Brugge on Wednesday, have also secured a spot in the play-offs. Both Arsenal and Bayern can still qualify directly to the last 16.

Liverpool win, but Salah left out

Liverpool hit the headlines this week after their star Mohamed Salah said that he was “thrown under the bus” after being left on the bench for a third consecutive match.

Salah was left out of the Reds’ travelling squad for the Champions League tie at Inter, in which they thought they took the lead in 32nd.

But Ibrahima Konate’s goal was ruled out due to a handball in the play.

Liverpool, however, secured a late win after Florian Wirtz was brought down inside the box and Szoboszlai scored from the spot in the 88th.

“Huge result. We knew we were coming to a tough place, to a team that’s in a good moment. We had to show fight and dig in. The clean sheet was crucial and then we go and scored the goal,” Liverpool defender Andy Robertson told broadcaster Amazon Prime.

Asked about Salah’s situation, he said: “A tough situation. We’re talking about one of the greatest players to play for this club. Whatever has happened, happened. Internally, we’re all together.”

Liverpool moved up to eighth, while last season’s runners-up Inter dropped to fifth.