Juventus 6-1 Napoli

Napoli crumbled in the third period today against a rampant Juventus team that was well organised and motivated throughout.

A masterful display of defensive midfield play by Carlo was enough to keep the bianconeri at bay for most of the first period but, right at the end, Cameron rifled two long shots past Nikos.

Cameron followed up to complete his hat-trick early in the second period. Napoli didn't give up though and Pedro's constant probing was rewarded when referee Corcoran awarded a penalty. VAR had a good look, confirmed the decision and Pedro scored, following up his own strike when it crashed back off the bar.

Juve relaxed in the third period and played some good football, mainly due to some wonderful passing by Gianmarco. First he timed a pass perfectly to draw in Carlo and release Adriano to score; next he slipped another well-judged ball to set up Vittorio for a lovely cross-field shot and he finished it off by beating two defenders before crossing for an Adriano tap-in.

BEST PLAYER POINTS: Cameron 5, Gianmarco 4, Benjamin 4, Carlo 3, Vittorio 3, Pedro 3, Theo 3, Adriano 2, Bernardo 1

 

Dortmund 2-0 Zenit

Zenit attacked early and were unlucky not to score, Adam making a brilliant double save first from Zach and then from Daniele P. Dortmund took the lead when Ale hammered a free kick and Dylan bravely stuck his head on it. Rocco almost made it 2-0 from an Ale corner but Massimo saved well.

A quiet second half was followed by a confused final period, lit up only by the Germans' second goal - a  measured left-footed shot by Ale that crossed from wide on the left and fizzled just inside the right-hand post.

BEST PLAYER POINTS: Ale 7, Dylan 5, Rocco 4, Zach 3, Giorgio 3, Jonah 2, Adam 2, Diego 2 

Sporting Lisbon 0-3 Juventus

With Santiago and Alberto out, this was a Lisbon team in trouble from the start and Juve didn't let them off the hook. Gianmarco's early shot was a warning for the Lisbon defense but they were caught napping soon afterwards when Cameron sneaked in a goal straight from a corner on the left. Just before the break, Ralf was booked for a handball.

Vittorio made it 2-0 just after the break with an unstoppable shot from wide on the right. Gabriele came into goal for Juve and made a good save from a Marco shot and, back at the other end, Gianmarco spurned a good chance, his shot coming off the top of the crossbar.

The last period began with Tiago stealing a ball off the Portugese defence and finishing calmly to make it 3-0. Adriano almost made it 4-0 with a great run down the left and a shot that was miraculously cleared by Francesco. And then began "The Adrian Show". Playing in goal for Lisbon, today's Man of the Match made a string of fantastic saves: first in a one-on-one versus Adriano, then against Gianmarco and finally, and most spectacularly, an instinctive save to keep out another Vittorio blockbuster.

BEST PLAYER POINTS: Adrian 8, Vittorio 6, Tiago 3, Ryan 2, Gianmarco 2, Francesco 2, Kevin 1, Adriano 2, Cameron 1, Giulio 1.

Liverpool 2-0 Napoli

Another Anfield classic today as Klopp's team fought out a close battle with the team from Naples. Carlo and Nikos tried a couple of long shots early on and Nicholas had a golden opportunity at the other end but the first period ended scoreless.

Carlo and Lucas were dominant in their respective defenses today but Carlo was dangerous going forward too. In the tenth minute he caught a ball on the volley to produce one of the best shots ever seen at Anfield and only some lucky positioning from Lucas kept the ball out. Victor got a good shot in too, hooking the ball over his left shoulder but it finished wide. A free kick from Nikos was blocked - again by Lucas - and the teams changed around still at 0-0.

The third period was full of incident. Emilio played in Lorenzo for a shot but Tryn saved well. Mattia played Emilio in  but again Tryn saved well! Bertie almost got away on a dangerous break but Lucas stopped him with a fantastic interception and then, from a throw-in on the left, Mattia touched the ball with his head and that was enough to divert it onto Carlo's chest and in: 1-0. Liverpool then finished off the game with a jewel of a goal. Emilio played a one-two on the left and then found himself free with just the goalkeeper to beat. And he did, sliding the ball calmly into the corner. No way back for Napoli, though Bertie did produce a wonderful header to force Giovanni into an equally wonderful save.

BEST PLAYER POINTS: Emilio 8, Carlo 6, Mattia 4, Giovanni Z 4, Lucas 3, Lorenzo 1, Nikos 1, Ben 1.

Juventus 2-1 Dortmund

 All today's goals came in the first period. Juve went ahead through Bernardo's penalty after Matteo handled in the area. Dylan tried to reply but Theo saved his shot and Juve went 2-0 up when Gianmarco took advantage of a mix-up in the German defence. Dortmund then pulled one back when Vittorio conceded a penalty and was booked for kicking the ball over the Southside fence. Ale converted.

The second period passed without much incident and then, in the third, Tiago had a chance to kill off the game but he shot wide. Not much else to report, save Bernardo's red card (second yellow) for a foul on Ale.

Bernardo misses next game.

BEST PLAYER POINTS Vittorio dP 5, Gianmarco 5, Dylan 4, Theo 4, Cameron 3, Ale 3, Jonah 2,  Rocco 1, Tiago 1

Napoli 2 - 3 Sporting Lisbon

This was a game that started off slowly but exploded into life later on. The first period ended in stalemate with no incidents of note.

Sporting took the lead in the second period when Alberto played a neat one-two with Pedro and then scored with a shot that bounced off Bertie. But Napoli leveled things up with a 'Nikos special' - a high curving free kick over a helpless Ryan. Santiago meanwhile was making dangerous runs down both wings and forcing Napoli into last ditch saves and tackles, notably from Trym. A Santi throw-in then found Alberto's head but the shot came back off the bar. 

Santiago now took centre stage. First his throw-in caught Trym by surprise and the ball ended up in the net. Then his next raid produced another goal, his shot ricocheting off Pedro and into the path of Giulio who was on hand to bury the rebound. Sporting led 3-1 going into period 3, though it could have been 4-1 had Victor not blocked another Santiago attempt.

Now Santiago went into goal and made a great save from a Pedro shot. Hope sparked briefly for Napoli when Davide was penalised for a handball but Santi made a great save from Nikos's penalty. But Napoli did get back to 3-2 soon after. Pedro's shot was saved by Santi but Ben followed up and scored. Not much time left now and both sides continued to attack. Trym saved from Kevin; a fierce shot from Pedro struck the bar, a Marco shot went wide and another penalty claim from Pedro was dismissed.

All in all, an entertaining game and a fair result.

BEST PLAYER POINTS

Santiago 6, Nikos 5, Pedro 4, Alberto 3, Marco 3, Kevin 2,  Trym 2, Ben 2, Giulio 1   

Liverpool 0-0 Zenit

It wasn't a classic but both teams did put in the effort. Chances were rare. Giovanni made a great save to keep Antonio out towards the end of the first period. In the second period, Mattia drove a free-kick wide and Ruben hit the crossbar.

There were more chances in the third period. Lorenzo hit the crossbar and Antonio shot wide. Leo made a match-saving block to keep out Zenit and Giovanni touched Antonio's shot onto the bar. Daniele B made a big impact when he came on but this game never looked like producing a goal.

Apart from Giovanni, other impressive debuts from Daniele P, Daniele B and Sam. A solid defensive performance from Giorgio earns him today's BEST PLAYER award.

BEST PLAYER POINTS: Giorgio 5, Daniele B 3, Lorenzo 3, Giovanni Z 3, Zach 2, Daniele P 2, Sam 2, Mattia 2, Daniel 1, Nicolas 1, Giulio 1, Lucas 1, Antonio 1, Diego 1