Man City seal top spot; Chelsea through to last 16
Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola admits they have a “problem” with penalties as they sealed top spot in their Champions League group with a 0-0 draw at Borussia Dortmund despite Riyad Mahrez failing from the spot.
City have failed to score 25 of their 80 penalties, excluding shootouts, since the Catalan took over in 2016.
Mahrez was fouled by Emre Can and stepped up himself, but Gregor Kobel went the right way to save his kick.
Borussia Dortmund also went through to the last 16 with the draw, so both sides will be happy with the result.
“Since I’ve been here we’ve missed 25 penalties, most of them in the Champions League,” Guardiola said.
“It’s too many. You always have to admire the courage, but missing so many penalties is a problem.
“We have to improve. It comes down to fine margins in this competition and these situations can make the difference.”
City’s Champions League penalty scoring record (71%, 12/17) is actually slightly better than their Premier League record (69%, 36/52).
Former Scotland forward James McFadden, watching the game for BBC Radio 5 Live, said: “I think it was a very good penalty from Mahrez. It’s a side foot with a lot of power, what a save.”
Mahrez has now missed three of his past four penalties for City, after scoring nine of his first 10.
Chelsea beat Red Bull Salzburg 2-1
Graham Potter says his Chelsea players have produced a “fantastic effort” after bouncing back from defeat in their opening game to advance to the last 16 of the Champions League as group winners with one game to spare.
Two wonderful finishes by Mateo Kovacic and Kai Havertz ended Red Bull Salzburg’s 40-match unbeaten home record and saw the Blues join Premier League rivals Manchester City in the knockout stage.
Dinamo Zagreb’s 4-0 home defeat by AC Milan in the later game on Tuesday means Chelsea cannot be caught at the top of Group E.
The Blues had started their European campaign with a 1-0 defeat in Croatia against Zagreb on 6 September, with the club sacking boss Thomas Tuchel the following day.
They have since responded with three wins and a draw under Potter.
“They’ve picked up points in the Premier League and to go through like we have in the Champions League is a fantastic effort from everybody,” said Potter.
“We will take steps, it will not be a straight road, unfortunately. But we will take steps and tonight was one I think.” (BBC Sport)