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Argentine coach Santiago Solari and Croatian Niko Kovac will be in the spotlight today when Real Madrid, champion of the last three seasons, and Bayern Munich will play the fifth round of the group stage. the Champions League.
In Group G, Real Madrid will face Roma in a bad mood after the defeat of Saturday in the league by Ibar (0-3).
The first match of Ibar was for Solari as a permanent coach and contravened what Real had done in the four matches that he had won when he had taken over temporarily after the dismissal of Julien Lobetigi.
Ibar's victory comes after dominating the match against the defense, despite the return of French defense midfielder Rafael Farran and his participation alongside team captain Sergio Ramos, accused Friday of Football's flight. Liques during a doping test on the sidelines of the final of the Champions League. 2017, which is denied by his team and by the player himself.
"It's not about who we should blame," Solari said. "Everything is reformable." We won four games in a row, we played really well and we have to go back to that, "he said after the match, which left him six points behind the new leader. Seville.
Before facing Rome, Real was guaranteed to qualify for the final with a draw or even a loss, provided that CSKA Moscow does not win at home against the Czech Viktoria Plzen.
The match in the Olympic stadium is not a threat to the club's position in the group with nine points and a direct confrontation with Roma (3-0), as they will qualify for the final as leaders of the group s & # 39, they renew their victory over the team of coach Josepio de Francesco. Even if he loses, provided that CSKA, who has four points, does not win.
But the defeat against Rome after a run of four straight victories over the Italian club will increase pressure on Solari and his players, led by Ramos, who seemed very upset by the level of his team at Ibar. "When you can not follow your opponents,." We feel bad because, after having achieved a series of positive results that have put us at ease before the international break, we are now returning to a bad result in out of the house, which takes us away from the top, "said Ramos, who said Fotbolix had revealed a" lie "and warned of any lawsuit.
"We have to practice self-criticism, we were not at the required level, we lacked momentum, and this is reflected in the dashboard.When you get poor results, it impacts on the morale of the team and when you are not in the opposing team, the situation gets worse.We must continue to work and improve our performance to get positive results and forget what s & # 39; Is past. "
The future of Kovac in the wind
Bayern coach Kovac, who appears to be in a tougher position than Solari on the eve of the Benfica match in Group E, faces signs of dismissal while club president, Uli Hoeness, has hinted Sunday after equalizing the Bavarian club with Fortuna Düsseldorf And the cross-country runner 3-3, despite a 2-0 lead, then 3-1.
Bayern Munich have been threatened with losing their title in the last six seasons, fifth with nine points over leader Borussia Dortmund.
"We will put everything on the table in the coming days," said his boss, Uli Hoeness, following the match.
Hoeness said Kovac would be coaching when he faces Benfica today in a game that requires a point to ensure he qualifies for the final eleventh season prize. AEK Athena, who has two points ahead of Ajax West, will finish Benfica, the club that has never beaten the Bavarian team in nine continental matches.
"I can not say that now," said Hoeness to the question of whether the Croatian had failed. At Bayern, we have to put everything on the table to ask why we play as we play. We must take advantage of the days ahead, perhaps weeks to come, to find a good solution. We must come to a conclusion. We have to work on it. "
Ronaldo Abdul – Jufi for the goal of Valencia
Manchester City seems to be a candidate for his card when he faces Lyon in Group F in a match that seems quite within the reach of Spanish coach Josep Guardiola.
The first division is nine points ahead, three more than on Lyon 2 and six of the German Hoffenheim, who meets the Ukrainian Shakhtar Donetsk (2 points), which means that he is not in the lead. he needs a point to qualify and a victory to dominate the group.
Despite the sudden defeat of the first round at home against Lyon (1-2), it is unlikely that Guardiola stumbles again before the French team, especially if it offers the same levels as those appeared later, if the group (three wins with 11 goals) Or home, two points ahead of Liverpool II (seven games and one draw since losing to Lyon, scoring 25 goals against three goals in total).
In the eighth group, Juventus meet Cristiano Ronaldo with his Spanish counterpart Valencia, who needs a draw to secure his qualification, postponed to the previous round, after a fall at home to 1-2 ahead of Manchester United, whose destiny is tied to the "old lady" team, because Will also qualify if they win at home against Young Boys Swiss, provided that the Italian champions do not fall into his stronghold.
Champions League
• today:
Group V
AEK Athens – Ajax
Bayern Munich – Benfica
• group VI
Lyon – Manchester City
Hoffenheim – Shakhtar
• group VII
CSKA Moscow – Victoria
Rome – Real Madrid
• group VIII
Juventus – Valencia
Man United – Young Boys
• tomorrow:
first group
Atletico Madrid – Monaco
Dortmund – Bruges
• group II
Eindhoven – Barcelona
Tottenham – Inter Milan
• group III
Naples – the red star
Saint Germain – Liverpool
• group IV
Locomotive – Galatasaray
Porto – Schalke
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