Celtic cries foul but PSG on track
Source: Agencies |
February 14, 2013, Thursday
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Print Edition
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CELTIC manager Neil Lennon accused the referee of favoring Juventus after a series of penalty-box tussles went unpunished in their Champions League last-16 first leg.
Celtic was ruthlessly taken apart in a 0-3 defeat in Glasgow on Tuesday as the Italians soaked up everything the Scots could throw at them and counter-punched their way to a substantial first-leg lead, with Alessandro Matri, Claudio Marchisio and Mirko Vucinic finding the net.
It was the persistent pushing and shoving at corners and free kicks that irked the Glasgow club and sparked a post-match debate after Spanish referee Alberto Undiano Mallenco chose to warn players rather than give the hosts a penalty.
"I thought he (the referee) was poor," Lennon said on Sky Sports. "I thought he was very pro-Juventus. I was disappointed with his performance to say the least."
He added: "It's not rugby we're playing, it's soccer.
"I pointed it out to the referee at halftime in the tunnel area but he just waved me away. I made it clear to the players to flag it up to the referee in the second half but he ignored our requests.
"They were being fouled, manhandled. Every time one of my players tried to move he was held. He should have given a penalty on at least two occasions."
Stephan Lichtsteiner was involved in a long-running tussle with Celtic striker Gary Hooper, with both receiving yellow cards in the first half.
The score line was harsh on Celtic, which dominated the first half and most of the second, only to lack a cutting edge to beat Juventus goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon.
The second leg is in Turin on March 6, when Juventus will look to finish the Scottish champion off and maintain its unbeaten run in this season's competition.
Meanwhile, Paris St Germain produced an efficient performance full of attacking verve against Valencia to win 2-1 at the Mestalla but the gloss was taken off the victory in the final minutes when it conceded a goal and had Zlatan Ibrahimovic sent off.
Even without the talismanic Sweden striker for the second leg in Paris the Qatar-backed French side will be a firm favorite to progress to the last eight for the first time since it lost to AC Milan in the semifinals in 1994-95.
"I think that we sent a strong message," director of football Leonardo said.
"We should not forget where we have come from, where we were a year-and-a-half ago," added the Brazilian, who played 71 games for Valencia between 1991 and 1993, scoring six goals.
Valencia had won all eight of its European home games against French opposition before PSG's visit and was unbeaten in nine Champions League matches at the Mestalla since a 0-1 defeat to Manchester United in September 2010.
PSG has spent around 250 million euros (US$337 million) in the transfer market in the past four seasons and the quality of players such as goalscorers Ezequiel Lavezzi and Javier Pastore and pacy midfielder Lucas was the difference between the sides.
Lavezzi and Pastore were on the score-sheet but Frenchman Adil Rami snatched a lifeline for Valencia with a 90th-minute strike.
Celtic was ruthlessly taken apart in a 0-3 defeat in Glasgow on Tuesday as the Italians soaked up everything the Scots could throw at them and counter-punched their way to a substantial first-leg lead, with Alessandro Matri, Claudio Marchisio and Mirko Vucinic finding the net.
It was the persistent pushing and shoving at corners and free kicks that irked the Glasgow club and sparked a post-match debate after Spanish referee Alberto Undiano Mallenco chose to warn players rather than give the hosts a penalty.
"I thought he (the referee) was poor," Lennon said on Sky Sports. "I thought he was very pro-Juventus. I was disappointed with his performance to say the least."
He added: "It's not rugby we're playing, it's soccer.
"I pointed it out to the referee at halftime in the tunnel area but he just waved me away. I made it clear to the players to flag it up to the referee in the second half but he ignored our requests.
"They were being fouled, manhandled. Every time one of my players tried to move he was held. He should have given a penalty on at least two occasions."
Stephan Lichtsteiner was involved in a long-running tussle with Celtic striker Gary Hooper, with both receiving yellow cards in the first half.
The score line was harsh on Celtic, which dominated the first half and most of the second, only to lack a cutting edge to beat Juventus goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon.
The second leg is in Turin on March 6, when Juventus will look to finish the Scottish champion off and maintain its unbeaten run in this season's competition.
Meanwhile, Paris St Germain produced an efficient performance full of attacking verve against Valencia to win 2-1 at the Mestalla but the gloss was taken off the victory in the final minutes when it conceded a goal and had Zlatan Ibrahimovic sent off.
Even without the talismanic Sweden striker for the second leg in Paris the Qatar-backed French side will be a firm favorite to progress to the last eight for the first time since it lost to AC Milan in the semifinals in 1994-95.
"I think that we sent a strong message," director of football Leonardo said.
"We should not forget where we have come from, where we were a year-and-a-half ago," added the Brazilian, who played 71 games for Valencia between 1991 and 1993, scoring six goals.
Valencia had won all eight of its European home games against French opposition before PSG's visit and was unbeaten in nine Champions League matches at the Mestalla since a 0-1 defeat to Manchester United in September 2010.
PSG has spent around 250 million euros (US$337 million) in the transfer market in the past four seasons and the quality of players such as goalscorers Ezequiel Lavezzi and Javier Pastore and pacy midfielder Lucas was the difference between the sides.
Lavezzi and Pastore were on the score-sheet but Frenchman Adil Rami snatched a lifeline for Valencia with a 90th-minute strike.
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