UEFA Champions League 2014 playoffs: Celtic get an away goal, Porto defeat Lille

The remaining half of the Champions League league playoff first legs were played out on Wednesday. The two biggest teams in action, Zenit St. Petersburg and Porto, both picked up wins.

Zenit won away against Standard Liège, with Oleg Shatov’s early goal enough to guarantee a slim victory. With an away goal, the Russian side should have more than enough to book their place in the group stages. Meanwhile, Porto eventually beat a stubborn Lille by the same scoreline, with Héctor Herrera netting an away goal just past the hour.

FC Porto are heading home with a lead in their UEFA Champions League playoff tie, and they’ll be heavy favorites to advance. They recorded a 1-0 win away to Lille on Wednesday, and they were on top throughout the match.

It took quite a while for Porto to break through, however. They were absolutely dominant in possession throughout the first half and spent most of the period camped in Lille’s end with the ball, but they struggled to turn that into shooting opportunities. Lille seemed content to play for a clean sheet and look for opportunities on the counter and they had the lineup to do it -- they started three defensive-minded midfielders, plus attacking right back Sebastian Corchia at right wing.

Celtic were given a scare by Maribor in Slovenia in the first leg of their Champions League playoff, though the Scottish champions escaped with a 1-1 draw. With an away goal to take back to the return leg at Celtic Park, the Bhoys won’t be too disappointed with the outcome.

Maribor’s early strategy of sitting deep and allowing Celtic time on the ball backfired badly after just 6 minutes, when Callum McGregor followed up Jo Inge Berget’s initial shot with a prod past the Slovenians’ goalkeeper Jasmin Handanovič. The hosts had conceded an early away goal, and had a big mountain to climb.

After being handed a fortunate Champions League reprieve after their previous qualifying round opponents Legia Warsaw fielded an ineligible player, Celtic should be even more determined to prove they have what it takes to make their mark in Europe’s top club competition. But first, the Scottish champions have to qualify for the group stages.

They take on Maribor in the first match of their two-legged playoff, with the Slovenian PrvaLiga reigning champions hosting. After their scare at the hands of the Polish outfit, Celtic should be wary to avoid a slip-up against their less prestigious opponents.

Steaua Bucuresti will take a 1-0 lead in the second leg against Ludogorets Razgrad after Alexsandru Chipciu grabbed a winner in the 88th minute. SV Salzburg will also take a lead into the second leg after they defeated Malmo 2-1.

All of Tuesday’s matches are the first of two legs. Second leg matches will be played on Wednesday, Aug. 27.

Ba was back in the 9th minute forcing an excellent save from Szczesny. Ba split between two Arsenal defenders and volleyed a cross that Szczesny was able to parry away with a two-handed save.

Arsenal settled down at the two close calls and began to take control of the match, thanks in part to the work of Alexis Sanchez who was all over the place for the Gunners.

Oscar de Marcos set up Iker Muniain’s go-ahead goal in the 41st minute with a darting direct run down the left flank and a square ball toward the top of the box. Muniain had plenty of time and space to take a touch and steady himself before placing a shot to Rafael’s left, though it wasn’t struck with much power. The Napoli goalkeeper was screened by his own defenders, though, and was late getting across his goalmouth, causing him to completely miss the ball.

Athletic set out to play for the clean sheet from the start of the second half, and they might have been successful if it wasn’t for a piece of individual brilliance by Gonzalo Higuain. In the 68th minute, he touched down a lobbed pass from Marek Hamsik, beat two defenders with his second touch, then got a step on a third defender. He was running away from goal and didn’t look like he was going to be able to score, but he placed a perfect shot to the back post, and there was nothing Iraizoz could do about it.

Arsenal have not released any information on the nature of Arteta’s injury and it is possible that it is not very serious. It was unclear just how badly injured he was, just that he was in obvious pain and did not even attempt to continue on.

Arteta has generally been a fit player, managing at least 29 matches in each of the last four Premier League seasons and 43 matches in all competitions in each of the last two campaigns.

Why would they want such a thing?

Oh ...

Demba Ba is the one Besiktas player that Arsenal are familiar with. After all, they played against him several times in the Premier League, but nothing could have prepared them for his trying to score off of the opening kick.

Nobody could possibly be crazy enough to try scoring off the opening kick. Certainly not in a Champions League qualifier. Nope, no chance Ba would be so insane.

Arsenal and Besiktas are set for the first leg of their UEFA Champions League qualifier. One team will go the group stage, the other will have no chance at capturing the crown of Europe’s best.

The Gunners are used to this round of play, often finishing fourth in the Premier League and having to go through the qualifier round. They have a near full-strength team for this clash, with Calum Chambers and Nacho Monreal the only non-first choice players in the squad.

Arsenal have decided to get their annual injury crisis in early after last year’s painful late derailment, and head into this Champions League qualifier against Turkish side Beşiktaş with several first-teamers out or in doubt. They should still have more than enough to take a good result back to London, though the Gunners will underestimate Slaven Bilić‘s talented team at their peril. This one could well be closer than you think.

Key player - Alexis Sánchez (Arsenal)

Key player - Marek Hamšík (Napoli)

Napoli injuries and suspensions