This Sunday, all the teams involved in Stade Rennes’ Europa League group played in their respective domestic leagues.
After consecutive draws in Kilmarnock (3-3) and Rennes (1-1), the Celtic went back in the right direction by beating Aberdeen at Celtic Park (2-1). Korean Ki-Sung-Yong opened the score in the first half (17’) before Aberdeen equalised at the hour mark. Very good against Rennes on Thursday, Charlie Mulgrew confirmed his good week by scoring the winning goal (72’). The end of Celtic’s game was then made easier by the dismissal of an Aberdeen player (80’).
Despite the victory, the bhoys remain third in the league rankings. The Rangers kept their lead intact by beating Heart of Midlothian (2-0), but Celtic came back only one point clear of second placed Motherwell, held on to a draw on Saturday.
- The team against Aberdeen : Forster - Matthews, Loovens (Majstorovic, 18’), Mulgrew, Ledley - Forrest, Wanyama (McCourt, 72’), Kayal, Ki - Hooper, Stokes.
Leading the Europa League group, the Udinese is also doing well in the Italian league. Following the draw of the Juventus on Saturday, the team from Friuli has even taken the lead in the Serie A, by easily beating the modest Novara (3-0).
Still unbeaten in the league, Francesco Guidolin’s players made the difference at the end of the first half. The unavoidable Antonio Di Natale scored first (33’) before Domizzi doubled his team’s lead (39’). The Italian international finally closed the scoring record by earning his brace after half-time (50’). With six goals, he is currently leading the Gooal scoring table.
- The team against Novara : Handanovic - Benatia, Danilo, Domizzi (Neuton, 87’) - Ferronetti (Ekstrand, 77’), Agyemang-Badu, Isla, Asamoah, Armero - Torje (Floro Flores, 74’), Di Natale.
Finally, the Atlético Madrid has ended a run of three goalless matches this Sunday. The Colchoneros are not much comforted since they only managed a draw against Real Mallorca (1-1). The Madrid players dominated the game from the beginning to the end however, but spent a long time running after the score, after Mallorca opened the score at the 2nd minute on a penalty following a handball by Silvio in the 18 yard box.
Just before half-time, Atlético Madrid was also awarded a penalty, obtained and converted by Falcao (43’). Despite several clear chances in the second half, Madrid finally failed to snatch victory. Naturally, this result doesn’t satisfy them since they lose a place in the league, now occupying the ninth position.
- The team against Mallorca : Courtois - Silvio, Miranda, Godin, Filipe - Mario Suarez - Adrian (Salvio, 53’), Tiago (Reyes, 54’), Diego, Turan (Pizzi, 80’) - Falcao.