UEFA Youth League 2014 Results: Scores, Group Tables, Standings for Matchday 4
The UEFA Youth League has yielded some fascinating insights into the next generation of emerging footballers, and as Matchday 4 rolls around in this unique competition, talk has already turned to which young talents will shine brightest this time round.
After losing 4-3 last time out in this tournament to Anderlecht's youthful stars, Arsenal suffered defeat once again up against the Belgian outfit, although this time it was on home soil. For Liverpool's youngsters things weren't much better, as they fell 4-1 to Real Madrid.
Wednesday's matches also feature some intriguing clashes as a Chelsea side jam-packed with some enthralling youngsters make the trip to play Maribor, while the best up-and-comers from the academies of Bayern Munich and Roma also lock horns.
TOP NEWS
Madrid Fines Players $590K 😲
'Mbappé Out' Petition Gaining Steam 😳
Star-Studded World Cup Ad 🤩
| Tue., Nov. 4 | Zenit | 0-3 | Leverkusen |
| Tue., Nov. 4 | Juventus | 0-3 | Olympiacos |
| Tue., Nov. 4 | Basel | 6-0 | Ludogorets |
| Tue., Nov. 4 | Arsenal | 1-2 | Anderlecht |
| Tue., Nov. 4 | Malmo | 1-2 | Atletico Madrid |
| Tue., Nov. 4 | Real Madrid | 4-1 | Liverpool |
| Tue., Nov. 4 | Borussia Dortmund | 5-2 | Galatasaray |
| Tue., Nov. 4 | Benfica | 3-0 | Monaco |
| Tue., Nov. 4 | Ajax | 1-0 | Barcelona |
| Wed., Nov. 5 | Athletic Bilbao | 3-1 | Porto |
| Wed., Nov. 5 | Maribor | 0-7 | Chelsea |
| Wed., Nov. 5 | Shakhtar Donetsk | 1-0 | BATE |
| Wed., Nov. 5 | Bayern Munich | 3-2 | Roma |
| Wed., Nov. 5 | Paris Saint-Germain | 6-0 | APOEL |
| Wed., Nov. 5 | Sporting | 2-3 | Schalke |
| Wed., Nov. 5 | Manchester City | 4-2 | CSKA Moscow |
| Atletico Madrid | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 12 |
| Olympiacos FC | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 7 |
| Juventus | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | -2 | 4 |
| Malmo FF | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | -7 | 0 |
| FC Basel 1893 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 10 | 9 |
| Real Madrid CF | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 9 |
| Liverpool FC | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 6 |
| PFC Ludogorets | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | -18 | 0 |
| SL Benfica | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 10 |
| AS Monaco FC | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 6 |
| FC Zenit FC Zenit | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | -3 | 4 |
| Bayer 04 Leverkusen | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | -3 | 3 |
| RSC Anderlecht | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 9 |
| Arsenal FC | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 6 |
| Galatasaray | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | -3 | 6 |
| Borussia Dortmund | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | -5 | 3 |
| Manchester City FC | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 12 |
| AS Roma | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 6 |
| PFC CSKA Moskva | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 6 |
| FC Bayern München | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | -6 | 0 |
| AFC Ajax | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 8 |
| PSG | 4 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 7 |
| FC Barcelona | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 5 |
| APOEL FC | 4 | 0 | 1 | 3 | -12 | 1 |
| Chelsea FC | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 17 | 12 |
| FC Schalke 04 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 9 |
| Sporting Clube de Portugal | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | -7 | 3 |
| NK Maribor | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | -16 | 0 |
| FC Shakhtar Donetsk | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 10 |
| FC Porto | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 7 |
| Athletic Club | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | -1 | 6 |
| FC BATE Borisov | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | -7 | 0 |
Wednesday Recap
Chelsea continued their excellent run in the competition on Wednesday, travelling to Slovenia to beat Maribor 7-0. The Blues held a 5-0 lead after just the first half, thrashing their overmatched opposition.
Dominic Solanke took advantage of a blunder from Maribor stopper Damjan Prineg, who took a bad touch of the ball and left the goal wide open for the Chelsea forward. He'd later also add the 5-0 score just before half-time, another close-range effort.
Charlie Colkett doubled the visitors' advantage after 11 minutes from the penalty spot, and when Charly Musonda added a third minutes later, the match had already been played.
Acting as the main playmaker, Colkett impressed greatly against Maribor, and he deservedly got his second goal with a spectacular high finish. As shared by the club's Twitter feed, the Blues are getting used to high-scoring matches this season:
Colkett came close to a hat-trick early in the second half, but his spectacular effort was denied by a great save from Prineg. Chelsea were content to just run out the clock after that, and they were aided by the dismissal of Luka Uskokovic.
The Blues would add two more goals in the final 10 minutes, however, through Alex Kiwomya and Tammy Abraham. Via the club's Twitter feed, the result meant the Blues could win the group by the end of the day, depending on the result of the match between Schalke and Sporting.
Qualification was later achieved thanks to a last-minute goal from Leroy Sane. Schalke's 3-2 win means Maribor have been eliminated, while Sporting can do no better than second.
Jack Byrne and Brandon Barker combined to give Manchester City a 2-1 lead at half-time, but a feisty CSKA Moscow squad refused to back down. Timur Zhamaletdinov tied the match again early in the second half, before Barker bagged his second to win the hosts the match, securing qualification in the process.
Thierry Ambrose added a fourth in injury time, putting the final score of 4-2 on the board, via City's Twitter feed:
City need just one more point out of their final two matches to secure the top spot in Group E.
Athletic Bilbao booked a crucial 3-1 win over Porto, bringing the Spanish side within one point of second place and the ticket to the knockout stages that comes with it.
Bayern Munich picked up their first points of the competition with a 3-2 win over AS Roma, with the unfortunate Arturo Calabresi deciding the match in the 82nd minute via an own goal. The Romans could have taken a strong option on qualification with a win, but instead they'll be forced to battle it out with CSKA Moscow head-to-head.
Paris Saint-Germain are still in the running for a ticket to the next round after destroying APOEL 6-0. Defending champions Barcelona are still the favourites in Group F, but with Ajax in deadly form, the Blaugrana face elimination if they don't improve their level of play in the final two matches.
Tuesday Recap
It was another disappointing day for Arsenal in this competition, as they were found wanting yet again by Anderlecht. After beginning the tournament with consecutive victories, they've now lost their last two matches in a row and face a real fight to qualify for the next stage after a 2-1 loss here.
The result was confirmed by the Arsenal Twitter account:
As was the case in the last match between the two sides—which ended in a thrilling 4-3 victory to Anderlecht—it was the Belgian outfit who took the lead early. Samuel Bastien did superbly to latch onto a loose ball on the edge of the area before finishing with panache past the Arsenal 'keeper Ryan Huddart.
It's a goal that stunned the hosts, and they called upon Huddart to save them from going two goals down on a couple of occasions before eventually establishing a foothold in the game. And when they did, it didn't take long for Arsenal to restore parity, as Daniel Crowley finished off a wonderful passing move with aplomb.
After a hat-trick in the last match, the equaliser was another reminder of Crowley's indisputable potential. Here's the goal courtesy of ZPAFC:
Neither side were able to make any inroads as the game progressed towards half time, but after the break it was Anderlecht who once again looked the stronger of the two teams on show.
Their passing was more purposeful, more incisive and their work off the ball more measured. So it was little surprise when they eventually took the lead in the 74th minute via Jorn Vancamp, who finished neatly after an error from Huddart.
The Gunners tried to force an equaliser late in the game, but aside from the passing move they put together in the first half, little came off for them in the final third. They still have a decent chance of qualifying for the next phase, but have some tough games to come against Galatasaray and Borussia Dortmund; the German side produced a dominant display to win the other game in the group 5-2.
Liverpool travelled to Real Madrid looking for a repeat of their 3-2 win in the previous meeting, but at the Estadio Alfredo di Stefano things were always going to be a little more difficult for the Reds, and that proved to be the case as they lost 4-1 to Los Blancos.
The Liverpool team was bristling with names that had already made some appearances in the first team, the most notable being the captain Jordan Rossiter, as we can see here courtesy of the Liverpool Twitter account:
The match started well for Los Blancos and they were in front after just seven minutes when Cristian Cedres curled home a free-kick. As we can see here courtesy of British Eurosport, it was some strike to get the better of the Reds' young stopper Ryan Fulton:
"Real Madrid take the lead after 7 minutes thanks to a superb free-kick by Spanish forward Cristian Cedres #LFC #UYL pic.twitter.com/v2IjvsaWbJ
— British Eurosport (@EurosportUKTV) November 4, 2014"
But we've seen the quality that this Liverpool crop possesses throughout his competition, and it was no surprise when they came strong after that early concession. They wrestled back the momentum from their opponents with Rossiter playing a starring role in midfield, and they levelled six minutes before the break, as Cameron Brannagan stabbed home from the edge of the box.
Here's Brannagan's goal, courtesy of LFCTS:
The Reds continued to boss proceedings after the break, but there was a sense it was the hosts who possessed the greater cutting edge in their forays forward. Liverpool were unable to make their possession count, and they paid the ultimate price when they were hit with a quick-fire pair of goals from the Spaniards.
The first came from Scottish sensation Jack Harper, the second from the penalty spot converted by Borja Mayoral after Rossiter felled the Harper in the area. And as Liverpool chased the game, Real were afforded the space to add some gloss to the scoreline, as Jose Carlos Lazo finished neatly from close range to make it 4-1.
The result was confirmed by the Liverpool Twitter account:
Away from those games there was a big win for Basel, who spanked Bulgarian minnows Ludogorets 6-0 in Switzerland. That result means that Liverpool—on six points—now face an uphill challenge to qualify; Basel and Real nine points from their four games.
The other matches saw Atletico Madrid's youngsters continue their perfect record in the competition as they won 2-1 at Malmo, but there was disappointment for for Zenit Saint Petersburg and Juventus as they both suffered 3-0 home defeats to Bayer Leverkusen and Olympiacos respectively.
In the final game on Tuesday it was Ajax who came out on top of the battle between two of the finest football academies on the planet, as the Dutch beat Barcelona 1-0 thanks to a goal from Vaclav Cerny.
