UEFA Youth League 2015 Results: Scores and Updated Round of 16 Schedule
Liverpool were knocked out of the UEFA Youth League on Tuesday, but Manchester City remain in the tournament after a thrilling penalty shootout triumph over Schalke. Chelsea also advanced with a 3-1 win over Zenit St. Petersburg on Wednesday.
Reigning UEFA Youth League champions Barcelona were dumped out of the 2014-15 tournament on Monday after stuttering to a 1-0 defeat to Anderlecht.
Barca's loss comes just a week after bitter rivals Real Madrid exited the competition, suffering a penalty-shootout defeat at the hands of Porto, marking another big upset in the under-19 competition.
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Read on for updated scores from this week's round-of-16 schedule, where some of the finest prodigies of the continent continue to shine.
| Jan. 27 | 6 p.m. GMT/1 p.m. ET | Atletico Madrid | 1-0 | Arsenal |
| Feb. 17 | 5 p.m. GMT/12 p.m. ET | Real Madrid | 1-1 (Porto win 3-1 on pens) | Porto |
| Feb. 23 | 10 a.m. GMT/5 a.m. ET | Shakhtar Donetsk | 1-1 (Shakhtar win 5-4 on pens) | Olympiakos |
| Feb. 23 | 7 p.m. GMT/2 p.m. ET | Anderlecht | 1-0 | Barcelona |
| Feb. 24 | 3 p.m. GMT/10 a.m. ET | Benfica | 2-1 | Liverpool |
| Feb. 24 | 4 p.m. GMT/11 a.m. ET | Manchester City | 1-1 (City win 3-1 on penalties | Schalke |
| Feb. 24 | 5:30 p.m. GMT/12:30 p.m. ET | Ajax | 0-0 (Roma win on penalties, 6-5) | Roma |
| Feb. 25 | 7 p.m. GMT/2 p.m. ET | Chelsea | 2-1 | Zenit St. Petersburg |
Wednesday Recap
Chelsea came from behind against Zenit to record a comfortable 3-1 victory in the end to join the other last-16 winners in the quarter-finals, per the UEFA Youth League:
The Blues will now face Atletico Madrid at home in the last eight next month, the Spanish side having beaten Arsenal to advance.
Ilya Kubyshkin put the Russian outfit ahead in the 13th minute as he curled a tremendous free-kick into the top corner after Jake Clarke-Salter's foul on Aleksei Gaslin.
However, the west London side responded well and drew level just eight minutes later through the tournament's top scorer, Dominic Solanke.
The Englishman headed home from a corner to get Chelsea into the match, and they took on the momentum into the rest of the match.
They took the lead shortly after the break through substitute Kasey Palmer, who took down a corner well before rifling into the net.
With the final quarter remaining, Zenit were threatening to force extra time with an equaliser, per Chelsea, but it was the Blues who scored the vital next goal:
The Zenit goalkeeper took down Solanke in the box to concede a penalty in the 72nd minute, which Charlie Colkett calmly sent home.
The Blues played out a vital win and join Manchester City as the last two English clubs remaining in the UEFA Youth League, which looks set for more excitement in the latter stages.
Tuesday Recap
It was a mixed day for the English sides still playing in the tournament, as Liverpool bowed out to Benfica after a 2-1 loss and Manchester City needed penalties to get past Schalke 04.
Ajax, meanwhile, had beaten defending champions Barcelona in the group stages and were seen as the favourites for this year's title, but their tournament came to a sudden halt after a loss on penalties against AS Roma.
Liverpool had been excellent throughout the group stages but ran into a superior Benfica side on Wednesday, losing 2-1. The club's official Twitter account shared the final score:
Canos' goal truly was a thing of beauty, a great strike after nine minutes that levelled the score, cancelling out Hildeberto Pereira's opener. From that point onwards, the hosts had the better chances, totalling an incredible 17 shots on goal by the final whistle.
Liverpool's defence stood firm until the 75th minute, when Diogo Goncalves settled the match. The Reds made three substitutions and had one more good look on goal, but Andre Ferreira stood firm to repel Joe Maguire's strike.
Manchester City dominated Schalke 04 from start to finish but nearly messed things up, needing penalties to dispatch of the Germans, via the club's official Twitter feed:
Jack Byrne had given the hosts a 1-0 lead in the first half with a lovely finish and, despite pressure from Schalke, City easily defended their lead throughout the second half. A barrage of long-range efforts hardly bothered goalkeeper Angus Gunn, but with the final whistle just seconds away, Christian Sivodedov was allowed to pull his team level from close range:
It would be up to Gunn to save his team now, and the stopper was immediately aided by Maurice Multhaup, who planted his penalty against a post. Gunn then produced a great save to deny Maurice Neubauer and repeated his heroics against Sivodedov, booking his club's ticket to the next round in the process.
Per the club's official website, manager Patrick Vieira was happy with the win, although he readily admitted his squad didn't perform up to their lofty standards.
Roma knocked Ajax out of the tournament, beating the Dutch team on penalties 6-5 after both teams went scoreless in normal time.
Tournament favourites Ajax had the better chances, with Vince Gino Dekker hitting the woodwork and Abdelhak Nouri missing a penalty in the second half, after a foul from Matteo Belvisi:
In the penalty shootout both teams were flawless until the 12th spot-kick, with Carel Eiting missing his attempt. Chelsea and Zenit St. Petersburg will battle for the final quarter-final ticket on Thursday.
Monday Recap
Anderlecht fought against the odds on Monday to show why their academy is also regarded as one of the most efficient in Europe, seeing Barcelona off with a 1-0 triumph at Constant Vanden Stock Stadium.
The Belgian hosts held their own on home turf and went in scoreless at the break before striker Aaron Leya Iseka rose just eight minutes after the restart to give Anderlecht a shock lead, per the club's official Twitter account:
According to the official UEFA website, both sides had a similar shot tally, but it was the hosts who made sure the greater share of their attempts found their way on target.
Anderlecht did a fine job in nullifying Barca's threats in attack, but it was once again clear the Spaniards were struggling offensively, having netted a slightly disappointing 10 goals in the group stage.
It doesn't get easier for Anderlecht by any means in the next round, however, where they'll face Porto, the team who managed to send the other El Clasico participants, Real Madrid, out of the competition.
Shakhtar Donetsk played host to Greek giants Olympiakos in Monday's early kickoff, where they clinched a narrow victory on penalties after drawing 1-1 in normal time.
And how fitting it was that Shakhtar's under-19 captain and goalkeeper Oleh Kudryk played the role of hero by saving both of the opponents' last two spot-kicks to keep his side in European competition.
Following the victory, Shakhtar's lead figure was quoted by the club's official website, speaking of his elation at managing to prevent Olympiakos creeping into the quarters:
"We were preparing for this kind of game, we knew that it would be difficult. In the first half we worried, so it was a bit tough. Many of the guys played in the Round of 16 of such a competition fort he first time in their lives. We are very happy with the win! To be honest, we didn’t particularly prepare for the penalty shootout, though we worked on it at the training camp.
I thought we would win in normal time. But it turned out differently. I had a tactic of jumping towards one and the same corner. I fell to the right four times without guessing it right for a single time. Then I decided to change my strategy. I jumped to the left twice, clearing both attempts! Thank God that it all ended well. Our opponents in the quarterfinals? I would like to play against Liverpool.
"
Beka Vachiberadze will have been happier than ever to see his stopper block Olympiakos' final attempts after missing with his attempt in the penalty shootout.
The midfielder had earlier converted a penalty in normal time, cancelling out Nikos Vergos' 12th-minute strike in a clash where the only goal produced came from 12 yards.
