Tottenham held an under-strength Barcelona side to a 1-1 draw while Celtic thrashed Al Ahly 5-0 on the opening day of the Wembley Cup.
Striker Bojan Krkic gave Barca the lead but Jake Livermore levelled with eight minutes to go in a match devalued by Pep Guardiola's decision to field a second-string side before bringing on a bench of reserve team players at half-time.
Spurs started better than the Spanish and European champions and on 12 minutes the impressive Aaron Lennon tested their defence with a turn of pace and dangerous cross that skimmed Jermaine Defoe's head and fell to Luka Modric, whose shot was blocked.
But Los Cules soon got a grip on the game, going close with a Bojan chip on 17 minutes and, three minutes later, a wicked low drive by Pedro that Carlo Cudicini tipped behind for a corner.
They took the lead on 32 minutes when Spain U21 striker Bojan drilled in from close range, but the goal belonged to midfielder Yaya Toure.
The brother of Arsenal defender Kolo picked up the ball on halfway and ran through the entire Spurs midfield and defence before a lunging tackle from Tom Huddlestone prevented him from finishing. Bojan, however, was there to fulfil his poacher's role and finished off in style.
Spurs almost equalised soon afterwards when Modric hammered a drive off the bar and, seconds later, Benoit Assou-Ekotto forced a smart stop from Albert Jorquera.
The treble-winning Catalans went into the break 1-0 up but wholesale changes at half-time allowed Spurs back into the match.
Huddlestone saw a low drive deflected wide and, while Barca should have had a second when Jeffren was sent clean through, but he fired at substitute keeper Heurelho Gomes and Spurs regained control.
They almost grabbed an equaliser but replacement keeper Jose Manuel Pinto made a smart double save as substitute Robbie Keane attempted to convert Lennon's low cross.
They got the leveller through the unlikely source of Livermore who, only a few minutes after coming on as a sub, nodded in Pascal Chimbonda's deep cross after a short corner routine involving Robbie Keane, who made a cameo from the bench.
Spurs pushed for a winner but the young Barca held on for a draw that leaves Celtic top of the standings in the mini-tournament after their 5-0 thrashing of Al Ahly.
Scott McDonald scored twice as the Hoops warmed up for their Champions League qualifier against Dinamo Moscow by thrashing the African champions.
Tony Mowbray's side face Dinamo in the first leg at Parkhead and the Russians will have to mark special plans to stop Australia striker McDonald after a dynamic display in the opening match of the pre-season tournament.
After Italian midfielder Massimo Donati opened the scoring, McDonald won and scored the first half penalty that put Celtic in control.
Shaun Maloney added a third after the break before McDonald struck again with a superb effort and New Zealand striker Chris Killen completed the rout late on.
A 15-minute cameo from England U21 defender Daniel Fox, signed from Coventry just hours earlier, gave former West Brom boss Mowbray further cause for optimism heading into his first season at Parkhead.
Celtic are back at Wembley on Sunday when they face Tottenham.
The Hoops were on top from the start. McDonald went close twice in quick succession before new signing Marc-Antoine Fortune hit the bar and Maloney struck the post from the rebound.
Celtic eased ahead in the 31st minute after some woeful defending from right-back Ahmed Ali allowed Donati to jink into the penalty area, round keeper Amir Abdel Hameed and produce a cool finish.
Mowbray's men increased their lead in the 39th minute after McDonald, running onto Aiden McGeady's pass, was brought down in the penalty area by Abdel Hameed. He dusted himself down and squeezed home the spot-kick via a post.
Maloney put the result beyond doubt four minutes after half-time when he drove in a clever near-post shot that left Abdel Hameed rooted to the spot.
It got even worse for Al Ahly as McDonald claimed his second goal with a curling strike in the 59th minute before Killen tapped home after 83 minutes.
Hossam El-Badry, the first Egyptian to take charge of Al Ahly for 17 years, could take nothing from his team's half-hearted effort and he has plenty to work on before the Cairo club begin their bid for a sixth successive Egyptian championship.
Via: Yahoo! Sport
No comments:
Post a Comment