Champions League Europe — 13 February 2013

Claudio Marchisio played a key role in Juventus' 3-0 victory at CelticIn last night’s Champions League games there were away victories for PSG and Juventus.

Italian champions Juventus won 3-0 at Celtic Park against Celtic. The Old Lady took the lead after just three minutes.

Defender Efe Ambrose couldn’t deal with a long ball and striker Alessandro Matri poked the ball under Fraser Forster, and despite the best efforts of Kelvin Wilson the ball crossed the line. Celtic had long periods of possession in the second half, but couldn’t find a route to goal.

The visitors doubled their lead on 77 minutes. Matri turned supplier as he found Marchisio, who cut inside Scott Brown before firing past Forster. With just seven minutes remaining Juve made it three.

Defender Efe Ambrose made another error, dwelling on the ball and allowing Marchisio to steal the ball and found Mirko Vucinic, who fired past Forster. The second leg on March 6th in Turin now looks nothing more than a formality.

Elsewhere, mega rich French outfit PSG won 2-1 at Valencia’s Mestalla Stadium. The French side took the lead on ten minutes, through a powerful effort from Ezequiel Lavezzi. PSG doubled their lead just before half-time.

Impressive young Brazilian playmaker Lucas Moura took on two players, before finding Javier Pastore who scored with a one-touch finish. The home side got a consolation goal in the last minute, as centre-back Adil Rami scored from a Ricardo Costa free-kick, after keeper Salvatore Sirigu failed to come for the ball.

It wasn’t all good news though for the French side, as striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic was dismissed for going over the top of the ball in a challenge with Mexican star Andres Guardado. Valencia now have an uphill task to stay in the tie, but will be given hope with the fact that Ibrahimovic will be missing in the second leg.

Can Valencia recover from their 2-1 defeat to progress into the quarter-finals?

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David Nugent

David is a 29 year-old football fan and journalist, who is passionate about the beautiful game. He is a lifelong supporter of Premier League Everton and likes nothing better than a healthy discussion about the world's favourite sport.

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