Maribor vs. Spartak Moscow - 13 September 2017

Minute		Description
90' +2		Adriano makes a weak effort with a left-footed twist in the box that gives no trouble Handanovic, and the referee blows for full time!
90' +1		Tavares tries a back heel to find Kramaric but can't quite get the angle right. Three added minutes coming.
90'		L. Melgarejo enters the game and replaces D. Kombarov.
90'		Another change now as Dmitri Kombarov is replaced by Melgarejo for the final few minutes.
87'		Maribor go close to the lead all of a sudden, as Tavares nearly connects with a Bohar poke across the face of goal - but it is too powerful and runs out by the right post.
85'		I. Popov enters the game and replaces Q. Promes.
		D. Bohar has scored a goal for Maribor! Assist by M. Kramarič.
		Assist Martin Kramarič
		And that's the equalizer! Kramaric plays it across the edge of the box, deep to the left - and Bohar hammers it into the top right corner. 1-1 in Slovenia - game on!
		Another change for the visitors as Ivelin Popov comes on for Promes.
84'		Kabha pops off another shot, this time from a sharper left angle and greater distance - but it skews wide to the right. Maribor are getting closer though.
82'		Suler gets his head to another Maribor corner and is more on-target this time, forcing the keeper to juggle and drop on the ball to prevent any mistakes.
81'		Pihler makes himself known quickly too, also putting an effort wide from distance for Maribor.
80'		Kabha gets a rare shot off after Milec crosses from the right for him, but it spirals over the crossbar once more.
79'		A. Pihler enters the game and replaces B. Vrhovec.
79'		A final change for the home side now - Blaž Vrhovec is replaced by Aleks Pihler.

Minute		Description
78'		Promes gets the ball in the area once more after a mix-up at the back - but Handanovic saves his weak right footed effort with ease.
76'		Maribor once again advance into the Moscow half with purpose, but their midfield is shut down by some great defence, forcing them back into their own area again. Moscow are massing men at the back now, to try and preserve that narrow lead.
74'		Promes earns a free-kick from twenty-five yards out, slightly left-of-centre - and his shot is telegraphed straight into the arms of Handanovic. Nice curl on the ball though.
72'		So close for Fernando! He bombs what could have been a winner after Promes played a wonderful short through ball to him within the box but he skews it wide to the left.
71'		Milec halts Promes in his tracks on the edge of the box once more, and begins a counter-attack - only for Promes to double back fifty-yards and pinch the ball back in return.
69'		M. Kramarič enters the game and replaces G. Bajde.
		J. Mešanović enters the game and replaces V. Ahmedi.
		...and Valon Ahmedi is replaced by Jasmin Mešanović.
		The first of two changes for Maribor now as Gregor Bajde departs in place of Martin Kramarič...
68'		Viler fancies his chance from thirty yards out on the left - and goes surprisingly close for the hosts. They still trail 1-0 though thanks to that Samedov goal.
67'		Down the other end, Bohar almost connects with a Suler throw into the box but again, he can't control the finish and the Spartak defence picks his pocket.
65'		Kombarov hefts a cross in for Moscow but Adriano can't get there to make it tell.
63'		Tavares twists a left footer round from the edge of the box but he gets no air behind it and makes it an all-too-easy save for the Moscow keeper Rebrov.
61'		The hosts waste no time in trying to fire back - Suler and Bohar are both supplied by Milec and both go close in quick succession.
59'		A. Samedov has scored a goal for Spartak Moscow!
59'		... but Samedov burries the weak effort to clear on the rebound! Moscow take the lead after a prolonged spell of pressure and Maribor are behind after so many of their own efforts. They will be frustrated with that.
58'		Promes dances around the edge, but his playback to Fernando is soft. The latter's shot requires a punch from Handanovic to clear...
55'		Milec floats a cross into the box too long for Ahmedi, but he recovers rnough to clip it back to Bohar, whose lead-footed shot runs an inch wide on the wrong side of the left post.
54'		A rocket of a throw comes in on the left side of the box but Suler can't guide it round to the right and scuffs it out for a goal kick.
53'		Ahmedi breaks down the left but has his effort pushed out for a throw. Chance for Maribor now...
51'		Promes clatters Suler whilst challenging for the ball inside the Maribor box and concedes a free-kick to the keeper.
50'		Pasalic and Promes combine on the left flank again to play around the Maribor defence before pushing it wide to Samedov, whose shot skim the top of the netting. So close for Moscow.
48'		Eshchenko continues in the vein he left of, collecting a lovely little lob pass and then pulling it wide of the mark on the right, just inside the box.
46'		Maribor get us back underway and Promes immediately pinches the ball to break down the left flank for Moscow, before he is dislodged of possession.
45' +4		Moscow sky one more chance and that's all for the first half as the whistle goes!
45' +3		Eshchenko gets his head to another cross down the other end for Moscow but Handanovix is able to deal with ease.
45' +2		Viler pushes a fine cross into the box from the left for Maribor but Tavares is once again too late to connect, and the chance goes begging.
45' +1		Three minutes of added time incoming.
45'		Promes goes on a darting sprint down the left flank, but his cross is picked up by Vrhovec who returns fire with a run of his own out of the danger territory.
42'		Moscow push another chance well wide and high under little pressure. They have looked the more confident side over the past ten minutes - but then Viler hits the side of the net down the other end for Maribor to remind them that this is really too close for comfort right now.
40'		Samedov feeds Fernando with a lovely pass to just inside the right edge of the box but the Moscow man can't align his shot quite right and sends it sprawling off the wrong way.
38'		Fernando and Promes combine again around the edge of the Maribor box but they are gradually forced back towards their own half by strong defending.
36'		G. Dzhikia gets yellow.
36'		A booking for Georgiy Dzhikiya after he clatters Ahmedi to the ground.
35'		Eshchenko botches a cross but manages to turn it back for Fernando - only for Rajcevic to beat him to it and clear the danger for Maribor.
32'		Moscow are starting to look more commanding with the ball, as Fernando skirts around two defenders and clips a shot wide and high. They've not been pushed back into their own half for a couple of minutes now - an impressive spell.
30'		Promes hooks his right boot around an absolute thunderbolt of a shot that just scuffs the outside of the right post from the left edge of the box. Arguably the closest Moscow have come to breaking the deadlock.
29'		A. Samedov enters the game and replaces D. Glushakov.
29'		An early change for the visitors as Denis Glushakov is replaced by Alexandr Samedov.
26'		Eshchenko blows a beauty of a chance! Played a flat ball across the Maribor box, he has the angle to beat the keeper, no matter how tight - but instead puts it somewhere in the stratosphere.
25'		Tavares plays a flat pass to Ahmedi on the right twenty-five yards out and he chances his luck, only for it to go straight to the keeper. It's Maribor's fourth shot on target, whilst Moscow are yet to register one.
24'		Suler gets his body in the way to force out a cross from Pasalic meant for Eshchenko who was lurking inside the Maribor box. The home side deal with the corner and dig themselves out of danger again.
22'		That stoppage for the projectile has halted any momentum both sides had and they are only just starting to find their second gears again. Maribor have a sniff of another chance with a tasty cross from the left but Tavares is a touch too slow and it skims out by the far goal post.
20'		Eshchenko lobs a cross from the right side into the box searching for Adriano but he puts too much weight behind it and it goes out on the full.
18'		The game restarts and Moscow play it out of their own half unopposed before Maribor get to grips with them once more.
15'		The game screeches to a halt all of a sudden as a projectile is thrown onto the pitch. Smoke is pouring out of one stand in Maribor, apparently from a flare.
13'		Handanovic blazes out of his box to punt a long ball being hunted by Promes away before Pasalic skies one over for Moscow. Still no goal to seperate the two.
12'		Back-to-back corners for the home side come to nothing in the end after Ahmedi's cross back in beats all to the line on the wrong side of the goal.
10'		This has been a frantic, if evenly matched opening ten minutes so far. Maribor seem to be making the most of their chances as Bajdi has a cross deflected out and then Ahmedi has a screamer of a shot from twenty-five yards out tipped over the bar.
8'		Maribor earn a free-kick on the left side of the penalty area, which Bohar whips in towards goal, forcing a quick save. It goes out for a corner and Moscow's defence clear up quickly,
6'		Adriano skies a cross from Eshchenko about twenty-five feet out, after coming onto it at speed. A poor finish for Moscow there.
5'		Tavares nearly gets his head to a fine cross into the box for Maribor but falls a few inches short - and then down the other end, Promes goes down in the box as he tries to collect a long ball, with a cry for a penalty waved off. End to end stuff.
3'		Straight down the other end, Eschenko fools the Maribor back four and curls a cross across the face of goal, only for it to be swept up by the keeper. Close calls early on for both.
2'		Straight out of the blocks, a statement of intent from Maribor as Milec makes a barnstorming run down the right flank, and finishes with a powerful shot on the edge of the eighteen yard area that forces Rebrov to hurl himself to the ground to stop it.
1'		Adriano taps back into his own half and we are underway in Slovenia!
		Good evening, and welcome to another season of European club cup football as Slovenian champions Maribor host Russia’s Spartak Moscow in Group E of the 2017/18 UEFA Champions League. Both teams are the underdogs amongst big-name opposition such in the shape of Sevilla and Liverpool – but the Red-Whites are the only side of the four to have taken the qualifying route to get here. The hosts are looking to secure their first ever home win in Champions League history against the Russian premiers – can they nab three points to kickstart a fairy-tale campaign across the continent? Kick-off is just around the corner.
		This is Maribor’s third appearance in Europe’s highest-ranking club competition, having played in the Champions League in the 1999/00 and 2014/15 seasons. On both occasions, they have failed to bypass the initial group stage – and they have only one win to their name, away at Dynamo Kiev almost exactly eighteen years ago to the day. Resultantly, they are winless at home at this stage of the competition too, with two draws and four losses – but could tonight signal a wind of change for Darko Milanic’s side?
		Spartak Moscow are conversely making their twelfth appearance in pursuit of the European Champion Clubs' Cup, albeit their first since 2012/13. They have only reached the knockout stages once in the previous eleven attempts, when they were defeated in the quarter-finals of the 1995/96 tournament by Nantes. Their record on the road is not the greatest however; they have lost in 21 of their previous 26 games, and Massimo Carrera’s men will be hoping to stop the rot in their first ever encounter with tonight’s opposition.
		This is the first time both managers have taken charge in a Champions League campaign – but not the first time either has been involved. Milanic played six times in the late nineties when at Sturm Graz, without a single win to his name – whilst Carrera enjoyed a more illustrious stint, winning the competition with Juventus in 1995/96, despite not playing in the final at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome. Both will be hoping that they can make a strong start to life in Europe this season – particularly against their much-fancied opposition elsewhere in Group E.
		Both sides have a dangerman tonight the other will do well to watch out for if picked. Maribor’s Marcos Tavares netted more than half the goals of his side in their qualifying campaign to get here, against Zrinjski Mostar, FH and Hapoel Be'er Sheva. On the opposite side of the pitch, Luiz Adriano has scored nine goals in his last six Champions League games – the former AC Milan man remains a potent threat even as he enters his twilight years as a striker.
		Team news imminent…
		MARIBOR (4-2-3-1): Handanovic, Viler, Milec, Suler, Rajcevic, Vrhovec, Bajde, Kabha, Ahmedi, Bohar, Tavares
		Subs: Palcic, Kramaric, Obradovic, Pihler, Hotic, Dervisevic, Mesanovic
		Subs: Popov, Selikhov, Rocha, Melgarejo, Samedov, Scherbakov, Petkovic
		SPARTAK MOSCOW (3-5-2): Rebrov, Jikia, Bocchetti, Kutepov, Pasalic, Glushakov, Eshchenko, Kombarov, Fernando, Promes, Adriano
		The teams have taken to the field for Zadok the Priest - the dramatic choral theme of the Champions League. Here we go...
		Well, for their first ever game, Maribor and Moscow are serving up a breathless cracker of a match. Briefly halted due to a projectile on the pitch, both sides have rallied to deliver frantic, end-to-end football that, whilst yet to produce a goal, has produced enough chances to entertain. Half-time in Slovenia, Maribor 0-0 Spartak Moscow.
		What an opening game for these two sides in Group E. The spoils are shared in Slovenia, thanks to a late goal from Bohar to cancel out the opener by Samedov in a kinetic encounter where neither side seemed to have the better of the other. A point a piece is something both will be happy to take away from an exhausting, entertaining match. Full-time, it finishes Maribor 1-1 Spartak Moscow.
		With Liverpool held to a 2-2 draw by Sevilla at Anfield tonight, Group E of the Champions League is a single point affair for all involved after week one. Maribor and Moscow tackle both of course in the coming weeks - the former travel to Spain a week next Tuesday, whilst the latter host the Reds at home on the same night. Both are up and running though - and all four of course will have aspirations to make it to the knockout stages. Until then however, thank you for your company - and have a good night!

More…

#	Team	MP	D	P
1	Celje	31	+42	72
2	Olimpija	31	+23	60
3	Maribor	31	+26	56
4	Bravo	31	-1	43
5	Koper	31	+1	42

#	Team	MP	D	P
5	Lokomotiv Moscow	23	+7	37
6	Krylya Sovetov	23	+8	36
7	Spartak Moscow	23	+1	35
8	Rostov	23	+2	34
9	Rubin Kazan	23	-9	32

Maribor vs. Spartak Moscow 1 - 1

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