Last time Champions League’s first four groups (A through D) played, eight games combined to produce 30 goals. It’d be greedy to ask for a repeat of that outburst, so as those groups completed their second round of play on Wednesday, we were forced to content ourselves with a mere 28 goals. How ever will we cope?
Those aren’t exactly drought conditions. On Wednesday, there were no 0-0 results. Each match produced at least two goals. Five teams scored at least three times, and there were only three clean sheets. There may not be an obvious reason why these groups are producing so many goals, but you won’t hear many complain about it.
Manuel Pellegrini might have a qualm, though. His Manchester City side was on the wrong end of a 3-0 result. Jorge Jesus with Benfica? His team lost 4-0 in Paris. Stale Solbakken may have appreciated fewer than four goals being put in against his Copenhagen team in Madrid, while John van den Brom will wish his Anderlecht team to held Olympiacos to less than three in Brussels. And, of course, David Moyes (Manchester United), Antonio Conte (Juventus), and Jagoba Arrasate (Real Sociedad) will rue the late goals that cost their teams points.
[MORE: Full-time snapshot: The numbers from Wendesday’s Champions League matches.]
Here’s what else happened in Wednesday’s UEFA Champions League action:
Group A: Shakhtar Donetsk (Ukraine) 1-1 Manchester United (England) [REACTION]
Our Steve Davis, on today’s game:
That state of things is the disappointing start United’s had in England. Today’s result, however, was one of their better performances since David Moyes took over, even if they were stressed to preserve it come full-time. Will people celebrate this as a strong point won? Probably not. Regardless, an early goal from Danny Welbeck held up, with Taison’s 76th minute score still allowing the hosts to claim second place in Group A.
[MORE: Manchester United makes Danny Welbeck’s early opener hold up.]
Group A: Bayer Leverkusen (Germany) 2-1 Real Sociedad (Spain)
Late goal in the first half (Simon Rolfes), late goal in the second half (Jens Hegeler), and Bayer Leverkusen had full points. If only it were that easy. Although Bayer was the more dangerous team throughout, they only held the lead for seven minutes, with Carlos Vela’s put-back of Bernd Leno’s 52nd minute penalty save initially bringing Sociedad even. It stoppage time, substitute Hegeler snared a deserved win, the loss leaving La Real at the bottom of Group B.
Group B: Real Madrid (Spain) 4-0 Copenhagen (Denmark)
In place of the injured Gareth Bale, Ángel Di María gets to prove his benching was foolish. A regular starter since being acquired from Benfica three years ago, the Argentina international out-shined Cristiano Ronaldo on a night the Portuguese had two goals. Di María had a double of his own, with the ball played off this ‘rabona’ assisting on Ronaldo’s second score:
(Note: This image was floating around Twitter, and I couldn’t resist using it. If you know who should be credited, please get in touch in the comments or @richardfarley. I’d love to replace this note with some credit.)
Also of note: the younger players that got on the pitch for Real Madrid. Asier Illarramendi started in midfield. Álvaro Morata was first off the bench. Spanish U-level stand-out Jesé came on late. Even not-so-unproven Raphael Varane returned from injury, starting along side Pepe in central defense.
Group B: Juventus (Italy) 2-2 Galatasaray (Turkey) [REACTION]
From our recap:It was a match where, despite their obvious quality, Juventus never saw profits from their control. In the 37th minute, an under-hit backpass for Leonardo Bonucci created the first goal, Drogba finishing into an open net Gianluigi Buffon was compelled to abandon. It was the 78th minute before Juve equalized, a contentious penalty call allowing Vidal to convert from the spot, while Quagliarella (brought on early for an injured Mirko Vucinic) headed home a Andrea Pirlo cross in the 86th minute, apparently giving Juventus a win in Roberto Mancini’s Gala debut.
But two minutes later, when Drogba headed down for Bulut, the script flipped ...
It was Roberto Mancini’s Gala debut, and in a match against the club he supported as a boy, he produced a huge turnaround.
In their first Champions League match this season, Galatasaray lost 6-1. Today, they took a point from Turin. Not a bad start for il Mancho.
[MORE: Home draw with Galatasaray should raise concerns for Juventus.]
Group C: Paris Saint-Germain (France) 3-0 Benfica (Portugal)
Paris Saint-Germain hasn’t always been able to convert Laurent Blanc’s coveted possession into goals, leading to speculation as to whether the tweaks he’s made to Carlo Ancelotti’s winning formula are worthwhile. Today, however, the possession game worked perfectly, keeping Benfica at arm’s length after PSG built a 3-0 lead before half. Maybe this is an example of Blanc’s endgame?
Of course, it helps when Zlatan Ibrahimovic is scoring goals. Coming into the game, Ibra’d been held to two goals in nine games. Today he scored twice in the first half hour.
Funny how everything seems to click when your best player’s scoring goals.
Group C: Anderlecht (Belgium) 0-3 Olympiacos (Greece)
Which Olympiacos was going to show up? The one that outplayed PSG in the first half two weeks ago? Or the one that was dominated in the second?
Perhaps neither. Winning by three, Olympiacos obviously played well, but the level of opposition swung to the other end of the spectrum. Instead of facing a team that was in last year’s quarterfinals, they were matched up against a foe that may miss Europa League. A three-goal win on the road is impressive, regardless, but with Anderlect electing to start 16-year-old Youri Tielemans next to Sacha Kljestan at the base of midfield, the hosts may have rolled out the red carpet.
Group D: CSKA Moscow (Russia) 3-2 Viktoria Plzen (Czech Republic)
When it initially rolled it, CSKA’s third goal didn’t look like it would matter, but when Marek Bakos pulled Viktoria within one late, Matús Kozacik’s error came back to bite the Czech champions. Rather than taking a valuable draw out of St. Petersburg, Pavel Vrba’s team remains bottom of their group, with goals from Keisuke Honda and Zoran Tosic giving CSKA their first points of the tournament.
Group D: Manchester City (England) 1-3 Bayern Munich (Germany) [REACTION]
Remember yesterday, when we were touting Arsenal’s as the most-impressive performance of the tournament? Well, they held that title for one day, with Bayern putting in a performance reminiscent of their Barcelona demolitions in last year’s semifinals. Perhaps the scoreline wasn’t as lopsided, but the difference between the teams was.
On the flip side, Joe Hart gave the worst goalkeeping performance of the tournament. He was at fault on Frank Ribéry’s seventh minute opener, played a part in Thomas Müller’s second, and should have saved Arjen Robben’s third. Joe Hart was the anti-Bayern.
From our recap:
The holders are the best team in Europe, and nothing we saw today tells us Manchester City will miss the knockout round (again). But we got a clear idea of the difference between these two sides. And it’s huge.
[MORE: Bayern Munich brilliance, Joe Hart follies see Manchester City fall.]