Tuesday’s UEFA Champions League matches lived up to entertaining expectations, and all but Arsenal’s fans will find something to like from the first legs.
The Gunners put forth a good effort before being broken down by Lionel Messi and Barcelona, while Bayern and Juventus traded dominant periods at Juventus Stadium.
Arsenal 0-2 Barcelona -- RECAP
- MESSI: Credit to Arsenal, but we knew they couldn’t keep up
- WENGER: “Technically, we were very average”
Arsene Wenger went with a high-press when Barcelona’s defenders had the ball, and got terrific back-tracking from his midfield as the Gunners threatened to take an advantage, or at least a 0-0 draw, on the road to the Camp Nou. But Lionel Messi put the exclamation point on a breakneck Neymar and Luis Suarez counter before drawing and converting a penalty to make Arsenal’s task improbable for Leg No. 2.
Juventus 2-2 Bayern Munich -- RECAP
Last year’s finalists looked out-of-sorts in an opening hour that saw Arjen Robben and Thomas Muller power Bayern to an early 2-0 lead. But Juventus didn’t quit, and stunned Bayern with a second half goal before Stefano Sturaro squared things up. All of the sudden, the Bavarians were on uneven footing. Pep Guardiola will be happy to escape Turin with his two road goals and 2-2 scoreline.
Wednesday
PSV Eindhoven vs. Atletico Madrid — 2:45 p.m. ET Wednesday
Dynamo Kyiv vs. Manchester City — 2:45 p.m. ET Wednesday
Last week’s first legs
Gent 2-3 Wolfsburg — RECAP
AS Roma 0-2 Real Madrid — RECAP
Paris Saint-Germain 2-1 Chelsea — RECAP
Benfica 1-0 Zenit St. Petersburg — RECAP