2009-2010 UEFA Champions League: Day 4 Summary & Results
November 6th 2009 14:46
Several teams booked their tickets to the next round this week but two superpowers now have their backs to the wall as the end of the group stage draws near.
The defense wasn't the only flaw in United's game. Since Leonid Slutski had clogged up the center of the pitch with five midfielders, the English champions were unable to build the passing game to which they're accustomed. With Scholes and Fletcher being outnumbered in the middle and Nani and Valencia's complete ineffectiveness down the wings, the hosts' only resort was the long ball upfield to the forwards – a tactic that was iffy at best.
Sir Alex Ferguson's men finally kicked into gear at the hour mark which coincided with the entrance of Rooney and Evra. But after the great work of Moscow's midfield, it was goalkeeper Akinfeev's turn to shine, stopping strikes by Owen, Rooney and Scholes. He finally broke in the 83rd minute when Scholes beat him with a header on a free-kick. Less than ten minutes later, Antonio Valencia brought Old Trafford to its feet when his shot deflected off a defender to tie the score at 3-3. It took 92nd minute but Manchester United booked their ticket to the next round on Matchday 4.
- Group A -
In Group A, Bordeaux looks set to go through as they are undefeated after four games. Juventus and Bayern are the two clubs fighting for the second spot. The Italians have the upper-hand so far as they're only two points behind Bordeaux and four ahead of Bayern. Although Bayern's situation seems to have stabilized in the Bundesliga, their play on the European stage has been downright awful with their only win coming against lowly Maccabi Haifa.Bayern Munich – Bordeaux: 0-2
The Bavarians' porous defense was exposed against the French champions, especially on the second goal where they completely ignored Gourcuff's run at the far post.Maccabi Haifa – Juventus: 0-1
- Group B -
The Red Devils only needed a draw to go through to the next stage as they had won all their games prior to their second meeting with CSKA. As if it was planned all along, they let CSKA lead for most of the game only to come back and tie it up in the dying minutes. In the group's other game, Wolfsburg came out with a dominating performance against Besiktas despite playing in one of the toughest stadiums without their star striker.Besiktas – VfL Wolfsburg: 0-3
Manchester United – CSKA Moscow: 3-3
Two things stood out in that enthralling game between Manchester United and CSKA Moscow. First, United only had themselves to blame for falling behind. The lackadaisical defense composed of Gary Neville, Wes Brown, Jonny Evans, and Fabio seemed to be sleepwalking through most of the game. On the first goal, Van der Sar seemed surprised by the shot which came from an acute angle. Moscow's second goal was probably the most pathetic display of defense that I've ever seen as Evans was successfully baited into leaving his position by an off-the-ball run, leaving a sizable hole in defense through which Krasic easily slipped in. Anticipating an offside, the rest of the United defense simply stopped playing, leaving Krasic all the time in the world to easily sidestep past Van der Sar and strike the ball into an open net. The third goal was similar to Bordeaux's second goal against Bayern. No one picked up Berezutski coming in at the far post and he promptly headed home his team's free-kick.The defense wasn't the only flaw in United's game. Since Leonid Slutski had clogged up the center of the pitch with five midfielders, the English champions were unable to build the passing game to which they're accustomed. With Scholes and Fletcher being outnumbered in the middle and Nani and Valencia's complete ineffectiveness down the wings, the hosts' only resort was the long ball upfield to the forwards – a tactic that was iffy at best.
Sir Alex Ferguson's men finally kicked into gear at the hour mark which coincided with the entrance of Rooney and Evra. But after the great work of Moscow's midfield, it was goalkeeper Akinfeev's turn to shine, stopping strikes by Owen, Rooney and Scholes. He finally broke in the 83rd minute when Scholes beat him with a header on a free-kick. Less than ten minutes later, Antonio Valencia brought Old Trafford to its feet when his shot deflected off a defender to tie the score at 3-3. It took 92nd minute but Manchester United booked their ticket to the next round on Matchday 4.
- Group C -
Group C is still pretty much open thanks to the mutual destruction between Real Madrid and AC Milan. After the Galacticos suffered a stunning defeat at the Bernabeu, they could only come to a draw at the San Siro. And even that was close since Milan's second goal was mistakenly disallowed by the referee. In the other game, Marseille steamrolled Zurich to the score of 6-1 and stay within a point of the two leaders.AC Milan – Real Madrid: 1-1
Olympique de Marseille – FC Zurich: 6-1
- Group D -
Like Manchester United, Chelsea booked a ticket for the next round by coming to a 2-2 draw against Atletico Madrid. Porto also assured their qualification with a win over APOEL. Now, all that's left in this group is to decide which club will finish first.APOEL FC – FC Porto: 0-1
Atletico de Madrid – Chelsea: 2-2
- Group E -
Nothing is going right for Liverpool these days. The English club couldn't hold their lead against Lyon and end up in third place of their group five points behind Fiorentina. The Italians had no trouble against Debreni, routing them to the score of 5-2. I get a feeling that the last game between Fiorentina and Liverpool will prove to be the key in this group's standing – that is unless one of the two clubs falters first.Olympique Lyonnais – Liverpool: 1-1
Fiorentina – Debreni VSC: 5-2
- Group F -
As it's been the case since Matchday 1, Group F is still wide open and any team could make it through. Russian club Rubin Kazan has been giving fits to the two powerhouses in this group especially Barcelona who were defeated 2-1 at the Camp Nou and then held to a 0-0 draw on Russian soil. Barcelona's draw against Rubin Kazan allowed Inter Milan to take the lead in the group after they defeated Dynamo Kyiv to the score of 2-1.Rubin Kazan – Barcelona: 0-0
Dynamo Kyiv – Inter Milan: 1-2
- Group G -
Sevilla was the only club to qualify in this group after their draw against Suttgart. The chase for second place is still wide open but the Rangers and Stuttgart will have to look out for Unirea Urziceni who are ready to cause an upset.Unirea Urziceni – Rangers: 1-1
Sevilla – VfB Stuttgart: 1-1
- Group H -
Arsenal is the third English club to qualify for the next round. If they can stay healthy, they could go on a deep run this year. Their new tactical scheme which has Arshavin playing right behind Van Persie has been a godsend for their offense since the Gunners can now count on two playmakers instead of relying on Fabregas.Arsenal – AZ Alkmaar: 4-1
Standard de Liege – Olympiacos FC: 2-0
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