It was an interesting round of the Champions League this week as several results went against most experts' predictions. Several teams who were expected to be punching bags in their respective groups are surprisingly pulling great results out of thin air, making some groups' outcome difficult to judge even after three games.
- Group A -
After getting a draw against Juventus in Day 1, the French champions have taken complete control of the group with wins against Maccabi Haifa and Bayern Munich. The latter result came against a nine-man Munich who saw both Muller and Van Buyten sent off with red cards. Juventus took second place of the group after beating Maccabi Haifa to the score of 1-0.
Group B is one of the few groups where there is a clear-cut order. Manchester United stayed perfect, collecting all nine points after three games while Wolfsburg sits in second place after their draw against Besiktas.
CSKA Moscow Manchester United: 0-1
A depleted Manchester United found its way to victory in the final minutes of the game when Valencia beat Moscow goalkeeper Igor Akinfeev in the 86th minute. Without the likes of Evra, Rooney, Giggs, Fletcher and Park, United looked particularly flat on Wednesday but as they have shown time and time again, they got the result when it mattered.
For Wolfsburg, a disappointing draw against Besiktas was made even worse by the sending off of Grafite in the 74th minute. The goalscorer will miss the next meeting between the two teams on November 3rd.
For all the talk about the Galacticos, it was the Rossoneri who stole the show this week by stunning the Spanish giants at the Bernabeu and thus taking the group's top spot.
Real Madrid AC Milan: 2-3
After an early gaffe by Dida which led to Madrid's opening goal early in the game, Milan came through with steely determination, scoring three goals (two by Pato) in the second half to defeat Madrid 3-2. Facing his old teammates, Kaka was pretty much invisible for most of the game and you have to wonder if being on a team of superstars isn't weighing on him mentally especially when he has to deal with strong personalities such as Raul on the pitch.
Like Manchester United, Chelsea stayed perfect during the week, crushing Atletico Madrid to the score of 4-0. They top their group with nine points while Porto sits behind them with six points.
It's getting worse and worse for Liverpool who will be without Gerrard and Torres for awhile. Without those two anchors, the Reds suffered an embarrassing defeat against Lyon at Anfield. When N'Gog is your starting forward in a Champions League match, you have serious problems. Meanwhile in the other game, Fiorentina were almost upset by Debreceni but held on long enough to pull through with the win.
It's a three-way tie for first in Group F as Barcelona, Dynamo Kyiv, and Rubin Kazan are all sitting with four points while Inter Milan isn't far behind with three points. Rubin Kazan stunned defending champs Barcelona by winning 2-1 at the Nou Camp while Inter could only draw against Kyiv. It'll be interesting to see how the situation unfolds in this group.
Apart from Sevilla who seem destined to go through, group G is also wide open for second place after Unirea Urziceni gave a footballing lesson to the Rangers on Tuesday.
Rangers Unirea Urziceni: 1-4
VfB Stuttgart Sevilla: 1-3
- Group H -
Arsenal let three points slip by them when they allowed AZ Alkmaar to equalize in the dying minutes of the game but it'll be surprising to see another team dislodge them from the top spot.
The loss of Arjen Robben delivered a serious blow to Bayern as they could only draw 0-0 against Koln. The result makes them slide out of the top 5 for the time being. Meanwhile, Bayer Leverkusen and Hamburg are still leading the league as they are still undefeated. The full results follow.
After two games played, we're getting a better picture of the standings in the Champions League group stage. While some powerhouses are making a good case for themselves (Barcelona, Real Madrid, Manchester United), others (Liverpool, Inter, Milan) are finding the task more difficult and should kick it up a notch in Matchday 3.
Could the Bayern of old truly be back? Since the acquisition of Robben and the return of Ribery, the German giants are flying, going from tenth in the standings to third. In front of them are undefeated clubs Hamburg and Bayer Leverkusen. Here are the full results.
So, the Inter Milan-Barcelona game wasn't as exciting as I anticipated so I won't be posting an individual recap of that game but read on for my thoughts on Day 1. There are several games for which I didn't find any highlights. Video sites are quick to take off links these days, so there's not much I can do about that.
As Ribery goes, so goes Bayern Munich. The Frenchman's return from injury prompted the Bavarian club's best result so far this season a 5-1 thrashing of Borussia Dortmund with youngster Muller getting a hat-trick. Meanwhile, Wolfsburg suffered their third loss of the season which puts them right on the edge of the top ten. Full results from other games follow.
In the fourth week of the Bundesliga, Bayern fans got a glimpse of light at the end of the tunnel when Arjen Robben scored twice on his debut in the Bavarian shirt. Robben's show (aided by Ribery's return) allowed Bayern to convincingly defeat defending champions Wolfsburg 3-0. The full results along with highlights videos follow.
Wolfsburg suffered their first setback of the season, falling 4-2 against Hamburg but the big surprise of this round was Mainz's shocking victory over Bayern, putting the promoted club in fifth place. The full results follow.
In the early weeks of the 2009-2010 season, one thing is clear: no one is afraid of the mighty Bayern Munich anymore. After Hoffenheim in the first week, Bremen in the second, it was Mainz's turn to hold their own against the German giants.
In 90 minutes of play, Mainz's status as a promoted club never showed. Fueled by an impressive performance by striker Aristide Bance and goalkeeper Heinz Muller, the O-Fives took a comfortable lead in the first half and played smartly in the second for an historic 2-1 win over Bayern
A still-rehabilitating Bayern Munich could only salvage a draw out of their second game of the season. Defending champions Wolfsburg and Schalke 04 are alone at the top with two victories each.
It was goal galore for the opening week of the Bundesliga as only two games counted less than two goals. Defending champions VfL Wolfsburg got off to a great start, beating Stuttgart 2-0 while an injury-riddled Bayern could only get a draw against Hoffenheim.
One of the feel-good stories of last season was the rise of Hoffenheim, a newly-promoted side, to the top of the Bundesliga. The small village saw its team win the first half of the season and then go on to finish seventh at the end of May. At the start of this season, the big question is would they do it again?
The first game of the season showed that Hoffenheim mean business. Against a revamped Bayern Munich side, Hoffenheim fought tooth and nails to prevent the German giants from walking away with a win
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