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.
Manchester United reclaimed the top of the table this week after Chelsea's stumble at Villa Park. The Blues aren't looking as threatening as the first couple of weeks. As a matter of fact, none of the Big Four have really showed that they're really prepared to dominate the Premier League. Despite benefiting from seven minutes of added time, Liverpool couldn't salvage a point out of their meeting with Sunderland. Darren Bent found the back of the net once again but this time on a controversial goal that will probably draw a huge debate. Anyways, here are the full lists of results with full video highlights.
After defeating Liverpool 2-0, Chelsea took the lead in the Premiership thanks to Manchester United's misstep against Sunderland. Troubled Portsmouth got their first win of the season while Arsenal steamrolled over Blackburn with a masterful performance by Captain Cesc. The full results along with video highlights 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.
Although the Manchester derby took most of the headlines (and what a game that was!), there were plenty of surprising results in the Premiership last weekend. Promoted clubs Burnley and Wolves are showing that they're here to stay with the big boys after respectively defeating Sunderland and Fulham. Birmingham also grabbed full points against Hull City. Liverpool had another complicated game against West Ham and you have to wonder if Benitez will ever tighten that defense. Finally, Chelsea kept up their winning streak by defeating Tottenham who suffered their second defeat in a row. The full results follow.
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.
La Liga may claim to be the best league in the world this season but this year's edition of the Barclay's Premier League has one of the most enthralling race even at this early stage.
Last weekend, Manchester City stunned Arsenal with a football lesson on realism that ended on the score of 4-2. At White Hart Lane, Manchester United overcame an early deficit and a red card to defeat Tottenham 3-1. In other games, Yossi Benayoun's new haircut seems to have given him back his finishing touch as he scored three goals in Liverpool's 4-0 victory over Burnley. The upset of the week was probably Wigan's victory over West Ham on Saturday while Fulham also came up with a surprising victory of their own, topping Everton 2-1. The full results follow with Match Of The Day highlights
There were lots of good games over the weekend in the Premiership. First, Chelsea cruised to victory against an impressive Burnley side that's surprising everyone so far this season. Liverpool took the difficult approach to their three points by having to fight back from behind against Bolton until Gerrard finally put them ahead in the final minutes. Manchester United had some luck on their side as their first meeting against Arsenal was decided on Abou Diaby's own-goal despite the Gunners' domination. Finally, Everton got their first points of the season thanks to a stoppage-time penalty against a stubborn Wigan side. Full results follow (along with the weekly video special).
Lots of stuff going on this week in the Premiership. Arsenal and Tottenham are continuing their quest to the top with their third (second in Arsenal's case) win of the season. Chelsea is slowly improving as Ballack tries to force Ancelotti's hand to start him every game. Manchester United exploded offensively pumping five goals past goalkeeper Kirkland. And in the surprise category, Burnley is seemingly set on putting wrenches in everyone's plans. After stunning Manchester United with a 1-0 win, they played the same trick to Everton on Sunday. As for Liverpool they canceled an excellent mid-week performance with another heart wrenching defeat, this time against Aston Villa. The full results follow.
After three weeks of play, Liverpool have lost the same number of games as they did for the entire season last year. So far this season, it seems like every time the Reds have faced a team with unquestionable talent, they have been unable to stick to their gameplan without being overrun. On Monday, it was Aston Villa who successfully neutralized the Reds' attack while potting three goals past Reina.
The first sign that something was wrong with Liverpool happened in the 8th minute when a goalmouth scramble ended in a corner-kick for the hosts. The play was surreal as first Gerrard failed to control the ball on the way to the net, then Torres' weak shot was easily blocked by a sliding tackle, then Gerrard's own sliding effort missed the ball before Beyanoun also missed his shot. Finally, Gerrard ended up with the final shot only to see Friedel coming up with an unbelievable save. Nine times out of ten, Gerrard would have put that ball in the back of the net. Here, it simply didn't happen
The big surprise this week was Burnley getting the win over Manchester United at Turf Moor. As a matter of fact, all three promoted clubs put on a good show. As expected, Liverpool bounced back from their poor performance on Sunday by putting on a show against Stoke City. Tottenham's striking power is looking dangerous as they severely trounced Hull City to the score of 5-1. The full results follow.
The Premiership got off to a bang last weekend with no teams settling for draws. Chelsea huffed and puffed to a 2-1 win against Hull City while Arsenal gave a footballing lesson to Everton at Goodison Park. Manchester United did the strict minimum against Birmingham to get their three points while Liverpool couldn't break down a well-organized Tottenham. In other games, ex-Gunner Adebayor started his season at Manchester City with a goal in a 2-0 win. Ex-Spur Darren Bent also started on the right foot by scoring the only goal in Sunderland's meeting with Bolton. The full list of results follows.
After the victories of Chelsea, Arsenal and Manchester United, Liverpool had no choice but to grab three points against Tottenham to keep up with their Big Four rivals. Unfortunately for them, manager Harry Redknapp had other plans in mind and thanks to an almost flawless execution, Tottenham provided the first surprise of the season by defeating Liverpool 2-1.
Defender Assou-Ekotto was the one to open the score for the Spurs with a powerful strike two minutes before the break. The scoreline definitely reflected the direction of the game. While the Spurs' midfield and defense did an excellent in containing Gerrard and Torres, the Liverpool defense seemed overwhelmed by the Modric-Defoe-Keane-Lennon line. Keane looked like a man on a mission as he looked to prove to Benitez just what he's worth after his miserable half-season at Anfield. Unfortunately Reina always stood in his way, even stopping his point-blank header in the 29th minute
As Real Madrid's lavish spending made headlines all over the world, the English Premier League had some important signings of their own with Manchester United, Liverpool, Chelsea, and Manchester City all trying to improve their rosters.
Owen - Sir Alex's gamble
The biggest shock to come out of England was Michael Owen's signing with Manchester United. On the decline ever since his ill-advised stint at Real Madrid in 2004-2005 and his unfortunate injury during the 2006 World Cup, Owen spent the last four years playing for mid-table club Newcastle United. The Magpies' relegation at the end of last season appeared to be the end for Michael Owen. Several clubs in the Premiership showed their interest in him but none of them were in the caliber of Manchester United or Liverpool. His agents even sent a 32-page brochure (found HERE) to elite football clubs in Europe in an effort to resurrect his career
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