Here are the Full Result Of Champions League Group Stages Round 1 Happened On 18Th and 19Th September 2012:
Matches Happened On 18Th September:
Dinamo Zagreb 0-2 Porto
Steven Defour put the seal on an excellent start for FC Porto in
Group A of the Champions League with an injury-time strike to give his
side a 2-0 opening win at Dinamo Zagreb.Luis Gonzalez had opened the scoring in the 41st minute for Vitor
Pereira's side, who remain unbeaten in all competitions in a run
stretching back to a League Cup defeat at Benfica in March.Despite an early blocked effort from Zagreb's Duje Cop, Porto took
control from the start, pressing the home defence with a series of
set-pieces which were booted clear from deep in their own box.James Rodriguez flashed a long-range shot just wide before Zagreb had
their first chance, Jorge Sammir getting on the end of Arijan Ademi's
free-kick but having his shot blocked by Roque Maicon.Cop fired just wide as the hosts gained in confidence, but clear-cut
chances were not easy to come by for either side until Gonzalez struck
in the 41st minute, firing home low from the centre of the box.Porto pressed for a second and almost got it just before the hour
when Adrian Calello fouled Joao Moutinho and from the resulting
free-kick, Moutinho sent a 25-yard drive over the bar.A mistake from Porto keeper Da Silva Helton almost helped Zagreb back
into it in the 62nd minute when he spilled a Sammir corner only to
recover to save Antonio Tonel's acrobatic overhead kick.Helton saved a 20-yard shot from Cop two minutes later before the
action swung to the other end where home keeper Ivan Kelava tipped a
Rodriguez shot over the bar, then held a header from Nicolas Otamendi.Domagoj Vida should have done better with a header from Sammir's
corner in the 69th minute, and Bryan Carrasco had a point-blank effort
superbly tipped round the post by Helton eight minutes later.Kelava saved brilliantly from Atsu at the other end but he was
stranded for Porto's second deep into injury time, when Atsu found
Defour to lob the ball home from 12 yards from the centre of the box.
PSG 4-1 Dinamo Kyiv
Paris Saint-Germain returned to the Champions
League for the first time in eight years and sent out a warning to
Europe’s biggest sides as they ran out resounding 4-1 winners over
Dynamo Kiev at Parc des Princes.All the damage was done in the
first half by the home side. Zlatan Ibrahimovic converted a penalty to
break the deadlock before debutant defender Thiago Silva made his mark
by shooting home from a corner. Alex completed the scoring shortly
afterwards from a similar scenario, allowing the hosts to play the
second period at walking pace. Miguel Veloso belatedly pulled one back
for the guests, but Javier Pastore grabbed a fourth for the hosts in
stoppage time.From the outset Carlo Ancelotti’s side looked
enterprising and dangerous, threatening as early as the second minute
when Jeremy Menez released Javier Pastore to flick a shot against
visiting goalkeeper Maksym Koval.Although PSG’s early storm
seemed to have been weathered, Menez’s trickery in the box induced a
rash challenge from Taras Mykhalyk, who caught the attacker’s foot,
sending him to the turf. Ibrahimovic was able to step up and create
history, slotting his penalty down the middle to become the first player
to score for six sides in the Champions League.Thereafter, the
home side simply swept their opponents away, and only heroics from Koval
prevented Ibrahimovic completing a hat-trick before the interval. The
Swede got in behind the visiting rearguard simply from a terrific pass
from the outstanding Marco Verratti, but the goalkeeper positioned
himself well to block, and then repelled the follow up from Pastore.The
teenager could not stop his side slumping to a three-goal half-time
deficit, let down by a defence that failed to police PSG adequately from
corner kicks. Thiago Silva was the first to benefit, showing admirable
composure on his debut for les Parisiens to control a loose ball in the
box and then slide a shot in off the post.Alex struck the third
shortly afterwards, hammering the ball into the net with a fine volley,
although the ball should never have reached him on the penalty spot.The
second half was simply a procession for the hosts, who slowed the tempo
of their play noticeably. Dynamo defended more stoutly too, and
restricted the hosts to half chances. The first a clip from Ibrahimovic,
who was withdrawn shortly afterwards to a standing ovation, and then a
skimming Pastore shot that went a whisker wide.With a handful of
minutes remaining, Veloso’s tremendous cross deceived everyone and flew
into Salvatore Sirigu’s net, but the shine was added to a very complete
performance by Pastore in stoppage time as he squeezed home a low shot
that really should have been blocked.Ancelotti's side can be
delighted with their reintroduction to Europe's elite, but sterner
challenges will follow in the weeks and months to come.
Montpellier 1-2 Arsenal
First game of the Champions League group stages and a positive result
for the Gunners. A 2-1 win against the Ligue 1 Champions Montpellier in
their backyard is always a great result. The scoreline though doesn’t
tell the full story of the night.The game started with Arsenal dominating the possession, in the first
few minutes before Montpellier got a foothold in the game. The first
action of the game came on 9th minute when Belhanda was brought down
inside the box by Vermaelan. It was a clear penalty, Vermaelan never got
the ball. Belhanda converted from the spot chipping the ball straight
Pirlo-esque style.Arsene Wenger was absent from the sidelines due to his three-match
UEFA ban, but assistant manager Steve Bould filled in well, keeping his
side focused after falling behind early.Arsenal got into the game immediately taking control and working the
passes. All the beautiful football paid off in the 16th minute when a
lovely string of passes finally ended at Podolski’s feet, where he faked
the keeper and slotted home. Giroud who started against his old club
got the assist, laying off the ball brilliantly while sucking the
Montpellier centre-backs towards him, and releasing Podolski.Arsenal then turned it around it spectacular fashion when the ball
found Jenkinson at the right, where he crossed perfectly to Gervinho to
make it 2-1 on the night from 2 yards in the 18th minute.Montpellier didn’t came straight back with Cabella looking their most
dangerous player on the night and one to watch out for in the future. A
low shot from him which Mannone dealt with easily was about the it for
the first half.The French Champions announced themselves to
Europe with their second half display, where they peppered the Arsenal
goal, with Cabella yet again coming close, hitting the cross bar with a
cheeky flick from outside the box. Belhanda perhaps came the closest
from 4 yards out when Mertesacker completely missed a cross, thankfully
Mannone saved. Arsenal couldn’t get the ball off them and only some
gritty defending saw them see off the game.Belhanda and Cabella were the stand out
performers from their side. Cabella specially looked a handful, drawing
fouls left, right and center, and coming close to scoring twice.Yanga-Mbiwa was a rock in their defense as he dealt with Giroud’s
movement all night with comfort.With a league game against Manchester City at
the weekend the players should be confident. Podolski and Gervinho were
the best players on the field from Arsenal on the day, with the latter
continuing his great run of form, scoring 3 goals in his last 2 games.
Giroud who is still looking for his first goal for
Arsenal performed well on the night, setting up one, winning almost
every header and a great team performance. Arsenal will need to perform
better at the weekend,, but confidence should be high.
Olympiacos 1-2 Schalke
Schalke opened their Champions League campaign with a 2-1 victory in a closely-fought game at Olympiacos.Benedikt Howedes headed the German side in front four minutes before
half-time and, after Djamel Abdoun equalized, Klaas Jan Huntelaar
grabbed what proved to be the winner.The Holland striker then missed a penalty but his side nevertheless made a winning start in Group B.In a quiet first 15 minutes, Paulo Machado had the only effort of note but Kyriakos Papadopoulos blocked.Huntelaar threatened for Schalke before the two teams traded
free-kicks, Jose Holebas shooting wide for the hosts before Schalke's
Tranquillo Barnetta struck one into the wall.Rafik Djebbour headed Machado's corner wide before Pablo Contreras blocked Christian Fuchs' shot at the other end.Captain Howedes was booked for a foul on Francois Modesto but Schalke pushed forward once more, Jermaine Jones shooting over.Papadopoulos saw a headed goal disallowed but defensive colleague Howedes broke the deadlock three minutes later.Jefferson Farfan's shot was deflected wide and the Peru forward took
the corner himself, picking out Germany international Howedes to head
home from close range.Fuchs drew a sharp save from Balazs Megyeri early in the second half,
Barnetta shooting over on the follow-up, but the home side then seized
the momentum.Abdoun was denied by keeper Lars Unnerstall and Joel Matip cleared
Djebbour's follow-up, but the equalizer was not long in coming.Djebbour laid the ball square to Abdoun, who slotted home in the 58th minute.But Schalke immediately retook the lead, Huntelaar latching on to Lewis Holtby's pass and firing low past Megyeri.He should have made it 3-1 on the hour after Kostas Manolas brought
down Barnetta in the box, but smashed his spot-kick against the
left-hand upright.Ariel Ibagaza curled a shot over for Olympiacos and they went close
twice in the 81st minute, Machado's header blocked by Fuchs before
substitute Leandro Greco headed Machado's corner wide.Jones was forced off by injury late on, replaced by Marco Hoger, but
his side held on as Djebbour shot over from six yards deep in injury
time.
Malaga 3-0 Zenit
Francisco "Isco'' Alarcon scored twice in Malaga's 3-0 win over Zenit
St. Petersburg on Tuesday, giving the Spanish team a dream Champions
League debut after the exit of several star players during a turbulent
offseason.Malaga led 2-0 by the 13th minute after goals by Isco and Javier
Saviola. Zenit had various chances but failed to finish them off, and
Isco struck again in the 76th minute to seal the victory at La Rosaleda
stadium.Malaga was supposed to struggle this season after a financial
about-face by its Qatari owners led to the sale of stars Santi Cazorla
and Jose Rondon among other players.Instead, Malaga is undefeated after seven games to be second in the
Spanish league and top of Group C in club football's top European
competition after AC Milan and Anderlecht drew 0-0 in the other match."We played a well-rounded game, myself and the entire team,'' said
the 20-year-old Isco, who joined Malaga from Valencia last season as
part of an expensive overhaul of its squad.Isco gave credit for Malaga's unexpected start to coach Manuel Pellegrini."The coach has always shown his confidence in us and we stuck together as a team. That's the key to this victory,'' Isco said.Isco set Malaga on its way with an exquisite individual effort in the
third minute. The midfielder dribbled the ball into the box and curled a
shot around goalkeeper Vyacheslav Malafeev, the ball clipping the
inside of the far post before settling in the net.Hulk, making his first start for Zenit since joining from FC Porto,
almost hit right back two minutes later with a long blast that rattled
the crossbar.But the night was all Malaga's, with Saviola doubling the lead in the
13th. The Argentine forward, who just arrived from Benfica, slipped
behind Zenit's flatfooted defense to tap in Jesus Gamez's low cross with
the ball again going in off the upright."Our defense did a splendid job, and we took an important step by
winning at home and showing that this team can do good things in the
Champions League,'' Saviola said.With Zenit stunned by Malaga's rollicking start, the hosts were on
the verge of turning the match into a rout in the first half with
Saviola almost scoring on three more occasions.Zenit coach Luciano Spalletti didn't wait until halftime to replace
defender Aleksandar Lukovic with midfielder Vladimir Bystrov to try and
spark his team.The visitors responded by claiming the initiative for the first time.
Striker Aleksandr Kerzhakov forced a one-handed save from goalkeeper
Willy Caballero, who then was in position to pull in Roman Shirokov's
header moments later.Caballero spoiled a seemingly certain goal for Kerzhakov with
half-hour to play, tapping away a pass from Bystrov destined for the
Russian international in front of an open net.Isco then secured the win with another brilliant show of skill,
lashing an unstoppable strike from outside the area into the top right
corner of the net.Malaga could have won by a wider margin, as Sergio "Duda'' Barbosa
clipped the crossbar with a bouncing header before the final whistle.
A.C Milan 0-0 Anderlecht
AC Milan produced another disjointed home performance as they
were held 0-0 by Anderlecht in their opening Champions League Group C
match.Milan failed to find the net for the third home game in
succession as their worrying start to the season continued against a
resolute Anderlecht side.Having lost back-to-back home games in the Serie A for the first
time since the 1930-31 season, Milan looked like a side short of
confidence and struggled to break down a solid Anderlecht as the match
ended in an uninspiring goalless draw and a less than half capacity
stadium jeered off the home team.Fielding a side without key players Alexandre Pato and Robinho, Milan struggled to find any tempo with their passing and movement and it was the visitors who settled the better.Guillaume Gillet found space wide on the right to whip in an
early dangerous ball onto the head of Brazilian Kanu but the striker
headed over the bar from the first chance of the game. Anderlecht had
another great opportunity to take a shock lead within the opening five
minutes but Marcin Wasilewski scuffed his shot only yards out.The Belgians continued to press, Sacha Klejstan seeing his fierce shot tipped around the post by Christian Abbiati
as a Milan side who have already lost twice at home this season looked
sluggish and unable to cope with the pace of Kanu and Dieudonne Mbokani.It was fully 15 minutes before the home side saw their first sight of goal, Luca Antonini heading wide after ghosting into the box. Moments later, Milan should have been ahead and possibly would have been had Mattia De Sciglio’s cross shot fallen to Giampaolo Pazzini instead of Mathieu Flamini, the former Arsenal man slicing his effort straight into Silvio Proto’s legs.Proto was again in the right place at the right time to save from Kevin-Prince Boateng, then Urby Emanuelson
on the half volley but in truth it would have been harsh on the Belgian
side. Such was Anderlecht’s dominance in possession, the stat before
half-time read the visitors having the edge in possession and Milan were
happy to go into the break to gather their thoughts on level terms.Coach Massimiliano Allegri
must have had some stern words to say at half time as Milan came out
looking a more determined side, pressing Anderlecht deep. Boeteng
crossed into an unmarked Nocerino, who should have buried his header
despite being wrongly flagged offside. But Anderlecht spurned the best
chance of the evening when Lucas Biliga shot over the bar with just the
keeper to beat.Proto again had to be at his absolute best to save substitute Stephan El Shaarawy’s
point blank header and he then turned provider for Emanuelson but he
lacked composure, leaning back and blasting his effort well over.Anderlecht were worthy of a point and next host Malaga as
under-pressure Allegri must take his Milan side on a tough trip to St.
Petersburg.
Dortmund 1-0 Ajax
Robert Lewandowski scored late to give Borussia Dortmund a winning
start to its Champions League campaign with a 1-0 victory over Dutch
champion Ajax Amsterdam on Tuesday.Poland striker Lewandowski controlled the ball in the penalty area
before hammering a shot beyond goalkeeper Kenneth Vermeer with three
minutes remaining, rewarding the home side's late dominance of the game."It was an unbelievable game, a very intensive game, as we
expected,'' said a relieved Dortmund coach Juergen Klopp, who made a
rare appearance in a double-breasted suit and tie.Mats Hummels had the chance to give Dortmund the lead from the
penalty spot in the 57th minute, after Ricardo van Rhijn was adjudged to
have brought down Mario Goetze, but the defender's weak effort was
easily saved by Vermeer.Ajax created the game's best chances early on, with Dortmund
goalkeeper Roman Weidenfeller forced to make several interventions to
keep the visitors at bay."You are so close to earning a point, which would have been more
deserved. Some moments were better than others,'' said Frank de Boer,
who had "mixed feelings'' following a positive performance from his
young side.Ajax should have scored when Ilkay Guendogan needlessly lost
possession to Ryan Babel in the 12th minute, only for Weidenfeller to
block Christian Eriksen's shot.Another mistake in the Dortmund defense forced the goalkeeper into
action again 10 minutes before the interval, rushing out to deny Derk
Boerrigter before his defenders got back to block Babel's follow-up
effort on the unguarded net."There are a few things there that we could have done a lot better,''
Klopp said. "But we always pull though, though not always straight
away.''Marcel Schmelzer went closest for the home side early on after a great through ball by Marco Reus, but Vermeer did well to save.Moments earlier, the Ajax goalkeeper came out from goal to put Lewandowski off after a great long ball from Hummels.Ajax appeared happy to keep the ball and build slowly from the back
with former Schalke player Christian Poulsen contributing from midfield.Dortmund, by contrast, employed a high-intensity game that some of its players struggled to keep up with.Dortmund began the second half as it did the first, attacking. But it
was again Ajax that nearly scored, first through Babel and then Siem de
Jong, whose point-blank effort was brilliantly blocked by Weidenfeller.However, it was the visitors' last effort on goal.Lewandowski then had a golden chance, sending two Ajax defenders
skidding before firing well over the crossbar with the goal at his
mercy.Hummels was relieved his penalty miss wasn't decisive when
Lewandowski controlled Lukasz Piszczek's headed-on ball, held off Toby
Alderweireld's challenge and then blasted past the helpless Vermeer."We can only blame ourselves for not taking our chances earlier on. In the end they punished us for that,'' de Jong said.Real Madrid also left it late to beat Manchester City 3-2 in Group D's other opening game.Some 50 mainly Dutch supporters were arrested before the game in
Dortmund, charged with setting off fireworks and causing criminal
damage, the dapd news agency reported. It also reported minor scuffles
between fans entering the stadium and stewards.
Real Madrid 3-2 Man City
Edin Dzeko came off the bench to give the
visitors the lead after a surging run from midfield from Yaya Toure but
Marcelo quickly replied with a curling shot.The home supporters
were left stunned when Aleksandar Kolarov's free kick drifted untouched
into the bottom corner of Iker Casillas' goal but Karim Benzema again
pulled Madrid back with a sublime turn and finish.And Ronaldo
ensured that Jose Mourinho's team put their early-season woes behind
them with a dipping shot that flew past both Vincent Kompany and Joe
Hart. Both Mourinho and Roberto Mancini sprung
selection surprises, although the latter made the more drastic changes
following his team's poor start to their league campaign. Sergio Ramos
was dropped from the Madrid defence, with 19-year-old Raphael Varane
stepping in, while City handed a debut to the similarly inexperienced
Matija Nastasic, with Joleon Lescott restricted to a place among the
substitutes.Mourinho has been unhappy with Mesut Ozil's start to
the season but opted to replace the German with loan signing Michael
Essien, of Chelsea, and not marquee purchase Luka Modric. Javi Garcia
scored on his debut on Saturday and played again in midfield for the
visitors.With neither Ozil nor Modric in the starting line-up,
Ronaldo roamed into the space left vacant in the centre of the pitch and
immediately looked the game's most threatening player. Hart was tested
for the first time when the Portuguese raced on to Higuain's pass before
fooling Kompany with a series of tricks and the England goalkeeper did
well to palm the low shot wide.Ronaldo continued to fire at will
from the left side of the penalty area and Hart was called into action
again when Higuain deflected another powerful shot with his head from
close range.The visitors gradually began to gain more of a
foothold but could not get the ball to stick in attack and when they
conceded possession, Real Madrid demonstrated their counter-attacking
prowess. Higuain could not quite control a superb pass dropped behind
the City defence by Angel di Maria and Sami Khedira diverted Ronaldo's
follow-up effort over the crossbar.Two adventurous midfield runs
by Toure began with promise but ended without troubling Casillas and
Higuain went close again when he latched on to Di Maria's cross to the
back post before the half was out.It is difficult to imagine
that in this, of all games, attacking quality would be in short supply
but while both teams ventured into dangerous territory early in the
second half, the finishing touches needed to open the scoring continued
to elude them.Mancini had already introduced Kolarov from the
bench when Samir Nasri suffered a hamstring injury in the first half and
with both benches littered with attacking talent, more changes seemed
inevitable. Dzeko was next to take the field, replacing David Silva, and
the Bosnian would provide the cutting edge that had been missing.Toure,
who had looked City's biggest threat all night long, broke out of the
midfield again to create a two-on-one attack and this time successfully
found his target with a simple through ball. Dzeko took the pass in his stride and beat Casillas with a composed, low left-footed finish.Ozil
had already been thrown into the fray and Modric and Benzema were
quickly introduced as Mourinho sought to salvage something from the
match, but Toure almost doubled the lead when released by Carlos Tevez,
shooting narrowly wide.The Spanish champions immediately looked more dangerous in the final third following the changes, though, and Marcelo curled a right-footed shot into the top corner after shaking off Kompany just outside the penalty area.Set-pieces have troubled Madrid all season, and after Pablo Zabaleta had failed to get contact on Carlos Tevez's low cross, Kolarov delivered a free kick that found its way into the back of the net after
flying without interference past defenders and attackers alike.Incredibly, though, there was more to come and Mancini's celebrations on the sideline were short-lived. Benzema was next to strike after a mazy run from Di Maria, turning on the edge
of the box and firing a powerful, low shot into the bottom corner.And City's hearts were broken when Ronaldo
stepped inside Zabaleta who had relieved Maicon of his duties of
marking the Portugal star and released a dipping shot that beat the
partially obscured Hart after Kompany had put himself in the way of the
ball but failed to head clear.
Matches Happened On 19Th September:
Shakhtar Donetsk 2-0 Nordsjælland
Henrik Mkhitaryan's expert finish in each half Wednesday gave Shakhtar
Donetsk a 2-0 victory over Nordsjealland in the group stage of the
Champions League. In the 44th minute, the
Armenian forward lashed a low, hard shot into the bottom corner of the
net after receiving an overhead pass from Luiz Adriano.Mkhitaryan
pounced on a rebound from his own shot in the 76th minute to make no
mistake and side-foot the ball into the goal from just inside the area.This was the first competitive meeting between the two sides, and Shakhtar's first home Champion's League victory in five games.The
sides appeared evenly matched early on but Shakhtar began to control
the game and force Nordsjaeland to retreat further and further back,
allowing Mkhitaryan to constantly threaten.Shakhtar had less possession and worse passing statistics but had more shots on target."They
(Nordsjaelland) were good on counterattacks in the first half,"
Shakhtar coach Mircea Lucescu said. "But they got tired after the break.
I'm pleased with our defense the visitors failed to create a single
scoring chance."Defender Ivan Runje was Nordsjealland's most
dominant player. He had the Danish side's first shot on target in the
first half but couldn't get enough power on a header before goalkeeper
Andriy claimed the ball."The first hour was OK. But then we had
transitions against us," Nordsjaelland coach Kasper Hjulmand said. "The
deciding moments were in the first half. We had good opportunities but
the goal before halftime was the deciding moment. We didn't create
enough chances but I'm proud of my team they played well. But Shakhtar
played better."Shakhtar is unbeaten in 10 consecutive competitive matches this season in the domestic league and in Europe."This
was my first professional double," Mkhitaryan said. "We needed this
victory for confidence in the tournament. It was a difficult match, we
did everything possible to ease this match and create as many chances as
possible."Shakhtar midfielder Darijo Srna said the team has learned from last season's last-place finish in the group stage."If
we don't repeat last year's mistakes then we should advance," he said.
"Furthermore, we have identical chances to advance with Juventus and
Chelsea."Shakhtar leads Group E with Chelsea and Juventus drawing 2-2 at Stamford Bridge in the other match.
Chelsea 2-2 Juventus
The aptly-named Oscar had threatened to steal
the show with two goals in two minutes on his full Chelsea debut and in
his first Champions League appearance, the second a strike of rare
quality.But Arturo Vidal gave his team hope with a fine strike
shortly before half-time and substitute Fabio Quagliarella made the home
side pay for a sloppy performance with an 81st minute equaliser.Juve
boss Antonio Conte, watching from the stands as he continues his
lengthy touchline ban, had watched in dismay as his team wasted two
gilt-edged chances midway through the first period but his well-drilled
team eventually made amends.Juventus' late comeback ensured a
second consecutive night of high drama in the marquee Champions League
fixture of the evening, although there was no Jose Mourinho-style knee
slide to wrap up proceedings.It is more than two decades since
any club managed to retain Europe's grandest trophy "because of the
fierce competition," reckoed Di Matteo. "Every season there are new
strong teams coming in like PSG and Juventus. It just has proved
impossible for anybody to win it twice. But we will try to do the
impossible."Di Matteo made only a slight tweak to the team that
stuttered to a draw at QPR, replacing Ryan Bertrand with the more exotic
skills of Oscar, the £25 million signing from Internacional who has
been gradually eased into life at Stamford Bridge following his
exertions for Brazil at the Olympics.It proved to be an inspired
use of the considerable attacking midfield resources at the disposal of
the Chelsea manager, who was unable to field a recognised striker on
the bench following the late withdrawal of Daniel Sturridge with a
hamstring injury.Juventus returned to Europe's head table for
the first time in three years as Serie A winners, league leaders and
Italy's most convincing flag-bearers on the back of an astonishing
42-match league unbeaten run.Just to rubberstamp their
rejuvenation, the visiting starting X1 featured six members of the Italy
team that began the Euro 2012 final against Spain Gianluigi Buffon,
Leonardo Bonucci, Andrea Barzagli, Girogio Chiellini, Andrea Pirlo and
Claudio Marchisio.Both sides struggled to create opportunities
in the early exchanges, although David Luiz collected a nosebleed for
his trouble after side-footing a fourth minute Frank Lampard corner
straight at Buffon.Juventus began to threaten on the counter-attack and twice came close to breaking the deadlock midway through the first period.Firstly,
Marchisio broke from midfield to spring Chelsea's off-side trap and
latch on to a long pass from Barzagli but his first touch was too heavy
and Petr Cech was able to smother the danger.Soon afterwards,
Branislav Ivanovic sloppy pass was intercepted and Mirko Vucinic was
sent through on goal but the imposing No.9 biffed his shot wide.Chelsea had been erratic up to this point, lacking composure in the final third and sloppy at the back.But
half an hour in, Oscar made his mark and demonstrated why he had been
preferred to Juan Mata in the central playmaker role behind Fernando
Torres.Eden Hazard was once again the creator. The Belgian upped
his already burgeoning assist count by swerving in from the left after
31 minutes and teeing up his sidekick in the centre. Oscar took a touch and then let fly from 25 yards, although Buffon would
surely have saved the shot had it not take a cruel deflection off
Bonucci.If there was an element of fortune to Oscar's first goal for his new employers, the second was an absolute gem of imagination and execution.With
a single touch he was able to control the pass he received on the edge
of the box and, at the same time, wrong-foot the defence to give himself
a goal-shooting opportunity. The second touch was as glorious as the
first, a delightful curled shot evading the dive of Buffon.The
home fans, who had already been pumped up by the Champions League trophy or the 'Big Cup' as one noteworthy former manager calls it – being
paraded shortly before kick-off, were in jubilant mood. "We know what we
are, we know what we are, Champions of Europe, we know what we are,"
sang the faithful.The vociferous visiting supporters, who had been momentarily silenced by Oscar’s sublime second, were soon back in full voice.Chelsea switched off again in the 38th minute and this time they were punished by Arturo Vidal. The midfielder lashed a low shot beyond Cech from 20 yards to give his team hope going into the break.Conte's
team are famed for combining their physical determination with a
willingness to attack and proved in the second period why they have
become such tough nuts to crack.Shortly after Oscar departed to a
standing ovation from the home supporters, Quagliarella took full
advantage of sloppiness from Mikel and a shocking attempt to play the
off-side trap by Terry.Mikel gave the ball away deep in his own
half and Chelsea dawdled before Terry tried to deal with a deep pass
from Marchiso by attempting to catch out Quagliarella. It failed dismally. The Italian darted past him and slotted calmly past Cech for a deserved equaliser.It
could have been even worse for the home side. With four minutes left,
Quagliarella clipped the top of the bar following a delightful turn and
shot.A 3-2 victory for Juventus would have delivered a finish as
improbable as that at the Bernabeu last night but, by dropping two
points in a home fixture, Chelsea have given themselves a lot of work to
do in a tricky group.
LOSC 1-3 BATE
The visitors went in 3-0 up at
half-time following an extremely clinical first-half showing that was
branded a "nightmare" by home coach Rudi Garcia.It was hard to
argue with that assessment, given that the visitors had scored with
three of their four shots on goal, as Aleksandr Volodko, Vitali Rodionov
and Edgar Olekhnovich all found the net impressively.Aurelien
Chedjou hit back after the break, despite the fact that his header
looked to have bounced on the line rather than over it, but Viktor
Goncharenko's side stood firm in the face of fierce pressure from les Dogues.It was the hosts who started relatively brightly, as Salomon Kalou stung the palms of Andrey Gorbunov after four minutes, with a half volley at the back post, but it was the underdogs who went ahead two minutes later.It was Volodko who silenced the crowd, with a superb strike from 30 yards that flew into the top corner past a despairing Mathieu Debuchy the subject of intense transfer speculation over the summer went close with a low drive six minutes later, but Gorbunov got down well to turn it away for a corner.And
as the hosts set up camp on the edge of thepenalty area, BATE broke up
field and scored a highly contentious second after 20 minutes.Former
Arsenal man Alexander Hleb carried the ball a good 60 yards before
laying off a cute ball out left to Aleksandr Pavlov, who then found Rodionov
with a first-time pass that allowed the striker to slide the ball home.
It was a wonderfully worked goal, but the home crowd were incensed upon
seeing replays that revealed Rodionov was offside from Pavlov's pass.Marvin Martin sliced a shot wide after Gorbunov made a mess of a high free kick, and Dimitri Payet's goal-bound shot was blocked after he was smartly picked out by Debuchy, following a clever header from Tulio De Melo.But again it was the visitors who struck next. Volodko troubled the hosts with a direct run before picking out Olekhnovich, whose shot was cleared away by Landreau. But, the ball fell back to Volodko, who picked out Olekhnovich once again, and this time he made no mistake and sent the ball into the bottom right corner.Coach
Garcia branded the first-half a "nightmare" on his way to the dressing
room, and he responded by replacing De Melo and Martin with Ryan Mendes
and Nolan Roux.Kalou headed another Debuchy cross wide five minutes into the second period, before the right-back saw his deflected shot clip the roof of the net.They eventually got their goal with half an hour left, when Chedjou's
header was adjudged to have crossed the line after crashing down off
the crossbar from Payet's corner. It looked the wrong decision, but the
home side will feel they were due a bit of luck following some
contentious calls in the first half.Les Dogues had
the bit between their teeth from then on, and Mendes saw a shot saved
at the far post after a prolonged spell of pressure. Seconds later,
Payet's swerving shot was turned away by Gorbunov as the hosts really
threatened to stage a comeback.Payet forced another flying save
from the goalkeeper with a 77th-minute free kick, and Florent Balmont
was denied by the keeper's legs two minutes later, when he really should
have done better when unmarked at the far post.Hleb went close to settling it just moments later, but his shot on the counterattack lashed against the side netting.The
hosts lost momentum in the dying stages, perhaps exhausted by the
frantic but fruitless 20-minute spell which followed Chedjou's reply.And
it could prove to be a costly evening for the French side, who will
travel to face Valencia in their next game, with both sides looking for
their first points.BATE, meanwhile, will have to reproduce this
performance and then some when they host Bundesliga giants Bayern
Munich, but they could pull off the biggest of shocks if they can be as
clinical as they were here.
Bayern Munich 2-1 Valencia
Jupp Heynckes’ side were the dominant side
throughout but were forced to be persistent to break down the Spaniards,
who were rarely able to exert themselves as an offensive force.It
took the Bavarians nearly 40 minutes to open the scoring, with Bastian
Schweinsteiger, who missed the crucial penalty as FCB lost on spot kicks
against Chelsea in last year's final, driving home to exorcise some of
those demons. Although the hosts were not so impressive after the break,
Toni Kroos hammered a second to secure the points.Nelson
Valdez's late header gave the score a sense of respectability for the
visitors, but his effort came too late to make a change to the outcome.
Indeed, matters got worse for Valencia in stoppage time, with Adil Rami
dismissed after conceding a penalty that was missed by Mario Mandzukic.Bayern
had made a positive start to the match without being overwhelming. They
dominated possession and territory, but struggled to really worry Diego
Alves, apart from a three-minute spell in which the home side drove
three well-struck shots at goal that the custodian dealt with solidly.Arjen
Robben was regularly able to make his trademark jink inside from the
right wing to aim at goal with his left foot, and after loose play in
the visiting rearguard he had a shot deflected just over, 10 minutes
before the break.Shortly afterwards, Valencia mustered their
first even remotely meaningful attack, but in pushing players forward
the Spaniards allowed Bayern room in which to attack, and the Germans
punished them with Robben unselfishly playing in Schweinsteiger to drive home from the right side of the box.After
the interval, Mauricio Pellegrino’s men showed a more forthright
attitude and at least mustered some spells of pressure against opponents
who allowed their passing to become a little scrappy.Manuel Neuer was never unduly troubled, but at least Tino Costa’s long-range efforts gave the goalkeeper something to do.At the other end of the field it was Kroos who was impressing. The Germany international had strong claims for a
penalty waved away. Then he fired a fierce shot at goal from just
outside the area that required an athletic save.With quarter of
an hour remaining, he finally sealed the game, driving a powerful shot
into the top corner having been allowed far too much room on the edge of
the box.There was still time for late drama, with Valdez heading
Valencia back into the game before Mario Mandzukic missed a
stoppage-time penalty after Rami was dismissed for a foul on Robben.Bayern had already done enough to secure three points, taking a successful first step in the competition.
Barcelona 3-2 Spartak Moscov
Cristian Tello had fired the hosts into the lead after just 13
minutes but Spartak refused to be overawed by their surroundings and
were level 16 minutes before half-time when Dani Alves turned Emmanuel
Emenike's cross into his own net.The home fans were stunned on the hour mark when a excellent Spartak
counter-attack teed up Romulo to put the visitors in front, but Messi
applied the finishing touch to two deadly crosses by Tello and Alexis
Sanchez in the final 20 minutes to secure a precious three points.Barca were hampered by another injury to one of their central
defenders as Gerard Pique limped off after 12 minutes with Alex Song
coming on the make his European debut for the Catalans in an unlikely
central defensive pairing alongside Javier Mascherano.However, that change did not affect their rhythm going forward early
on and they were handed the lead in spectacular style as Tello cut in
off the left wing and curled a perfectly measured shot into the bottom
corner.The 2011 winners then threatened to run riot as Messi came within
inches of a second, but Spartak were level just before the half hour
when Emenike's dangerous cross could only be turned into his own net by
Alves.The game then settled into its original pattern with Barca probing
and Spartak leaving all 11 men behind the ball, and their defensive
solidity restricted the hosts to mere half-chances before the break as
Sergio Busquets headed wide from a Xavi corner before Cesc Fabregas'
looping header was comfortably tipped over the bar by Andrey Dikan.Alves had a goal disallowed moments after the restart for a marginal
offside decision but the complexion of the entire game changed on 59
minutes when Dikan brilliantly denied Messi at one end and the Russians
broke down the other end for Aiden McGeady to play in Romulo in to
score.The expected waves of Barcelona attacks then descended upon the
Spartak defence, but the Russians were holding out well until Tello
produced another piece of magic to skip past McGeady on the left and tee
up Messi for the easiest of finishes.Tito Vilanova then threw on David Villa to join fellow substitute
Alexis Sanchez in a bid to find the winner and Sanchez produced the
killer cross for Messi to head home his second of the evening with 10
minutes remaining.
Celtic 0-0 Benfica
It was a spirited and determined performance from the Scottish
champions but over the course of 90 hard-fought minutes they failed to
really trouble the visitors' goal.Indeed, in terms of chances created, the Portuguese side could
perhaps claim to have edged it, with Hoops keeper Fraser Forster forced
into a good blocking save from Rodrigo in the first half and another at
his near post from Ezequiel Garay after the break.Next up for Celtic in Europe is an away trip to Spartak Moscow next
month where boss Neil Lennon will look for the same commitment from his
players added to a cutting edge that was missing tonight.There were surprises in both side's line-ups. Celtic's new signing
Miku was handed his European debut for the Hoops as regular striker Gary
Hooper, struggling with a knock sustained in the shock defeat at St
Johnstone on Saturday, started on the bench.Lennon reshuffled his side, bringing in Adam Matthews to right-back
with Mikael Lustig moving into the centre of defence and Charlie Mulgrew
starting on the left-hand side of midfield.Benfica were without suspended skipper Luisao and Maxi Pereira while
star striker Oscar Cardozo was among the substitutes with Eduardo
Salvio, Nicolas Gaitan and Rodrigo making up the visitors' forward line.It was another electrifying European night in the east end of Glasgow in front of a near capacity crowd.Celtic midfielder Kris Commons, who was supporting Miku, showed his
intent with two attempts on goal within the first couple of minutes, the
first clearing the bar, the second blocked by a packed red and black
defence.Benfica looked unsettled as the home side chased and harried with the
Celtic fans cheering every tackle, corner and throw-in won.When the initial frenzy subsided the Portuguese side came into the
game, forcing a couple of corners which came to nothing but signalled
their growing confidence.In the 21st minute Celtic midfielder Victor Wanyama was booked for
preventing Enzo Perez racing towards the Hoops box after some neat
inter-play from Jorge Jesus's men.There was little goalmouth action at either end, though, until after
the half-hour mark when Forster rushed from his goal to make a good
block from Rodrigo who had raced on to a Perez pass which had opened up
the Parkhead defence.Emilio Izaguirre was then booked in the 34th minute for a lunge on
Salvio and he almost cost his side dearly moments later when he was
caught in possession by the same player, albeit he had been put under
some pressure by skipper Scott Brown's pass, but the Benfica attack
ended with the offside flag raised.Benfica's lanky midfielder Nemanja Matic picked up a yellow card
moments into the second half after catching Miku in the face while
Lennon held his breath when Wanyama, already booked, pulled down Gaitan
but referee Nicola Rizzoli showed some leniency.The game swung end to end but the slackness from both sides, in terms
of possession, seemed set to continue to the frustration of Lennon and
his counterpart Jesus.Benfica clearly fancied their chances as the second half unfolded
further and just after the hour mark, following Pablo Aimar's whipped-in
corner from the left, Forster made a good near-post save from Garay's
header.Benfica skipper Aimar was then replaced by Cardozo and Thomas Rogne
came on for Lustig to partner Kelvin Wilson in central defence for
Celtic before Izaguirre made way for Hooper.The home side forced several corners in succession but failed to test
keeper Artur while at the other end, in the 75th minute, Rogne had to
throw himself to block Gaitan's goal-bound drive.When Celtic broke from the corner, Commons tried to catch Artur out
with a long punt from around the halfway line but the Benfica keeper
scrambled back to save.Inevitably the tension increased in the closing stages with the Hoops
supporters knowing a goal would probably ensure the three points.With 10 minutes remaining and Celtic pressing, winger James Forrest
went down in the box when challenged by Benfica defender Melgarejo but
referee Rizzoli stood firm in the face of vociferous appeals for a
penalty, albeit it would perhaps have been soft if given.In the 88th minute, as Benfica took another turn to search for a
goal, Cardozo headed a cross from Andre Almeida over the bar from 12
yards but a winner then would probably have been cruel on Celtic.
Man United 1-0 Galatasaray
Manchester United began their Champions League campaign with a win
over Turkish giants Galatasaray at Old Trafford, albeit a very
unconvincing one.Michael Carrick gave United the lead within seven minutes of the
match, and Sir Alex’s men could and probably should – have added to
their lead, and found themselves relying on a couple of outstanding
saves from David De Gea to preserve their one goal advantage, with
Galatasaray hitting the wood-work twice.And whilst Sir Alex was adamant pre-match that his side had the
renewed focus and drive required to reach the latter stages of the
competition, United’s first real scare came within the first 30 seconds,
when Galatasaray had a strong penalty claim turned down by referee
Wolfgang Stark.Vidic brought down Bulut inside the box after the Turkish forward
latched on to Patrice Evra’s misplaced pass, but despite a loud and
arguably justified appeal from Gala, the referee waved play on.United seemed to have no such concerns at the other end of the pitch
though, with Van Persie, Kagawa and Nani all settling quickly into their
strides. Muslera was called upon early on in the game to deny Nani, but
the keeper was unable to stop Carrick netting the opener after seven
minutes, following a neat build-up.After exchanging swift passes with Van Persie and Kagawa, the England
international showed great composure and skill to round the keeper and
slot his effort home, despite being tripped by Muslera.And whilst many expected United to capitalise on their early lead, it
was the visitors who looked the more menacing side going forward.
United were at fault for most of the opportunities that fell to
Galatasaray, as they uncharacteristically gave the ball away numerous
times and gifted the Turkish champions chance after chance.A rare misplaced pass from Paul Scholes allowed the away side to
break, and the hosts were more than relieved to see Nordin Amrabat’s
curling strike cannon off the top of the bar.Further chances came for the visitors, with Hamit Altintop clipping
the outside of De Gea’s post with a rasping drive from a well-worked
free-kick.United’s best chance to secure the three points came after the break,
after they were awarded a penalty when Rafael was sent tumbling inside
the box. Nani stepped up, but the Portuguese winger’s penalty was
unconvincing and was easily saved by Muslera.And Galatasaray came close to an equaliser soon after with Selcuk
Inan saw his looping header curl agonisingly wide, clipping the post
with De Gea rooted to the spot.The United keeper had sat out United’s last two games, but showed no
sign of rustiness, when he made an outstanding double save from Burak
Yimaz and Emre Colak, preserving his side’s slender one goal lead.Sir Alex’s side did have chances to wrap the game up, but Javier
Hernandez fluffed his lines late on with some uncharacteristic sloppy
finishing.Antonio Valencia also had strong claims for a penalty, but in the end
Carrick’s goal proved to be just enough to give United the three
points.
Braga 0-2 CFR Cluj
Cluj pressed doggedly early on but were
unable to gain a foothold in the game. The chances soon started flowing
for Braga, and Custodio in particular won a free-kick and took a pop at
goalkeeper Mario Felgueiras in the opening 20 minutes.Braga's
midfield was growing in confidence and as they dominated possession, a
goal only seemed likely at one end of the pitch but Ioan Andone's side
had other ideas.Breaking from a Hugo Viana corner, Modou Sougou
sprinted down the left, attracted the attention of the last defender
and slotted a perfect through-ball for Bastos to finish when one-on-one with Beto.Braga
remained undeterred, however, and continued to enjoy the better of the
attacking play. Space down the flanks became particularly easy to find
and Alan kept his team ticking over well in the final third.After a number of blocked shots from the home team, an equaliser looked inevitable, but again it was the visitors who struck.After Pantelis Kapetanos missed a gilt-edged chance to make it two, Bastos struck for a second time. The build-up was a little lucky, but the
arrowed finished into the top right-hand corner was no mistake.After
the restart, both teams picked up where they left off. Braga controlled
the tempo, while Cluj remained happy to put men behind the ball in
increasingly large numbers.With the Railwaymen packing the central area in front of their own penalty box, Os Arcebispos were limited to long distance shots and sideways passes that failed to penetrate the opposition defence.With
a change in philosophy needed after an hour, Jose Peseiro's men altered
their style. Felguerias' goal came under siege as shot after shot was
fired in, but block after block was made. Ze Luis was introduced at the
expense of Hugo Viana, but still the Portuguese side failed to break
their opponents down.With time running out, Peseiro's men saw a
number of headed chances miss the target when they ought to have tested
the goalkeeper. In the end Andone's Cluj hung on to keep a clean sheet
away from home and ramp up the pressure on group rivals Galatasaray.
India needed a win to keep their chances of making their first ICC World Twenty20 semi-finals since the inaugural edition in 2007, and after the hammering at the hands of Australia bounced back brilliantly with a nine-wicket win over Pakistan on Sunday. After their five-bowler plan flopped miserably on Friday, India reverted to Virender Sehwag and L Balaji and both played parts in victory over Pakistan, who now need to beat Australia on October 2 to progress past the Super Eights. Pakistan’s brittle batting has been overshadowed by some brilliant bowling for long, but against their old foes India – who have yet to lose to Pakistan in ICC tournaments dating back to 1992 – they contrived to be bowled out for 128, their lowest total in tournament history. As in the last game against South Africa, Pakistan’s batting was poor but the difference this time was that there was no batsman to stick around, or anyone to inject crucial runs down the order. Their cause was not helped by a slew of dropped catches, three of which were off India’s anchorman Virat Kohli whose unbeaten 78 closed the deal with 18 balls remaining. A 13-run opening over from Zaheer Khan hinted that Pakistan were going to bolt out of the blocks, but India struck back with five wickets inside the first ten overs. Irfan Pathan removed Imran Nazir for 8 with his second ball and Shahid Afridi, promoted to No. 3, pulled L Balaji out to deep square leg after also getting a rousing start. It was the lack of pace that really worked for India, however. Yuvraj Singh struck in his first two overs, getting Nasir Jamshed and Kamran Akmal caught behind as Pakistan slumped to 49 for 4 in the ninth over. Their captain, Mohammad Hafeez, appeared ready to play out the innings until a silly shot against Kohli saw him bowled for 15 off 28 balls. Umar Akmal and Shoaib Malik averted a crisis from 59 for 5 with a 47-run stand in 33 balls punctuated by deft cutting and tucking off the pads, but crucially R Ashwin extracted the pair before they could cut loose. With five overs to go, however, Malik spooned a catch to Rohit Sharma for a brisk 28 and in Ashwin’s next over, the 18th of the innings, Umar Akmal heaved out to Suresh Raina in the deep for 21. A fine throw from Yuvraj at backward point did for Yasir Arafat, and Pakistan’s innings ended with a whimper as Balaji plucked out Umar Gul and Saeed Ajmal in consecutive deliveries – Dhoni taking the catches to finish with four dismissals. Pakistan scored just 23 runs from their last 28 ball, losing five wickets in the process. India’s reply began with a jolt when Gautam Gambhir chipped a return catch to the 20-year-old left-arm spinner Raza Hasan, and India managed just 11 runs from three overs. Sehwag got the chase purring with two boundaries off Gul, followed by a glance off Hasan. Without any risks, India took 36 for 1 off the Powerplays. The introduction of Afridi brought the aggression out of Kohli, who hit the former Pakistan captain for a six in his first over but also edged a four past Kamran on 27. In the same over, Sehwag chipped a high return catch to Afridi that was grassed. In the next, Kohli was dropped at backward point by a diving Umar. Pakistan’s ground fielding was poor as well, with overthrows and slides in vain adding to the Kohli-Sehwag partnership of 69. By the time Pakistan held on to something – Gul catching a lofted Sehwag drive just inside the long-off boundary off Afridi – India were beyond the point of jitters. Kohli and Yuvraj finished the chase with ease, thanks to a 54-run stand in 6.3 overs.
Pakistan beat S Africa by 2 wickets
Australia beat India by 9 wickets
Pakistan beat New Zealand by 13 runs
India defeats England by 90 runs
