Sevilla, Chelsea, Real Madrid, Manchester Utd, Barcelona and Lyon took control of their respective groups on an entertaining Champions League Match Day 2, while in Florence Liverpool was stunned by a gritty Fiorentina side.
New Tuscan sensation Jovetic, the shaggy, baby-faced Montenegro international, made the most of his opportunities to put the Viola 2-0 ahead at the half. With Mascherano sorely missed and Gerrard subdued, the Italians dominated the middle of the field. Liverpool reignited its fighting spirit after a lifeless first half, but could not find an opening as the Tuscans held off a determined Fernando Torres. Fiorentina deservedly took the three points with a 90-minute total team effort. Liverpool hardly showed up. On this day it all went Fiorentina’s way. Lyon trounced Debrecen in the other group match in Hungary and took sole control of first place.
An entertaining affair in Barcelona, with Barca winning 2-0, though it could have easily ended 7-3. Dinamo Kiev was unlucky not have scored first, with two real chances in the first 20 minutes that would have changed the course of the game. After Messi’s goal, Barca was in cruise control. The second half consisted of one way traffic at the Kiev goal, its brave goalkeeper saving the day until substitute Pedro’s messi-esque goal on a play that involved Ibra. Kiev almost pulled one back through its captain Milevsky near the end. It was nice to see Shevchenko involved on this stage again. Now back to finish his career with the club where he started, he had an ok match on his 33rd birthday. Ibra: one excellent play in the first half peeling away from three defenders, otherwise still a work in progress. In the other group match, Inter was lucky to escape from Russia with a point after Balotelli was dismissed and Kazan held the upper hand throughout the match.
Sevilla came home from Glasgow with a resounding 4-1 win over Rangers and firm control of the group as Stuttgart was held in Bucharest by Romanian upstarts Unirea Urziceni 1-1. The Germans and the Scots will now battle for second place, while Unirea are just happy to be involved.
Olimpiakos held out until the 78th minute through a combination of luck, effort and a silver haired goalkeeper in excellent from, but ultimately a legitimate van Persie goal and an off-side Arshavin goal in the final 15 minutes of the game sealed the win, as Arsenal took control of the group. Standard Liege rescued a point in injury time, spoiling Dutch champions AZ Alkmaar’s expectation of three points.
A three goal burst in six minutes around the one hour mark decided an entertaining affair in Madrid between Real and Marseille. The French missed a couple of golden opportunities in the first half, while Madrid capitalized on its chances. Cristiano Ronaldo was involved in all three goals, scoring two and obtaining the penalty converted by Kaka. Marseille will rue its missed chances. C. Ronaldo came off after a violent tackle by Diawara left him limping. He will be nursing his ankle for the foreseeable future.
Milan hosted Zurich in the other group match. Zurich won 1-0 at the San Siro, extending the misery of the rosso-neri. The result further certifies the crisis at the club and the likelihood that Senor Leonardo is on the verge of packing his bags. Furious Milan fans got vulgar. Zurich’s goal was nice by the way.
In Munich, Ribery nearly scored an exceptional goal with a cheeky individual effort, but Bayern and Juventus battled to a 0-0 tie. The Germans missed some golden opportunities, while Juve always finds a way. Bordeaux squeezed past Maccabi Haifa in the other group match.
Chelsea took the three points in Nicosia against APOEL through a Nicolas Anelka goal and installed itself in pole position in the group. In Porto, Atletico Madrid continued to frustrate its loyal and passionate fans with another poor display and result at the start of a season filled with expectations. Porto won 2-0.
Manchester United slipped past Wolfsburg 2-1 at Old Trafford, while CSKA Moscow beat Besiktas by the same score in Moscow. Man United looks set to clinch the group as soon as mathematically possible, while the Germans and the Russians will battle for second.