Champions League Surprises

This week marked the beginning of the Champions League group stages and let me be the first to say that I was fully taken aback with some of the results I saw.  I was lucky enough to catch the Manchester City v. Napoli and  Real Madrid v. Dinamo Zagreb games on a private stream and I was thoroughly surprised with how hard fought each match was.

David Luiz celebrates after a brilliant goal. Kudos.

On Tuesday, the action kicked off with several big games.  Chelsea didn't fail to deliver as they secured a 2-0 victory over Bayer Leverkusen thanks to a surprise goal from David Luiz and continued brilliance from the new signing Juan Mata.  Torres still failed to break his goalless streak, but did make assists in both goals.

Barcelona and AC Milan held each other at 2-2 after a late-game equaliser from Thiago Silva.  I was a little disappointed in both teams considering their stutters last weekend and then the performance this time around.  But, it was a good game in the end and each side had to settle for a point.

Elsewhere, FC Porto beat Shakhtar Donetsk 2-1 thanks to more brilliance from Hulk.  Valencia tied Racing Genk at a disappointing 0-0 and the Spaniards' recent loss of huge players to high profile transfers is really beginning to show.  Last season's Bundesliga champions Borussia Dortmund hit 1-1 with Arsenal providing a chance that Arsene Wenger's days may not quite be over.  As long as he avoids more losses at a six-goal deficit he can at least guarantee himself a little more time as manager.

I guess that one wasn't a dive.

Real Madrid pulled a tough 1-0 victory over Dinamo Zagreb and Cristiano Ronaldo found discontent with the referees.  After a challenge involving a bloody ankle for the Portugese superstar, the referee answered with a free kick.  And the red card decision that sent Marcelo off later gives the striker more fuel for his discontent.


Bayern München pulled an easy 2-0 victory against Villareal and continued their recent string of success.  But, for once Mario Gomez's name is not on the score sheet.  Manchester City and Napoli found equal footing in a 1-1 tie, but I honestly expected City to thrash their opponents considering the form they've been in recently.

Here's to hoping Inter improves this season.

In a surprising upset, Internazionale fell 0-1 to Trabzonspor in an embarrassing home defeat.  This doesn't bode well for Gasperini and his men.  There are already talks of England National Team coach Fabio Capello's potential move to Inter following their recent string of poor performances.

Last, Barclay's Premier League champions Manchester United failed to pull ahead in a 1-1 tie with Benfica.  United fielded a team largely consistent of their youngsters and found trouble for the first time this season.  Still, the season is young and the group stages are often tougher than expected.

As the weekend fast approaches, I look forward to seeing Chelsea play Manchester United and seeing if Juventus can follow up the great victory from last week with more brilliance.