Routs and Upsets

The past two days have included a host of great Champions League games that offered unexpected results (some good, some bad).  You can visit this link at ESPN Soccernet to see all the scores for Tuesday and Wednesday.  I will be analysing the following games:

CSKA Moscow 2-3 Internazionale
Bayern Munich 2-0 Manchester City
Manchester United 3-3 FC Basel
Real Madrid 3-0 Ajax Amsterdam
Valencia 1-1 Chelsea
Arsenal 2-1 Olympiakos
AC Milan 2-0 Viktoria Plzen
BATE Borisov 0-5 Barcelona

Let's start with Tuesday's games.

CSKA Moscow 2-3 Internazionale

Inter almost suffered defeat against the Russian outfit, but a late goal by Mauro Zárate sealed the win for the Italian side.  Early goals from Lúcio and Pazzini put Inter ahead, but their lead was threatened when Moscow retaliated and Dzagoev and Love each slotted a goal.  But, Inter's good record under new coach Claudio Ranieri was preserved with a 3-2 victory.

Bayern Munich 2-0 Manchester City

It's starting to look as if Bayern are back to their best.  Mario Gomez continued his stellar form and scored a brace for Bayern in the first half that Mancini's men could not break.  There was also late drama with Carlos Tevez on City's bench when the player refused to play.  Mancini moved to substitute him and the two began arguing.  Because of Tevez's behaviour, City has given him a two-week ban from playing and Mancini has said that he may never play Tevez again.

United watch as their win slips away

Manchester United 3-3 FC Basel

Danny Welbeck put United ahead early with two fast goals by the 17th minute.  But, second half goals for Basel from Fabian Frei (1) and Alexander Frei (2) saw United on the losing end.  Ashley Young saved the day with a late game equaliser in the 90th minute giving each side a point.  This result is a bit ominous for United as the injury list is still filled with big names.


Real Madrid 3-0 Ajax Amsterdam

It was a near perfect day for Mourinho's men as he saw three great goals from three great players.  Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema, and Kaká all netted goals and Madrid's defence was solid.  This result is what fans and manager Jose Mourinho expect from the side.  The Spanish side have struggled a bit this season, despite the huge roster they boast, but Mourinho seems to be keeping his men on track now.


Valencia 1-1 Chelsea

"Duhh... you mean I can't use hands in football?" - Kalou

Well, I watched this one and the first half was a dud.  But, early in the second half, Frank Lampard proved his worth and sent at stunning ground ball into the goal with tremendous power.  Valencia had more trouble breaking Chelsea's defence until the 83rd minute substitution of Salomon Kalou for Frank Lampard.  This was Kalou's first appearance of the season, and within 5 minutes, he commits a hand ball off a corner within the goal box and gives a penalty to Valencia.  This actually infuriated me.  If Villas-Boas had any more substitutions I hope he would have pulled this dunce off.  And of course, Roberto Soldado finished the penalty easily.  Anelka and Malouda fought back afterwards in a flailing attempt to save Chelsea's effort, but last minute appeals for a deserved free kick earned yellow cards (seriously, ref?) for three more Chelsea players.  I definitely think the match was referee'd poorly, but in the end it was Kalou's thoughtless hand ball that cost Chelsea two points.

Arsenal 2-1 Olympiakos

Arsenal wrestled another good result out of an injury-laden team even with star Robin van Persie on the bench.  Arsenal pulled comfortably ahead by the 20th minute thanks to goals from Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and André Santos.  But, Olympiakos fired back with a 27th minute goal from David Fuster.  This had Arsenal wary for an equaliser for the remainder of the game, but in the end they held fast and maintained the result.

Ibrahimovic celebrates his goal

AC Milan 2-0 Viktoria Plzen


Ibrahimovic and Cassano were both on target to deliver an easy 2-0 victory for the Italian side in the second half.  This was the kind of performance expected from last year's champions.  The victory wasn't exactly easy,  as the first half looked to be anybody's game.  This result, coupled with the draw to Barcelona puts AC Milan in good standing for the Champions League.


BATE Borisov 0-5 Barcelona


Barcelona encountered almost zero resistance against their opponents, as they won by five goals to nil.  After the 90 minutes, Borisov only had five shots and none were on goal.  Messi opened the scoring (although he wasn't credited for it) very early and Pedro followed up soon after.  The first goal was actually credited as an own goal because of a deflection during the shot.  Messi put in one more before the half ended and came out firing again in the second half to net his second (really third) goal.  Then David Villa put the icing on the cake in the 90th minute to give last year's Champions League winners at a five goal victory.  This leaves them tied for first place in Group H with AC Milan.  But, this performance was clearly indicative of superiority.