A lot of the attention from last night will undoubtedly be focused on every fine detail of what went down at the Allianz Arena.
Off-pitch sulks, however, don’t earn UEFA Fantasy Champions League points, so we shall move swiftly along to matters on the pitch. Here’s our summary of the first eight fixtures from Matchday Two…
Triple Trouble For Madrid
As expected, the Galacticos of Real Madrid got the better of a valiant but ultimately unsuccessful Ajax side. The triple threat of Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema and Kaka played equal parts in the final 3-0 result as each player scored a goal and grabbed an assist.
A stirring counter-attack involving all of the key attacking figures got Madrid on their way with Benzema crossing the ball in for Ronaldo to prod home. The goalscorer then teed up Kaka to rifle home from just outside the box with the circle finally completed as Kaka set up Benzema to prod home from inside a crowded box.
Marcelo’s suspension allowed Alvaro Arbeloa a rare start at left-back and new summer signing Raphael Varane made his Champions League bow for Jose Mourinho’s side, slotting in alongside Ricardo Carvalho in central defence.
Man City Caught Napping
The talk is inevitably going to be about Carlos Tevez and, to a lesser extent, Edin Dzeko. Unfortunately for City fans, matters on the pitch were far from any better. After a strong first thirty minutes, where the visitors held their own and could very well have earned themselves a penalty, everything began to slowly crumble.
Joe Hart put in a performance wholly undeserving of the 2-0 defeat bestowed upon him but too many of his team-mates -the midfield trio of Gareth Barry, Yaya Toure and Samir Nasri in particular- failed to make any kind of positive impression on the game leaving the home side to dominate proceedings.
Of note, Kolo Toure also ousted Joleon Lescott and was thrown in at the deep end of City’s first ever away Champions League tie upon return from his drugs ban and will now be around to add confusion to that central defensive combination ahead of the weekend trip to Blackburn. Nigel De Jong also returned to the first-team fray- it was the Dutchman’s second-half introduction that prompted Edin Dzeko’s touchline strop.
928 And Counting…
Once they settled and capitalised on their profligate opposition, we saw Bayern Munich display just why they have now gone ten fixtures without conceding a goal.
Frank Ribery completely dominated Micah Richards down the left-hand side of the Bayern attack and Fantasy backers (yours included) will be disappointed his returns didn’t reflect his performance. Mario Gomez was on hand -twice- to mop up loose balls after Hart made good saves from Ribery, Muller and Daniel Van Buyten but was unable to do anything about the rebounded strikes.
Welbeck at the Double
With his first-choice forward pairing both sidelined through injury, Sir Alex Ferguson chose Danny Welbeck ahead of both Dimitar Berbatov and Michael Owen. The youngster, recovered from his recent hamstring strain, repaid his manager’s faith with two first-half goals, both set up by Ryan Giggs.
Basel showed plenty of fight to come back from two down; Fabian Frei scored after David de Gea had saved a Streller header and then set up namesake Alexander Frei to equal matters as he headed home from a cross. Antonio Valencia –restored on the right wing with Fabio at right-back- felled Streller in the box to allow Alexander Frei his second of the game from a spot-kick but Nani’s late second half introduction proved pivotal for the hosts, as he crossed for Ashley Young to nod home and deny the visitors a famous victory.
Ranieri Gets Inter Back On Track at CSKA
Since replacing Gian Piero Gasperini as Inter manager a mere week ago, Claudio “The Tinkerman” Ranieri already has two wins under his belt.
A Vladimir Gabulov mistake early in the game granted Lucio an open goal to start proceedings before Giampaolo Pazzini prodded home from inside six yards following a great surging run from Yuto Nagatamo.
The home side came back from two down when Alan Dzagoev rocketed home a masterful free-kick and Vagner Love found the bottom corner with precision.
One-man team Mauro Zarate recaptured the lead for the visitors almost instantly leaving the goalkeeper rooted to the spot when he snapped home from Esteban Cambiasso’s through ball.
Lyon Do It For The Scouts
We put a lot of faith in Remi Garde’s men and by all accounts they more than delivered. With three of their squad on the Champions League Watchlist we’re happy to see a return of two goals and a clean sheet and settle for the recovered ball bonus Michel Bastos picked up.
Bafe Gomis kicked things off when an errant pass by Zagreb fell his way and he scored one of the most sublime chips you will see this week.
Far exceeding his selection in the Watchlist Bakary Kone not only kept the clean sheet we were hoping for but also scored the second goal of Lyon’s 2-0 victory, turning home a Clement Grenier corner.
Cavani Keeps Up Appearances
The 60,000 strong crowd at the Stadio San Paolo witnessed a comfortable home win over Villarreal, as the hosts exacted revenge over last season’s Europa League conquerors.Marek Hamsik seized the opportunity first when he was found in acres of space by Ezequiel Lavezzi to slot home the opener. The provider was then felled in the box just minutes later and Edinson Cavani was on hand to earn his crust.
Another Lille Bit Of Bother
The reigning French champions had another costly night in the Champions League as they threw away a second consecutive lead and head back from Turkey with their second point in two Matchdays.
A magnifique 40 yard through ball from Eden Hazard found Moussa Sow and, from the most acute of angles, he sent the travelling fans into overdrive with a sublime finish. A quarter of an hour from the end Mathieu Debuchy was adjudged to have handled the ball in the area leaving Gustavo Colman to convert the penalty, despite the best efforts of Mickael Landreau.
Benfica Get The Job Done
The Portuguese picked up all three points in Romania and now sit joint top of Group C with Basel. Another wonderful through ball, this one over the top of two lines of defence, gave us our only goal of the game as Nicolas Gaitan found Bruno Cesar with the most delicate of passes giving him the time and space to lead Benfica to victory.
