I'm back.
I won't bother with my picks - they weren't published in time anyway.
8 more games on Wednesday. One upset but otherwise everything went to form.
Group A
Chelsea 1 - 0 Barcelona
Upset.
A huge massive, unexpected upset.
Just as I was sitting down to enjoy Barcelona outclass a boring Chelsea side, the latter surprised me again with a rather good, oddly attacking, perfomance.
Their were lots of shots in the game, but it was Hilario, Chelsea's third choice keeper, who made the crucial ones. Deco must feel particularly deprived. Over Drogba's goal however I can have no reservations. Receiving the ball on the edge of the area, he turned and curled in an exquisite shot that swept past Valdez in the Barca goal. And no on defends a 1-0 nothing goal better than Chelsea (even when they are 'leading' 0-0). Barca tried, but a strangely off-colour Ronaldinho could not break down an impervious Chelsea rearguard of Terry and Carvalho, protected by Claude Makhalele.
Chelsea started their strongest XI (Lampard aside) in a classic 4-4-2 with Makhalele in his usual role sitting in front of the back 4. Barcelona started in a more continental 4-3-3 with Lionel Messi partnering Ronaldinho in attack and Eidur Gudjohnsen (at Chelsea last year) the central striker, playing, in Eto's continued absence.
From the very outset it was cut and thrust - Barcelona attacking, Chelsea counter-attacking in their turn. As the game wore on, Chelsea came into their own - dominating the midfield - with both Essien and Ballack taking no prisoners as they stamped their authority over their Catalan opponents. The sheer power the two generated in their movement and tackling was a sight to behold as the European Champions were made to look fairly ordinary at times.
If there was one oversight on Rijkaard's part - it would be the decision to play Edmilson as the anchor in place of Xavi and play Xavi in a slightly more advanced role in place of the benched Andres Iniesta - surely one of the Catalans' best players this season. Tinkering like this is what separates a brilliant masterstroke from an abject disaster. It seems Rijkaard may have shuffled his pack just a little wrong on the night. Another option would have been to start Lilliam Thuram at left back and push Gio up into the midfield with express orders to mark Drogba.
At the other end of the spectrum it was miserable to watch Shevchenko and Ronaldinho play little to no part in the events - would it have been so criminal to have opted not to start them altogether ? Surely the paying public gets no pleasure from watching these 2 gifted players struggle through the motions - devoid of any inspiration and shorn of form.
Didier Drogba, on the other hand had another excellent game - it all goes to show the transformation that can occur in one's game once the gamesmanship is eliminated and the football is concentrated on.
However the game was overall a little disappointing, lots of shots but only one goal, both defences nullifying each other's attacks.
In 2 weeks is the return fixture at the Nou Camp.
Chelsea be warned - Barcelona will be waiting.
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Bremen 2 - 0 Levski
As expected Bremen - one of the most underrated teams in Europe - tore Levski apart.
Europe's best finisher, Miroslav 'The Closer' Klose did not score but was a big part of this thoroughly efficient performance for Werder and the Bulgarians never really stood a chance. They didn't have a single chance on an afternoon they were completely overrun.
Boasting a strong spine and an elegant midfield with Torsten Frings at the base and Brazilian Diego at the apex, they tore Levski's apology for a midfield, to shreds. It was surprising that they only scored 2 goals and even then, one of them, Naldo's free kick, was a bit fortunate to go in. It kissed the left post and snuck in.
Having Hugo Almeida and Ivan Klasnic to call on is always a bonus and against Levski it was the death knell. Despite leading only 1-0 till Klasnic came on, Bremen had utterly dominated. Soon after his appearance, they sealed the win. A free kick was played to Diego and after getting the ball under control, he rifled in the second.
Efficient and Deadly.
For Levksi, well, there isn't much to say. Tomasic was better than expected in defence while their midfield of Eromoigbe, Borimirov and Bardon tried their best to stem the tide. Like Steaua, they feature a core of local players sprinkled with foreign talent. The Champions' League is a step too high but they should learn a lot from this campaign.
Group B
Inter 2 - 1 Spartak Moscow
Inter have finally woken up.
One hopes it's not a false dawn. Despite having lost their first 2 games, Inter are still favourites to progress and on paper, may yet be the best team in the group.
Paper teams are, however, far different from the established, settled teams out on the pitch - and while Bayern have been that unstoppable machine as far as this group is concerned, Inter are not far behind. If they can really get gong and bring all their talent, drive and experience to bear - they might just go into the knockout stages as the best team in the group and arguably in Europe.
They got the job done early and well against Spartak. Julio Cruz bagged a brace in the opening 10 minutes as Inter were out of the blocks quickly. Playing a classic 4-4-2 against Spartak's 4-5-1, they stamped their authority with impunity - the Russians having no riposte.
Olivier Dacourt was once rumoured to be Patrick Viera's midfield partner while the latter was at Arsenal. Although that never came to fruition, as Dacourt moved instead to supplement the yob revolution at Leeds United, it has been a match made in heaven here at Internazionale. Strong in the tackle and powerful in the air - they are like mirror images of each other - harrying passing and breaking down attacks. With Figo and the ever consistent Dejan Stankovic raiding down the flanks - one got the impression that this here, was the very epitome of the modern attacking 4-4-2.
Along with the Crespo, Burdisso and Walter Samuel who all started on the bench, Inter now have 5 of the starting Argentine national team on their rolls while Adriano is still intermittently the most dominant centre forward in the game. In the event, Inter started with their second choice front pairing of Alvaro Recoba (Remember him ?) and Cruz and it came good. Very good indeed.
Spartak got a late consolation and can take heart in that they only lost by 1 goal. Additionally, they also had more and more possession as the game wore on - but they rarely threatened. Ygor Titov was once Russia's most exciting player - one wonders if his career (and development) has stalled as he has remained in the Ruassian League with Spartak. As always the Russians sparayed the ball around with confidence and may have felt an equalizer was on the cards after Pavlyuchenko's goal - but Inter were confident and hardy in defence. If Stankovic's effort had not been ruled out - the scoreline would have been closer to the truth.
Inter still have a ways to go - but they still should make second place
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Sporting 0 - 1 Bayern
I expected Bayern to hammer Sporting despite being the away team. They did win but were fortunate that not one of Sporting's shots on goal went in - or that they were made to pay after Schweinsteiger's dismissal. Kahn had a great game in the Bayern net and while Sporting were threatening throughout, they failed to breach the Germans.
Claudio Pizzaro and fellow Peruvian strike partner Roque Santa Cruz started in attack for the Germans who curiously decided to start Andreas Ottl as the defensive anchor. Nervous and ponderous from the very start he was replaced by the more experienced Martin Demichelis at half time. Bastian Schweinsteiger meanwhile had a typically mercurial, albeit Anglesque game - scorer of the winner and then sent off for 2 yellow cards.
Sporting should have taken charge after that but Magath shrewdly took off Santa Cruz and introduced Hasan Salihamdzic - the Bosnian version of the withdrawn striker.
With Moutinho and Martins patrolling the flanks, Sporting were looking to swing a ball into Nani, Leidson and Alecsandro in the middle - but due to the continued attentions of Van Bommel and after Bastian's dismissal, Salihamdzic, kept them at bay.
So now Bayern are perfect but Sporting have been halted and Inter are hot on their heels.
Group C
Bordeaux 0 - 1 Liverpool
Huge win for a beleagured Liverpool.
They've been distinctly underwhelming in recent weeks with Rafa Benitez's rotation policy coming in for scathing criticism. The thing about rotation is that when it works, it works well, combining resource management with the vagaries of the modern football calendar. However when it fails - it drags down both players' form and team morale. Liverpool's players, however, have been decidedly nonplussed during this patch, neither losing form outright nor pointing fingers with disgruntled voices. And like so many times over in Benitez's reign, have come back to silence their critics with a strong performance.
I was excited to see what would come of Bordeaux playing 4-3-3 at home against a defensive team like Liverpool. Sadly, they came a cropper and will be disappointed at not taking atleast a point. For long periods, they dominated, putting Liverpool under considerable pressure, but could not fashion a goal. The Reds on the other hand, held firm at the back while snatching a goal in a typically counterattacking performace the Kop would have been proud of. Crouch has been in the purplest of patches of late and once again he scored - albeit at the third attempt.
It was ironic that despite having a closely knit midfield and assured attack, Bordeaux possess one of the slowest defences around - and time and again either Bellamy or the speedy Chilean Mark Gonzalez snuck in behind them - Crouch having 2 earlier sitters that he managed to miss. As the game wore on you got the sneaking suspicion that despite their dominance - Bordeaux would concede a sucker punch - and that they did. Still, Bordeaux can take a lot of heart from this performance, full of energy druve and steady possession. Rio Mavuba, the Congolese born Frenchman was easily the best player on show, composed on the ball and strong in the tackle. Up front Micoud, back from Bremen and Lilian Laslandes (once half of Ligue 1's best striking pair) linked well while Nicolas Faubert looked lively when he came on. Personally, I would have started him and Edixon Perea instead of Alonso and Menegazzo.
Liverpool, were played off the park for the first half and were so badly overrun at times you suspected Rafa had made a mistake by leaving Momo Sissoko on the bench. However, expectedly, minutes after taking the lead, Momo was brought on for Gonzalez and Liverpool reverted to a traditional diamond midfield with him as the anchor. Meanwhile in defence, Jamie Carragher continued to be ever consistent in Reds colours - pity he's so bad anywhere else.
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Galatasaray 1 - 2 PSV
I like PSV - they're my favorite team in the Eredivisie. I had expected a stumble against the Turks who are always hard to beat, but they showed tremendous heart and steel to come back from a goal down to win AWAY.
Gala have always punched above their weight in Europe and boast probably the most intimidating stadium to in the Ataturk Olimpiyat stadium.
In Ivic and Inamoto they have a competent, if unispiring, midfield pair while Song and Tomas are experienced defenders but no pillars at the back. Continuing the post World Cup revival of Serbian talent (See Zigic, Stankovic, Stefanovic, et al) Ivic got the opener, trickling in a deflected shot from a cute backheel by Umit Karan. It was as much as they deserved after a strong opening. Umit Karan is another in a long line of middling Turkish talent, always very technically proficient but never quite setting the world alight. One would have questioned his inclusion in the starting eleven when one noticed that Hakan Sukur (who replaced him) was on the bench - surely Sukur would be more pedigreed at this level ?
PSV though, slowly clawed their way back - perhaps exposing the soft centre in Gala, passing around Inamoto and bypassing Ayhan. The Dutch team simply had too much experience and passing angles and slowly took control - Cocu was efficient as ever on the left, Simons and Mendez solid in the middle. They were a little lucky when Jan Kromkamp's shot squeaked through Mondragan in the Gala net but then they deservedly took the lead through Aruna Kone. He continued his good form with a swift, counterattacking goal off a Gala corner.
Looking at PSV's backline you have to quietly respectful without beng overwhelmed. How many teams of their resources and stature can boast a rear corps that includes Brazilian Alex, Kromkamp, veteran Reiziger and Carlos Salcido. Alex seems to go from strength to strength with every passing season and surely now commands a place alongside Lucio in the Brazilian Defence.
Excellent result for PSV, who may just win this group yet.
Group D
Valencia 2 - 0 Shakhtar Donetsk
Standard result - Valencia suffered a minor blip on the weekend in the surprise defeat at Celta Vigo, but are streets ahead of their Ukrainian visitors.
Shakhtar, like most Eastern European teams, are tidy, move and pass well, but lack the creative spark that sets them among their Western European counterparts. Gone are the more equal days of the 80s and early 90s when Eastern block teams could hold on to a skilled and talented core while being a real presence in Europe. Steaua won the European Champions' Cup in 1986 while Red Star triumphed as recently as 1991. Nowadays, it's all Eastern European clubs can do to hold on to their prized assets - witness Nikola Zigic's transfer from Red Star to Racing Santander. Admittedly, Shaktar are considerably richer than they once were and their new status may go some way towards redressing this balance, but as of yet still lack the settled threat needed to progress.
Valencia have been one of Europe's consistently top clubs over the last 6 years - always a threat - strong in defence, mercurial in attack. Having re-strengthened considereably over the close season, they are Spain's next biggest threat (after Barca) in Europe this year - not Real.
The Spaniards lined up in a classic 4-4-2 with Canizares, Albiol, Navarro, Edu, Albelda, Morientes and Villa forming one of the strongest spines in Europe. Using Edu and Albelda as double midfield pivots they move the ball around with aplomb, passing with real purpose. Classic and composed in both ambition and purpose, they were rarely pressed. Villa added another 2 goals as he is fast becoming one of the most consistent strikers in the modern game.
Shakhtar spent most of the day trying to harry Valencia without losing their shape, but unfortunately, other than Anatoly Tymoschuk, have a real paucity of talent that can hurt Valencia. Despite having almost the same possession as Valencia, they were hemmed in and contained. Both Julius Agahowa and Judson had to be subbed off at half time while imperiously for the rest of Europe, Valencia didn't need to use Roberto Ayala or Miguel Angel Angulo. And once Svidersky was dismissed, it was all over.
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Olympiakos 0 - 1 Roma
I expected Roma to have another away off day following their weekend defeat at Reggina - like Real.
They proved resilient, however, and scored an important result away from home - like Real.
Perrota's goal, was a classic example of striking endeavour, in that he had to slide in to meet Rossi's cross. Goals like that are always fun to watch, wondering if the slider will get to the ball in time, and having done so will the ball still go into the net. Simone though, made sure he nailed it right. Good goal, perhaps a bit harsh on the Greeks but nothing less than Roma deserved.
I was a bit surprised when both Aquilani and Vucinic were both on the bench at the start. Rivaldo and Djordevic looked like they were about to carve open a hole in the right side of Olympiako's defence - on pedigree alone they may well have - but they are both in the twilight of their careers and while Rivaldo was once the world's best player - Djordevic was at best a technically accomplished grafter. They made little impact on a young Roma midefield that was hungrier and nippier.
Roma's 4-5-1 lines up better than Olympiakos' similar one and their defensive anchor Daniele de Rossi played a blinder. Despite having fewer shots on goal, Chivu and Ferrari held firm at the back and Roma pulled off the cleansheet.
Wrap Up:
Best Goals:
Didier Drogba - Chelsea versus Barcelona
David Villa (2) - Valencia versus Shakhtar
Schweinsteiger - Bayern versus Sporting
Classic Successful Tactic of the day:
The modern 4-4-2 with the double pivot - Valencia, Inter, PSV, Liverpool take a bow.
Continuing Perfection:
Bayern, Valencia and strangely enough Chelsea.
Team of the Day:
3-1-4-2:
Kahn; Cordoba, Alex, Lucio;Makhalele; Viera, Edu, Simons, Schweinsteiger; Villa, Drogba
