The first set of group games got off to a flier …. Two draws and two wins for the four Premier League sides participating as well as a draw for holders Inter and wins for Bayern, Barca and Milan.
On Tuesday Glasgow Rangers turned up at Old Trafford with very defensive tactics, for most of the game the only person not in a defensive role was Kenny Miller. The tactics chosen by Walter Smith have brought criticism from various areas of the media but his team left Manchester with a point from the group favourites as well as extra money for a draw. The game was very difficult for Manchester United who saw Rooney return but failed to break down Rangers and their cause wasn’t helped when Antonio Valencia was carried off with ligament damage and a fractured ankle. In the other game in this group Valencia smashed Bursaspor 4-0, even though they sold their two best players Valencia have got off to a great start to their season.
Spurs got of to an incredible start against Werder Bremen when Pasanen put Bale’s cross into his own net in the 12th minute and then Crouch doubled their lead six minutes later. Spurs looked comfortable but in the 43rd minute Almeida scored with his head after a defensive error, then two minutes after half-time Marin equalized. Having seen their opposition dominate the first half Bremen themselves dominated the second half and I imagine Harry was secretly relieved to have left with a point. Should Spurs beat FC Twente, Werder Bremen and draw with Inter in their home games then Spurs will have an excellent opportunity to progress.
Arsenal were incredible last night as they beat Braga 6-0, Fabregas opened the scoring in the 9th minute with a penalty, before Arshavin and Chamakh scored before half-time. In the second half Arsenal continued to play excellent passing football as they scored another three goals. Fabregas got his second in the 53rd minute before Vela scored in the 69th and 84th minute. For Vela’s second Fabregas unselfishly opted to thread the ball through for an assist rather than try to complete his own hat-trick.
Chelsea also got off to winning start when they travelled to Slovakia to play MSK Zilina where they won 4-1. Essien continued his scoring form when he opened the scoring in the 13th minute, Anelka then scored two quick goals in the 24th and 28th minute. Chelsea looked very comfortable and could easily have had six by half-time, but in the second half a mix of Chelsea slowing down and the hosts playing better meant that Chelsea only added one goal to their tally which came from Daniel Sturridge and Oravec even pulled one back for the hosts.
Other games over the two days saw holders Inter draw 2-2 with FC Twente, last years runners up Bayern Munich got off to a winning start with a 2-0 victory over Roma. In the group of death Jose Mourinho’s Real Madrid beat Ajax 2-0 thanks to two goals from Higuain and Milan beat Auxerre by the same scoreline thanks to two goals from ex-Barca striker Ibrahimovic. Barcelona went 1-0 down against Panathinaikos only to go on and win 5-1, Messi got a brace and David Villa opening his Barca Champions League account.
A great start to what is going to be a very interesting competition.
