UEFA Champions League Roundup
Champions League returned to the fold with a bang this week, and there were goals galore on match day one as Barcelona, Chelsea and Arsenal made an early statement of intent.
Last night in the second phase of match day 1 there were 8 matches played and 21 goals scored and more than half of that tally came from two matches, as Arsenal and Chelsea clinically dispatched their dismal opponents.
Arsenal’s inspirational captain Cesc Fabregas and Mexican teen prodigy Carlos Vela scored twice for his side as Arsene Wenger’s side taught the Champion’s League debutants Braga a lesson in free flowing football.
Arsenal were a class apart last night at the Emirates, as they outclassed their opponents on the night with an overwhelming score line of 6-0.
Gunner’s had chalked up 1000 goals under Wenger in the 4-1 thumping of Bolton at the weekend and continued the sublime form into Europe, as they took apart their Portuguese opponents with a breathtaking and clinical display of football.
Fabregas opened the floodgates early in the first half from the penalty spot and some mesmeric football from the Gunners gave no time to their opponents to settle in the game, as two wonderful goals from Andrei Arshavin and Marouane Chamakh put the tie
beyond their opponents before the breather with a 3-0 score line.
Arsenal began the second-half in the same swashbuckling fashion, as they ended the first and didn’t take their foot off the gas, as Fabregas made it 4-0 soon after the restart and super-sub Carlos Vela added two more late strikes to put the sheen on an already
very impressive score line.
Chelsea were equally ruthless in their tie against Slovakian debutants MSK Zilina as they plundered 4 goals past an hapless Zilina.
Like Arsenal Chelsea inflicted maximum damages in the first half with two goals from Nicolas Anelka and one from Michael Essien.
Daniel Sturridge added a fourth without reply early in the second half before Tomas Oravec grabbed a consolation goal for the home side.
The small ground in the town of Zilina was full to its 11000 capacity, as Chelsea ruined the part for the vociferous home crowd.
The blues went in front as early as the 13th minute in painstakingly simple manner, as Essien put Anelka clear on the wing and made a darting run into the box, and when the cross came Malouda’s clever dummy left the ball at Essien’s mercy and
the Ghanaian finished with aplomb.
Anelka made it 2-0 in the 24th minute when the France international latched onto a defence splitting ball from Malouda and easily slotted it past the Zilina keeper.
The game was put past the Slovaks in the 48th minute when Sturridge quadrupled the blues advantage after rounding the Zilina goal-keeper with remarkable ease.
The home side managed to reduce the arrears in the 55th minute when Petr Cech spilled a cross in the box and Oravec rounded Ivanovic before bundling the ball home.
It was too little too late as Chelsea kept the pressure on and came home with an easy 41 victory.
Over in Madrid, Jose Mourinho’s Real made it 3 games with conceding a single goal, as the defeated Martin Jol’s Ajax with an accomplished display.
Madrid had to work hard for the victory but in the end had enough firepower, as they saw off their Dutch opponents 2-0 on the night.
The opening goal came curtsey of an Ajax defender, as he failed to control the ball from a Xabi Alonso cross and bundled the ball into his own net.
Gonzalo Higuain doubled the home side’s advantage late in the game, when Mesut Ozil found him unmarked at the far post after a scintillating pass from Angel Di Maria and the Argentine made no mistake from 4 yards.
In the other matches of the night two goals from Zlatan Ibrahimovic saw AC Milan beat AJ Auxerre of France 2-0, Bayern Munich saw off Roma 1-0, CFR Cluj beat FC Basle 2-1, Shakhtar Donetsk beat Partizan Belgrade 1-0 and Spartak Moscow beat French outfit
Marsielle 1-0.
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