Now that Europe’s biggest competition is heating up and teams are showing their mettle, who actually looks like they could win the trophy? Manchester United are still struggling, while Tottenham Hotspur are settling in quicker than some pundits thought possible. Inter Milan will be feeling confident about retaining the trophy after another impressive performance and all round display.
Group A – FC Twente; Inter Milan; Tottenham Hotspur; Werder Bremen
Harry Redknapp will be happy his team beat FC Twente 4-0 at White Hart Lane in a match where they were awarded three penalties. It is Tottenham’s first time in the CL and they seem determined to prove they’re worthy of their place and capable of making it to he knock-out stages.
Hat-trick hero Samuel Eto’o and Wesley Sneijder again provided the goals to help Inter’s continued good form in their quest to retain the trophy. The home side were 3-0 up by half time and Werder Bremen never looked like challenging them at the San Siro.
Group B – Benfica; Hapoel Tel-Aviv; Lyon; Schalke 04
Although they had the majority of possession, Benfica were unable to convert this into goals as they visited the Arena AufSchalke. The match looked to be heading for a goalless draw before Jefferson Farfan scored for Schalke in the 73rd minute, with Klaas-Jan Huntelaar scoring 12 minutes later to put the tie out of Benfica’s reach.
Lyon won their second match of Group B, with a 3-1 win away to the Israeli champions. Each side were awarded penalties, with goalkeeper Vincent Enyeama scoring the home team’s, in a match that included seven yellow cards.
Group C – Bursapor; Manchester United; Rangers; Valencia
Manchester United continued to struggle for form as they narrowly beat Valencia 1-0 with a goal from Mexican star Javier Hernandez. During the first half, neither side managed a shot on target and the game had score draw written all over it before Hernandez came on to score his first competitive goal for the club.
Rangers’ 1-0 win at home to Bursapor was certainly a shock as it was the first win they have managed in the CL since October 2007. Midfielder Steven Naismith’s goal gave the Scottish Champions the lead and they held onto it admirably.
Group D – Barcelona; Copenhagen; Panathinaikos; Rubin Kazan
Group D takes on an unfamiliar look after Barcelona drew at Rubin Kazan, with both teams scoring their goals from penalties. Barcelona will surely be ruing the 14 attempts they had off target.
Copenhagen lead the table on six points after another impressive performance against the Greeks. Gilberto Silva was sent off for the home team and will now serve a ban, which won’t make it any easier for Nikos Nioplias men to lift themselves off the bottom of the table.
Group E – Basel; Bayern Munich; CFR Cluj; Roma
German champions Bayern came from one goal behind to beat Basel with two goals by Bastian Schweinsteiger, one a penalty and the other in the dying minutes of the match.
Roma took their first points in the group when they beat Cluj, putting them level on three points with the Romanians.
Group F – Chelsea; Marseille; MSK Zilina; Spartak Moscow
It was the return of Captain Fantastic for Chelsea as John Terry scored the first goal in their 2-0 win at home to Marseille. With Didier Drogba still suspended it was down to Nicolas Anelka to take a penalty for the Blues, which he cheekily scored against Marseille goalkeeper Steve Mandanda.
A brace from Ari and one from Ibson on the 89th minute helped Spartak helped them to a comprehensive 3-0 win at home to Zinlina, who now sit at the base of the table having conceded seven goals.
Group G – AC Milan; Ajax, Auxerre; Real Madrid
The supposed ‘Group of Death’ continues to lack goals and excitement, but that won’t bother Real Madrid, who now sit on six points after beating Auxerre 1-0. Substitute Ángel Di María made the difference after replacing former Premier League player Lassana Diarra.
Zlatan Ibrahimović earned Milan a hard fought draw on his return to Amsterdam. Martin Jol and Massimiliano Allegri seemed content with the draw, although Allegri will be slightly worried about possible suspensions after his Milan team racked up five yellow cards.
Group H – Arsenal; SC Braga; Partizan Belgrade; Shakhtar Donetsk
Arsenal’s No. 2 goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski became the hero – for a change - after saving a penalty in the dying moments during their visit to Serbia. Belgrade matched their fans passion with a committed display that wasn’t reflected by their 3-1 defeat. The score might have been different had they not lost Marko Jovanovic in the 56th minute.
Shakhtar continued to match the Londoners at the top of the table with a 3-0 win away to Braga. Luiz Adriano continued his run with two goals at the start of the start of the second half. Braga have already conceded nine, scoring none, and on this basis are clearly the weakest team in the group.
Top Five Players: Jack Wilshere (Arsenal); Florent Malouda (Chelsea); Samuel Eto’o (Inter Milan); Roman Pavlyuchenko (Tottenham Hotspur); Bastian Schweinsteiger (Bayern Munich)
Tags: Champions League