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| Atletico dispatched Malmo emphatically 5-0. Image: ESPN |
Wednesday's Champions League games delivered plenty of suspense, history and masterclasses elsewhere, in what was yet another supreme night of European action,
While there wasn't as many goals as the night prior, there was still plenty to relish.
Here in this stacked article, you'll find the complete comprehensive review and roundup for the night in the Champions League.
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| Marco Reus also scored a stunner for Dortmund who thrashed Galatasaray. Image; Purely Football |
- Atletico Madrid 5 - 0 Malmo: Awesome Atletico blitz past Malmo
- Olympiakos 1 - 0 Juventus: Olympiakos stun Italian Champions
- Liverpool 0 - 3 Real Madrid: Ruthless Real Madrid dispatch Liverpool at Anfield
- Ludogorets 1 - 0 Basel: Stoppage time winner sees Ludogorets to first UCL win
- Bayer Leverkusen 2 - 0 Zenit: Leverkusen rattle Zenit in Germany
- Monaco 0 - 0 Benfica: Ten men Benfica hobble over finishing line against Monaco
- Galatasaray 0 - 4 Dortmund: Dazzling Dortmund destroy Galatasaray
- Arsenal 1 - 2 Anderlecht: Arsenal overcome Anderlecht in dying stages
Koke (48'), Mario Mandzukic (61'), Antoine Griezmann (63'), Diego Godin (87'), Alessio Cerci (90+3')
Group A
Vicente Calderón Stadium, Madrid, Spain.
Atletico Madrid compiled a masterclass of five-goals in the second half as they destroyed Malmo with an emphatic display.
Following a rather dull first half, it was Koke who finished off some excellent buildup by the hosts to put Atletico ahead. Arda Turan culminated the move as he fed Koke, whose shot from the area was always bound on goal.
A low cross from Koke, scorer turned provider, was tapped in by Mandzukic for the second, and Malmo would suffer another hit in quick succession.
Antoine Griezmann then breached into the box, cutting in onto his left and drilling it low at the keeper, it took a big bounce and crept under the bar in for Atletico's third as they took the game completely away from their hosts.
Then, in the late stages of the game Koke provided another assist, this time to captain Diego Godin, who headed in the corner kick.
Cerci then finished off the rout, coming off the bench. His first attempt rattled the woodwork before he guided in and made no error with his second try.
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| Awesome Atletico. Image: Atleti VAVEL |
Patjim Kasami (36')
Group A
Karaiskakis Stadium, Piraeus, Athens, Greece.
Olympiakos halted Juventus to a 1-0 defeat as they added a win over the Italian Champions to their earlier win over Spanish Champions Atletico Madrid, with Kasami's first goal making the difference.
Olympiakos took the lead against the Italian Champions after 36 minutes, after Dominguez fed Mitroglou whose surging run found Kasami for the deadly move. It was a simple finish to bulge the net and take the lead.
Juventus continued to search for the equaliser as the three points whined away from contention. Olympiakos however showed their courage and resilience to uphold a win and take out the Italian Champions.
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| Kasami, Mitroglou relish the night. Image: Twitter / Photos |
Liverpool 0 - 3 Real Madrid
Cristiano Ronaldo (23'), Karim Benzema (30', 41')
Group B
Anfield Football Ground, Liverpool, England.
Real Madrid comfortably eased past Liverpool at Anfield, as a brace from Benzema and sublime Ronaldo goal saw Los Blancos on course to retaining their maximum group record so far.
With a spine-tingling atmosphere, Anfield welcomed Real Madrid and it was fever pitch. Evenly poised throughout the opening twenty minutes, both sides had chances to open. Eventually, it would be Cristiano Ronaldo who scored his first goal at Anfield, and it was sublime.
James Rodriguez received the ball and lobbed it beautifully over to Cristiano Ronaldo, and it came of his foot gliding into the top corner. Anfield was deflated at the hands of the masterful Ronaldo.
Adding to the margin - in addition to some woeful defending - was Real Madrid's prolific Frenchman, Karim Benzema. His first goal saw a header off Toni Kroos' cross that crept past Mignolet, then once again the Reds' defensive frailties were shown in true colours as the corner bobbled of Pepe before Benzema tapped it in.
Real Madrid took their foot off the gas in the second half, with Ronaldo resting and others taking their breaks ahead of El Clasico. Raheem Sterling continued to surge forward in attacks, Emre Can impressed but for all Liverpool's improvement, they couldn't find the consolation.
Read the full match report
Cristiano Ronaldo (23'), Karim Benzema (30', 41')
Group B
Anfield Football Ground, Liverpool, England.
Real Madrid comfortably eased past Liverpool at Anfield, as a brace from Benzema and sublime Ronaldo goal saw Los Blancos on course to retaining their maximum group record so far.
With a spine-tingling atmosphere, Anfield welcomed Real Madrid and it was fever pitch. Evenly poised throughout the opening twenty minutes, both sides had chances to open. Eventually, it would be Cristiano Ronaldo who scored his first goal at Anfield, and it was sublime.
James Rodriguez received the ball and lobbed it beautifully over to Cristiano Ronaldo, and it came of his foot gliding into the top corner. Anfield was deflated at the hands of the masterful Ronaldo.
Adding to the margin - in addition to some woeful defending - was Real Madrid's prolific Frenchman, Karim Benzema. His first goal saw a header off Toni Kroos' cross that crept past Mignolet, then once again the Reds' defensive frailties were shown in true colours as the corner bobbled of Pepe before Benzema tapped it in.
Real Madrid took their foot off the gas in the second half, with Ronaldo resting and others taking their breaks ahead of El Clasico. Raheem Sterling continued to surge forward in attacks, Emre Can impressed but for all Liverpool's improvement, they couldn't find the consolation.
Read the full match report
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| Ronaldo finally gets his goal at Anfield. Image: Twitter / Photos |
Ludogorets 1 - 0 Basel
Yordan Minev (90+2')
Group B
Stadion Vasil Levski, Sofia, Bulgaria.
Ludogorets recorded a historic Champions League win as a stoppage time goal by Yordan Minev unravelled a dead-locked game in the capital of Bulgaria.
An early red card looked to derail the visitors after just 18 minutes, with Serey Die dismissed with a straight red. But, that hardly put Basel on the backfoot, who were well up for the game - just like their opponents.
As the full-time whistle came closer, Basel began to show cracks in the absence of Serey Die. Then, it opened up for the hosts with a huge counter ending with Yordan Minev, and Ludogorets had won in the Champions League for the first time ever, meaning Liverpool, Basel and themselves are all tied with three points in Group B.
Yordan Minev (90+2')
Group B
Stadion Vasil Levski, Sofia, Bulgaria.
Ludogorets recorded a historic Champions League win as a stoppage time goal by Yordan Minev unravelled a dead-locked game in the capital of Bulgaria.
An early red card looked to derail the visitors after just 18 minutes, with Serey Die dismissed with a straight red. But, that hardly put Basel on the backfoot, who were well up for the game - just like their opponents.
As the full-time whistle came closer, Basel began to show cracks in the absence of Serey Die. Then, it opened up for the hosts with a huge counter ending with Yordan Minev, and Ludogorets had won in the Champions League for the first time ever, meaning Liverpool, Basel and themselves are all tied with three points in Group B.
Bayer Leverkusen 2 - 0 Zenit St Petersburg
Giulio Donati (58'), Kyriakos Papadopoulos (63')
Group C
BayArena, Leverkusen, Germany.
A defining five minute spell for Bayer Leverkusen was enough to see them edge past Zenit in Germany, with goals from Donati and Papodopoulos.
Leverkusen controlled the majority of the first half, but it took some time before Son and Calhanoglu got the first significant shots on target. Hulk almost gave his side the lead on the stroke but his fizzing shot drifted wide.
Giulio Donati's strike before the hour mark put the Germans ahead. Drilling it from the edge of the box, the keeper got a palm on to the ball before it rippled into the back of the net.
A long free-kick was met on the head of Kyriakos Papadopoulos, who simply directed it past the keeper. Within the five minute span, Zenit were out of the game.
Wendell was foolishly sent off in the 79th minute for a second booking with another poor challenge.
Bayer Leverkusen marched on and retained their lead for the three points.
Giulio Donati (58'), Kyriakos Papadopoulos (63')
Group C
BayArena, Leverkusen, Germany.
A defining five minute spell for Bayer Leverkusen was enough to see them edge past Zenit in Germany, with goals from Donati and Papodopoulos.
Leverkusen controlled the majority of the first half, but it took some time before Son and Calhanoglu got the first significant shots on target. Hulk almost gave his side the lead on the stroke but his fizzing shot drifted wide.
Giulio Donati's strike before the hour mark put the Germans ahead. Drilling it from the edge of the box, the keeper got a palm on to the ball before it rippled into the back of the net.
A long free-kick was met on the head of Kyriakos Papadopoulos, who simply directed it past the keeper. Within the five minute span, Zenit were out of the game.
Wendell was foolishly sent off in the 79th minute for a second booking with another poor challenge.
Bayer Leverkusen marched on and retained their lead for the three points.
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| Embracing the sweet victory. Image: ESPN |
Monaco 0 - 0 Benfica
Group C
Stade Louis II, Monaco, France.
Ten-man Benfica clung on to a point as they managed to grind a goalless draw away at Monaco.
Monaco set out at a rampant pace early on but Benfica forced their influence on the game as the first half progressed. Lucas Ocampos missed an open goal after Dimitar Berbatov pulled it back yet the chance went begging, while for the visitors a brilliant save by Subasic kept Lima's shot out.
Benfica took a huge blow in the 76th minute with Lisandro Lopez taking down Moutinho and picking up a second booking.
But, they just held on and got the draw.
Group C
Stade Louis II, Monaco, France.
Ten-man Benfica clung on to a point as they managed to grind a goalless draw away at Monaco.
Monaco set out at a rampant pace early on but Benfica forced their influence on the game as the first half progressed. Lucas Ocampos missed an open goal after Dimitar Berbatov pulled it back yet the chance went begging, while for the visitors a brilliant save by Subasic kept Lima's shot out.
Benfica took a huge blow in the 76th minute with Lisandro Lopez taking down Moutinho and picking up a second booking.
But, they just held on and got the draw.
Galatasaray 0 - 4 Dortmund
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (6', 18'), Marco Reus (41'), Adrian Ramos (83')
Group D
Türk Telekom Arena, Istanbul, Turkey.
Borussia Dortmund orchestrated yet another outstanding Champions League performance as Aubameyang's double and goals from Reus and Ramos saw Jurgen Klopp's men comfortably past the Turks.
Dortmund dictated the game from early on, courtesy of a strike from Aubameyang just six minutes into the contest in Turkey. Marco Reus was unlocked down the left, and his pass went straight to Dortmund's hitman to do the rest. He would increase his impact on the game - and Dortmund's threshold - when he made it two inside twenty minutes. as Piszczek found the Gabon native who it bounced nicely for to routinely sweep into goal.
Marco Reus then emulated some of his best as he picked up the ball from long-range, put his foot right through it and the rest completed a stunning goal to really show the German was back, and more importantly, at his best.
Held up well by Gundogan, he eventually fed it through to Adrian Ramos who hit it past the keeper into the far post and wrapped up an already-won game for Klopp's Dortmund.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (6', 18'), Marco Reus (41'), Adrian Ramos (83')
Group D
Türk Telekom Arena, Istanbul, Turkey.
Borussia Dortmund orchestrated yet another outstanding Champions League performance as Aubameyang's double and goals from Reus and Ramos saw Jurgen Klopp's men comfortably past the Turks.
Dortmund dictated the game from early on, courtesy of a strike from Aubameyang just six minutes into the contest in Turkey. Marco Reus was unlocked down the left, and his pass went straight to Dortmund's hitman to do the rest. He would increase his impact on the game - and Dortmund's threshold - when he made it two inside twenty minutes. as Piszczek found the Gabon native who it bounced nicely for to routinely sweep into goal.
Marco Reus then emulated some of his best as he picked up the ball from long-range, put his foot right through it and the rest completed a stunning goal to really show the German was back, and more importantly, at his best.
Held up well by Gundogan, he eventually fed it through to Adrian Ramos who hit it past the keeper into the far post and wrapped up an already-won game for Klopp's Dortmund.
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| Yet another fantastic outing for Dortmund. Image; Site Goleada |
Anderlecht 1 - 2 Arsenal
Andy Najar (71'), Kieran Gibbs (89'), Lukas Podolski (90+1')
Group D
Constant Vanden Stock Stadium, Anderlecht, Belgium.
Arsenal incredibly overcame Anderlecht to scrape past in the dying stages as Gibbs and Podolski's late strikes saw the Gunners take three points.
Arsenal were surprisingly quietened in the first half. Having expected to use their resources to blow Anderlecht away, they couldn't achieve that feat and the Belgians grafted hard to keep it that way.
The Gunners were left shocked when Andy Najar headed the hosts in front. A cross from the right by Praet pulled back towards Najar who was free in space after the centre-halves were tangled up, dropping low under the keeper.
Anderlecht began to open up as the game ticked down, playing with more confidence and forcing some panic defending. However, when Arsenal broke, the comeback would mount.
Luke Gibbs ran onto a cross from the right and guided it in to get one back, before Alexis Sanchez's shot was poorly stopped, falling to Podolski who smashed home with authority for the winning goal.
Arsenal knew that it could have been a tragic night, but in those last minutes, they made it a startling turnaround.
Match BreakdownsAndy Najar (71'), Kieran Gibbs (89'), Lukas Podolski (90+1')
Group D
Constant Vanden Stock Stadium, Anderlecht, Belgium.
Arsenal incredibly overcame Anderlecht to scrape past in the dying stages as Gibbs and Podolski's late strikes saw the Gunners take three points.
Arsenal were surprisingly quietened in the first half. Having expected to use their resources to blow Anderlecht away, they couldn't achieve that feat and the Belgians grafted hard to keep it that way.
The Gunners were left shocked when Andy Najar headed the hosts in front. A cross from the right by Praet pulled back towards Najar who was free in space after the centre-halves were tangled up, dropping low under the keeper.
Anderlecht began to open up as the game ticked down, playing with more confidence and forcing some panic defending. However, when Arsenal broke, the comeback would mount.
Luke Gibbs ran onto a cross from the right and guided it in to get one back, before Alexis Sanchez's shot was poorly stopped, falling to Podolski who smashed home with authority for the winning goal.
Arsenal knew that it could have been a tragic night, but in those last minutes, they made it a startling turnaround.
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| Podolski rescues Arsenal. Image: Telegraph Football |
- Atletico Madrid 5 - 0 Malmo: Atletico were on another level against Malmo. They just had that edge to them, almost like they needed to prove something. It's great for the whole club when you have new signings working so well, Mandzukic showed us all why he's a fantastic fit. Koke's creativity was fantastic and leaked through the side, hence he bagged three assists.
- Olympiakos 1 - 0 Juventus: Olympiakos have displayed tremendous resilience, as a win over the Italian Champions now proudly joins their collection. They have widened their horizons in terms of what they can now achieve in the group. Juventus have lost back-to-back, and while its the polar opposite of other teams, they are finding their luck in their respective domestic league rather than in the Champions League.
- Liverpool 0 - 3 Real Madrid: What a phenomenal performance by Real Madrid, but even with the calibre of opponent its frustrating for Liverpool's defence to be so leaky and the only thing they can smile about is that they didn't get beaten worse. All goes to plan for Real with enough time to rest up for the big Clasico.
- Ludogorets 1 - 0 Basel: Ludogorets have blasted open this group, barring Real Madrid who are quite frankly in a league of their own. Basel deteriorated steadily, and Ludogorets pounced on it.
- Bayer Leverkusen 2 - 0 Zenit: Leverkusen got the job done, and the only thing to be disappointed about is the red card, could cost them next time.
- Monaco 0 - 0 Benfica: Ten men Benfica got the result. Monaco meanwhile will be frustrated of the openings they couldn't convert.
- Galatasaray 0 - 4 Dortmund: Dortmund are just brilliant. They find all their form in the Champions League rather than their domestic Bundesliga. Everything seemed to click against Galatasaray, their movement, Aubameyang's response to the through balls and Marco Reus' stunner were sublime.
- Arsenal 1 - 2 Anderlecht: Arsenal are using up a lot of luck early, but what a birthday present for Arsene Wenger. They know they have to go back to the drawing board to stop these things happening again.
*****
Half way through the group stage, Dortmund and Real Madrid remain as prolific as ever, while on the other ends of the spectrum it remains all to play for.
More Champions League coverage »
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Champions League Roundups: The archive
- Tuesday 16 September 2014, Matchweek #1
- Wednesday 17 September 2014, Matchweek #1
- Tuesday 30 September 2014, Matchweek #2
- Wednesday 1 October 2014, Matchweek #2
- Tuesday 21 October 2014, Matchweek #3
More football »
More articles from Nisar Khan »
Champions League Roundups: The archive
- Tuesday 16 September 2014, Matchweek #1
- Wednesday 17 September 2014, Matchweek #1
- Tuesday 30 September 2014, Matchweek #2
- Wednesday 1 October 2014, Matchweek #2
- Tuesday 21 October 2014, Matchweek #3
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