| Alexey Smertin has settled into high London society Russian Chelsea legionnaire Alexey Smertin opened the scoring with his goals in official matches for the English club. Moreover, it was not just anyone who suffered from the Russian, but the current Champions League winner Porto. And this event for Russian fans overshadowed even the most important sensation of the second round of the league group tournament - Arsenal's draw in the match with the modest Norwegian Rosenborg.
Arsenal is considered the favorite not only of Group E , but also of the entire Champions League. All the more unexpected was the loss of points with the permanent champion of Norway of the last decade. Nothing foreshadowed such a development of events - the “gunners” quickly opened the scoring and then calmly controlled the course of the game. But after the break, Rosenborg seemed to have been replaced. With the fearlessness of the doomed, the hosts rushed to attack. And soon their efforts were rewarded with a beautiful goal from Strand: the ball after his kick flew into the top corner. Arsenal came to their senses and again took the initiative. Ljungberg and Henry had chances to score, and once the Rosenborg defender cleared the ball from the goal line after Patrick Vieira's shot. “My players fought like heroes today,” Ola Bu Rise admired his players. - This is truly a historic day for us, because we played against the best team in Europe. In fact, we were like Arsenal today. If only I could beat them.”
The author of the second sensation was almost Celtic, who almost took two points from Milan in Group F. And again, for the favorites, everything worked out perfectly at first. Shevchenko celebrated his 28th birthday with a quick goal and realized Milan's superiority in the first half. But after the break everything changed. The hosts' defensive mistakes did not go unpunished - Celtic equalized the score. It is unknown how it would have ended if Inzaghi had not come on as a substitute. It was he who again brought Milan ahead, and Pirlo set the final score in stoppage time. “It’s great that at the last moment we still managed to snatch victory,” birthday boy Shevchenko said after the match. - Thanks to the guys for not leaving me without a gift on my birthday. And of course I'm happy for Inzaghi. He wanted to score so badly and had been waiting for this moment for so long.”
There were some surprises in Group G , where Werder became the only team that managed to not only come back from a missed goal, but also achieve victory. Valencia dominated the field throughout the first half and, having scored in the 2nd minute, could well have increased the score to a big one before the break. But after the break, the “bats” noticeably slowed down, and they paid for it. Moreover, in the 55th minute, Spanish defender Marchena was sent off. Werder quickly took advantage of their numerical advantage, and then, releasing a fourth forward, achieved a strong-willed victory. “I always said that Werder were a good team, but for some reason they didn’t believe me in Spain,” said Valencia coach Claudio Ranieri. - We had to decide everything in the first 20 minutes. After we opened the scoring, we had a few more good chances. And then Werder came to its senses, and it was no longer possible to cope with it.”
In Group H, Chelsea continues its triumphant march, whose coach Jose Mourinho was unsentimental about his former club Porto. Already in the 7th minute, Alexey Smertin completed a cross from the left flank, sending the ball into Vitor Baya's goal with a rebound from the ground. Then Drogba converted one of his many chances, after which nothing could save the “dragons” from their first defeat in the last 13 matches in European cup tournaments. “Our football was far from ideal, but the defense showed itself reliably,” said the “aristocrats” coach Mourinho, for whom the “goals conceded” column seems to be much more important than all other indicators. In turn, Porto head coach Victor Fernandez continues to hope for the best: “The score does not reflect the balance of power on the field. We were caught on counterattacks several times, and after the third goal we conceded there was no way to come back. But this is only the second match. There is still a long distance ahead. There are no invincible teams, and in a couple of months in the return match with Chelsea we can win.”
Champions League. 2nd round. Group "E". PSV - Panathinaikos - 1:0 (Hesselink 80) , Rosenborg - Arsenal - 1:1 (Ljungberg 6 - Strand 52) . Team position: Arsenal - 4 points, Panathinaikos, PSV - 3 each, Rosenborg - 1. Group F. "Milan" - "Celtic" - 3:1 (Shevchenko 8, Inzaghi 89, Pirlo 90 - Varga 52) , "Barcelona" - "Shakhtar" - 3:0 (Deco, Ronaldinho 64 pen., Eto'o 89) . Team standings: Barcelona, Milan - 6 points each, Celtic, Shakhtar - 0. Group G. Werder - Valencia - 2:1 (Klose 60, Charisteas 84 - Vicente 2) , Anderlecht - Inter - 1:3 (Basegio 90 - Martins 9, Adriano 51, Stankovic 55) . Team position: Inter - 6 points, Valencia, Werder - 3 each, Anderlecht - 0. Group H. CSKA - PSG - 2:0 (Semak 65, Vagner Love 77 from pen.) , Chelsea - Porto - 3:1 (Smertin 7, Drogba 50, Terry 70 - McCarthy 68) . Team position: Chelsea - 6 points, CSKA - 4, Porto - 1, PSG - 0. Andrey VDOVIN |
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