Translated material
Irreconcilable
There are no draws in the Champions League
The second game day of the group stage of the Champions League picked up the fighting spirit - not a single draw during the evening. And in the dispute between snipers and Lionel Messi (Barcelona), in addition to Nicolas Anelka (Chelsea), Milan scorer Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Arsenal leader Cesc Fabregas immediately got involved.In group “E” there were good preconditions for a sensation. While Roma, a little stunned by the news of the imminent sale, is trying to find its game, two non-star clubs have a chance to squeeze into the top lines of the table. And the CFR took advantage of it. The Romanian twin of the Russian Lokomotiv (the abbreviation CFR stands for “Romanian Railways”) a couple of years ago already loudly declared itself in the Champions League: in its debut match, the Romanian champion beat Roma. However, then the Romanians still remained fourth in the group.
Now CFR intends to achieve not only local success. Although two days before the first match he fired the Italian head coach Andrea Mandorlini, who was replaced by the Romanian Sorin Curtu. The opening victory over Basel, which the hosts secured for themselves in the opening of the match with two won episodes “on the second floor,” so far proves the correctness of the drastic personnel decision.
The finalist of the last Champions League, Bayern, in turn, is ready to defend the honor of the club not only on the football field, but also in the courts. On the eve of the start of the tournament, the German champion filed a lawsuit with the Munich prosecutor's office against UEFA officials Robin Boksic and Peter Limacher, accusing them of libel. They once accused the Bavarians of selling the 2007/08 UEFA Cup semi-final match to Zenit St. Petersburg through the mediation of the Russian mafia. “I was shocked by the ridiculous accusations Bayern had to face. We demand an explanation from UEFA,” the chairman of the board of directors of Bayern, Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, outlined the club’s position. UEFA, in turn, was surprised why Bayern now remembered that old story.
In group “G” there were no unnecessary passions. Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who strengthened Milan, opened the scoring with his goals for the “red-blacks” very timely, and his double ensured the victory for the hosts in the match against Auxerre - 2:0. With exactly the same score, Real won against Ajax, deprived of its main scorer Luis Suarez, and Cristiano Ronaldo returned to its lineup. But the match in Madrid should have ended with a larger score - only one goalkeeper Maarten Stelenburg fought for the guests at the proper level.
“In this match, men fought against boys,” Ajax head coach Martin Jol commented on the match. And, apparently, it will be very difficult for his team to fight for a place in the playoffs. In turn, his colleague from Real Madrid, Jose Mourinho, may receive a tempting offer to temporarily become a part-time coach, leading the Portuguese national team for the next two matches, which failed to start in the qualification for Euro 2012.
The missed chances in Madrid did not have much impact on the performance. There were already enough big scores in the first round of the Champions League. And the favorite of Group H, Arsenal, was the most ruthless towards their opponent. The Gunners defeated Braga, the team that created the loudest sensation at the preliminary stage, knocking Celtic and Sevilla out of the tournament successively. But in the highest football society the new representative from Portugal was not greeted kindly. Already in the first minutes, Fabregas showed from the penalty spot that all mistakes of the guests at their own goal would be severely punished. And then Andrei Arshavin also played out. To begin with, the Russian caught the Braga goalkeeper by surprise with a shot into the near corner, and then made a couple more assists.
“We were just very nervous today, and due to the pressure of responsibility we made a lot of mistakes,” Braga head coach Domingos Paciencia explained the failure. And he promised that in the next matches his team would appear in a different light. Shakhtar will have a chance to check this. The Ukrainian champion had a very difficult time defeating the seemingly modest Partizan. And if it weren’t for captain Darijo Srna’s accurate free-kick, it’s unknown whether the miners would have continued to make plans to reach the Champions League playoffs. Srna himself dedicated this goal to Fernandinho - one of Shakhtar's Brazilian leaders received a severe fracture of the tibia shortly before the match and is unlikely to be able to help the team until the end of the season.
Champions League. 1st round. Group "E". Bayern - Roma - 2:0 (Muller 79, Klose 83), CFR - Basel - 2:1 (Rada 9, Lasina 13 - Stoker 45). Group "F". "Marseille" - "Spartak" - 0:1 (Azpilicueta 82 own goal), "Zilina" - "Chelsea" - 1:4 (Essien 13, Anelka 24, 28, Sturridge 48 - Oravec 55). Group "G". “Milan” – “Auxerre” – 2:0 (Ibrahimovic 66, 69), “Real” – “Ajax” – 2:0 (Anita 30 own goal, Higuain 73). Group "H". "Arsenal" - "Braga" - 6:0 (Fabregas 9 pen., 53, Arshavin 30, Chamakh 34, Vela 69, 84), "Shakhtar" - "Partizan" - 1:0 (Srna 71 ) .