The Champions League went, largely, according to plan this week for the seeded teams. Only Chelsea failed to claim a win among the pot-one contingent as the Jose Mourinho comeback remains in the doldrums. Compatriots Arsenal, Manchester City and Manchester United suffered no such ill-fortune, with David Moyes claiming his first win the competition as Arsene Wenger continues to defy the critics.
Elsewhere, it was a mixed bag for German teams; two defeats for Bayer Leverkusen and Borussia Dortmund while favorite and defending champion Bayern Munich, as well as Schalke, won out.
Three of four Spanish teams were victorious. Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo continued their duel for the ages with another pair of hatctricks while Atletico Madrid was impressive against Zenit.
Among the Italy contingent, Napoli won well, Milan squeaked through while Juventus disappointed away at Copenhagen.
PSG took its time in getting going against Olympiakos, but shambolic defending allowed the French champion the decisive breakthrough.
Indeed it was a mix of the sublime and ridiculous, goal-wise, in the opening match day. Excellent strikes from Yaya Toure, Vladimir Weiss, Alex Teixeira, Hulk and others were offset by defending so bad you wouldn’t expect it at amateur level.
But entertainment is the name of the game and a meaty 53 strikes were rattled in. That’s the story of the Champions League, week one. Here are five other things we learned from the opening round of group play:
Regular viewers of the Bundesliga will not have been surprised to see Jurgen Klopp screaming through gritted teeth at a match official after a perceived slight against Borussia Dortmund. He brought that creepy rage to the Champions League on Wednesday night at Napoli.
Dortmund was already headed into halftime in disarray. The competition’s defending runner-up was outfought, Klopp outwitted, and 1-0 down with Mats Hummels injured when Roman Weidenfeller was sent off.
The traits the German side needed on the sideline were calmness, strategy and insight. But that wasn’t forthcoming. Zeljko Buvac, the long-haired assistant to Klopp, was the sole man in control as, first, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang replaced the stricken Hummels, and, secondly, Weidenfeller received his marching orders.
When the club needed him most, Klopp had let Dortmund down. His haranguing of the fourth official betrayed immaturity, self-indulgence and a sense of entitlement. He behaved, in his own words, like a “monkey”. But offbeat comments in the press conference will not excuse Klopp on this occasion.
Dortmund was second-best even when it was 11-v-11. Napoli easily coped with the threats of the German side, isolating Robert Lewandowski, nullifying Marco Reus and deadening the impact of Henrikh Mykhitaryan. Lewandowski and Reus only completed one pass each to one another, while the Pole and Mkhitaryan had a shot apiece on target.
Too often Dortmund was predictable, one-paced and sorely lacking Ilkay Gundogan, upon whom it now is fatally dependent. In contrast, Napoli, with its creative faculties in full effect going forward, had its measure and was worth a better margin for their win.
Klopp must remember the hard work and humility that got him and Dortmund to where it is today. Otherwise he is in danger of believing his own hype. All those incidents did was to give Klopp something to hide behind.
If Gareth Bale was in any doubt as to where the power lies at Real Madrid, then this last week will have been an eye-opener. Important as it is to remain level-headed after such a transfer move, Bale would have no other option than to be humbled as Ronaldo first signed the richest contract in the history of football and followed that up with a hat trick away at Galatasaray.
He has shown Bale who the boss is at the Bernabeu.
The treble took Ronaldo’s goal total for Real Madrid to 206, and the third was in a class of its own. Bale’s burgeoning goal ratio, at one in one, needs to get better and stay better, for 200 more matches before he can shake off comparisons with Ronaldo. That, simply, will not happen.
The 100 million euro deal was significant, the highest-paid sum in football, but the new contract for Ronaldo was more so. Bale made his debut at the president’s behest against Villarreal last weekend despite being patently unfit. Florentino Perez wanted that distraction out of the way before this season’s big signing could be celebrated in style. That was the Portugal captain, make no mistake about that.
Ronaldo, temporarily overshadowed by Bale in the run up to the end of the window, is back in vogue. He very rarely cedes the limelight as he has done over the past few weeks, and his was a performance to savor. The best player in the world; the biggest personality at the biggest club.
Gareth, you have got some catching up to do. – Goal.com via Yahoo News
