Pick of the week
Friday 23 October 2009
e-mail
Print
Digg
Save
Photos/Wallpapers »
One of the biggest shocks in UEFA Champions League history, two European powerhouses living up to billing and some rotten luck take prominence as uefa.com surveys the week's biggest stories.
Team: FC Rubin Kazan
Rubin recorded their first-ever UEFA Champions League win in stunning style by beating holders FC Barcelona 2-1 at the Camp Nou. Yet the result came as no surprise to the Russian champions. "From first thing on Tuesday morning the group felt this huge enthusiasm," Aleksandr Ryazantsev revealed after hitting the superb second-minute opener. Zlatan Ibrahimović equalised after the break but Gökdeniz Karadeniz's cool strike on the break earned Rubin a memorable victory.
Player: Hans-Jörg Butt (FC Bayern München)
Butt deserves his place for startling Matchday 3 heroics in a losing cause at FC Girondins de Bordeaux. After fouling Marouane Chamakh in the area, the Bayern goalkeeper made immediate amends as he dived to his right to save Yoann Gourcuff's penalty. If that was not enough, with two minutes left he did it again for the now nine-man Bayern, this time stopping Jussiê's spot-kick to keep his side in the game. Unfortunately for Butt, first-half goals from Michaël Ciani and Marc Planus had already done the damage in a 2-1 loss.
Goal: João Moutinho (Sporting Clube de Portugal)
The speed and precision with which Moutinho struck Sporting's late winner in Thursday's UEFA Europa League game at FK Ventspils sufficed to make the goal a worthy contender, but what marked it out was the way the midfielder created the opening by flicking the ball over bemused opponent Vitālijs Astafjevs with his head. "It was important for the team to win so we can qualify as quickly as possible," said Moutinho, deflecting attention away from himself. "Victories are good for morale and we always want to win."
Match: Real Madrid CF 2-3 AC Milan
Rarely does such a hyped match live up to billing, but for blunders, great goals and drama this one had it all. Following their Matchday 2 defeat by FC Zürich, Milan's dire run looked set to continue when Raúl González pounced on Dida's fumble to put Madrid ahead. However, strikes in quick succession just after the hour from Andrea Pirlo and Pato swung the contest the Rossoneri's way. Royston Drenthe equalised soon after, only for Pato to deliver the knockout blow two minutes from time. "We showed we are a great side," said the match-winner.
Volley: Dejan Stanković (FC Internazionale Milano)
Inter laid down a marker with their 5-0 stroll past Genoa CFC last Saturday, confirming their place at the top of Serie A. However, it is for Stanković's goal – the Nerazzurri's third of the day – that the game will be remembered. Genoa keeper Marco Amelia left his goal to clear but succeeded only in locating Inter's Serbia midfielder who volleyed first time into the unguarded net from all of 45 metres. Stanković followed that by finding the target in the 2-2 midweek draw against FC Dynamo Kyiv.
Quote: Maxime Gonalons (Olympique Lyonnais)
"I think the fact I found myself not very far from death gave me a lot of mental strength. I was calm when I came on, I didn't let the emotion of playing at Anfield for the first time affect me. After scoring I just didn't know where to go to celebrate. I'll remember this all my life."
Having come off the bench to grab Lyon's equaliser in their 2-1 win at Liverpool FC on Tuesday, 20-year-old Maxime Gonalons spoke about the character-building effects of almost losing his foot due to a badly infected blister two summers ago.
Chant: "There's only one Riise"
Fulham fans voiced their support for Bjørn Helge in the battle of the Riise brothers at Craven Cottage on Thursday. The younger sibling, Bjørn Helge, had the better of the early skirmishes, pushing AS Roma's John Aarne back with his forward forays down the right. The latter, though, was the last Riise standing, clapping his brother off following Bjørn Helge's 75th-minute substitution.
Numbers
7 Seven of the 49 goals scored on Matchday 3 of the UEFA Champions League were own goals, with three coming in a single match – FC Unirea Urziceni's 4-1 win at Rangers FC.
68 Raúl's strike to put Real Madrid in front against Milan took him level with Filippo Inzaghi as the all-time leading scorer in European club competition with 68 goals.
22 It is that many years since Liverpool FC had last lost four games in a row – their defeat by Lyon matched that sequence.
Bounce of the ball
That reverse compounded a grim week for the Reds, who had discovered to their cost last Saturday how luck can desert a team just when they need it most. Rafael Benítez's side travelled to Sunderland AFC on the back of two defeats and were condemned to a third in the most curious of circumstances. Darren Bent's shot looked destined for Pepe Reina's arms only to deflect off of a stray beach ball – thrown on to the pitch by a Liverpool supporter – and into the bottom corner.
Chelsea stand tall
Chelsea FC may be one of only four teams still boasting 100 per cent records in the UEFA Champions League group stage, yet it is their defensive record that is most impressive. Carlo Ancelotti can claim the competition's solitary unbreached defence after three Matchdays, with the Londoners being halfway to navigating the group stage without conceding a goal – an unprecedented feat.
Inter catch cold
After four straight Serie A titles, the Nerazzurri again featured among the UEFA Champions League's pre-season favourites. However, the 2-2 draw with Dynamo left Inter bottom of Group F and extended their winless run in the competition to eight matches – or, as of Friday, 366 days. With successive trips to the Ukrainian capital and Barcelona looming on Matchdays 4 and 5, that drought must end sooner rather than later if Serie A's finest are to reach the knockout stage.
©uefa.com 1998-2009. All rights reserved.
