Wednesday wasn’t the best day for big-spending clubs in the UEFA Champions League, as Real Madrid and Manchester City both lost road matches to make the Champions League’s ‘Group of Death’ even more interesting.
Borussia Dortmund outplayed Real Madrid on their way to a 2-1 victory in Germany, taking over first place in Group D in the process. Manchester City saw their own hopes of advancing from Group D take a major hit after falling to Ajax, 3-1, in Amsterdam.
Arsenal endured a nightmare afternoon at the Emirates, as a second-half surge from German side Schalke produced a 2-0 victory for the visitors. Klaas-Jan Huntelaar and Ibrahim Afellay provided the goals for Schalke. In Group B’s other match, Olympiakos scored a valuable road victory against French champions Montpellier.
Malaga kept their record in the group stage perfect thanks to a 1-0 victory against struggling AC Milan. Joaquin provided the goal for the Spanish side, while American defender Oguchi Onyewu made a two-minute cameo appearance for Malaga. Fellow American Sacha Kljestan did not suit up for Anderlecht’s 1-0 loss to Zenit St. Petersburg.
FC Porto also stayed perfect in group play, as Jackson Martinez’s brace led them to a 3-2 victory against Dynamo Kiev. Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Jeremy Menez provided the goals to help Paris St. Germain cruise past Dinamo Zagreb, 2-0, in Group A’s other match.
Here are match highlights for Wednesday’s top matches:
BORUSSIA DORTMUND 2, REAL MADRID 1
AJAX AMSTERDAM 3, MANCHESTER CITY 1
ARSENAL 0, SCHALKE 04 2
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PARIS ST. GERMAIN 2, DINAMO ZAGREB 0
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FC PORTO 3, DYNAMO KIEV 2
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What did you think of Wednesday’s UEFA Champions League action? Surprised by how badly Manchester City played? See Borussia Dortmund winning Group D? Think Arsenal can rebound?
Share your thoughts below.
I hope all the Jermaine Jones haters who want to kick him off the USMNT watched his Champions League performance in London against Arsenal. He sat on the bench during the first half, but came on at half time and was a key contributor in Schalke’s great second-half performance. His ball steal and long drive forward and perfect pass to Farfan to help set up Schalke’s second goal was masterful–and a stake in Arsenal’s heart. Jones is a beast and will be a key US player next year in the Hex.
+1
Agreed. He plays on the best club team of any American in the world and gets regular starts, but somehow isn’t good enough for the USMNT? Never understood that, he’ll be in the US 23 man squad as long as he’s healthy.