UEFA Champions League: Wednesday Highlights
2009-10-21 - Added by
ExtraFootie
ExtraFootie's David Segar reviews the highlights and lowlights of another exciting night in the UEFA Champions League, including the a five-goal-thriller at the Bernabeu, and a double victory for England's top two.
Game of the Night - Without doubt the five-goal thriller at the Santiago Bernabeu which saw AC Milan edge the Galacticos of Real Madrid. Goalkeeping errors, sublime goals, calamitous defending, disallowed
efforts and a bit of argy-bargy all made for an extraordinary night of
football between a collection of the world's finest players. Milan sensation Alexandre Pato bagged a brace to once again show just why Chelsea were willing to spend £50million for his signature in the summer - a superstar in the making!
Performance of the Night - Bordeaux defeated Bayern Munich 2-1 to really open up the possibilities in Group A. Laurent Blanc's side were immediately penciled in for Europa League participation after the draw was made, with everyone assuming Bayern and Juventus would comfortably qualify. However, after earning a respectable draw in Turin and then defeating also rans Maccabi Haifa, the French side took on Louis Van Gaal's team at the Chaban-Delmas Stadium, and won.
Upset of the Night - Even though it wasn't played tonight, it's tempting to say Barcelona 1-2 Rubin Kazan, just because it was so shocking it deserves to win two nights running! Though playing by the rules it would probably be a toss-up between the Bordeaux victory over Bayern or Wolfsburg's stalemate with Besiktas. Armin Veh's team have built a reputation of being deadly at the Volkswagen Arena whilst the Turkish side are well known for being solid at home and useless away, so a 0-0 draw was somewhat of a surprise. Especially baring in mind the German champions boasted the trio of Misimovic, Dzeko and Grafite, though it didn't help that the Brazilian got himself sent off in the 74th minute.
Player of the Night - For entertainment value it would probably be Salomon Kalou as he managed to prevent a Lampard goal from standing, missed a sitter from point blank range and was still able to find the energy to score two goals! Alexandre Pato must get a mention too though as his brace at the Bernabeu caused a mild shock and gave a struggling AC Milan team a famous win that could see them put together a traditionally impressive run in European competition.
Donkeys of the Night - Again we get our winners from the game of the night in the Spanish capital as Iker Casillas proclaimed to opposite number Dida "Whatever you can't do, I can't do better!". The Brazilian keeper made a complete mess of Esteban Granero's shot, spilling it straight to Raul who scored. Then with the scores at 1-1 Casillas scampered out of his area and completely misjudged the ball, allowing Pato to take it round him and give his side the lead.
Goal of the Night - Hmm, of all the games that occurred which one to pick from, how about Real Madrid v AC Milan? Andrea Pirlo stunned the Bernabeu into silence as smashed home a 30 yarder past one of the best goalkeepers in the world (that was before the Pato incident).
Talking Point of the Night - There were several really, including Manchester United's capability with the fake pitch in Moscow, dominating CSKA and winning 1-0 thanks to a late Antonio Valencia strike, as well as the thriller in Madrid and Bordeaux's win over Bayern, but the main talking point will probably be 'When will Abel Resino be sacked?' The Spaniard is on borrowed time at the Vicente Calderon and the heavy 4-0 loss to Chelsea could well have been his last game in charge of Los Colchoneros.
Team of the Night (4-3-3) - Cech (Chelsea), Heinze (Marseille), Tremoulinas (Bordeaux), Planus (Bordeaux), Chiellini (Juventus), Pirlo (AC Milan), Lampard (Chelsea), Nani (Man Utd), Kalou (Chelsea), Hulk (Porto), Pato (AC Milan)