Europe’s premier club competition made its annual return this week, with mixed fortunes for the English clubs, though the gulfing class between Europe’s best and the minnows was still in full evidence for everyone to see.
Tottenham Hotspur made their bow, with a thrilling draw in Germany against Werder Bremen, though they will be disappointed to have thrown away a 2-0 lead. It was a dream first twenty minutes for Harry Redknapp’s side, who charged infront courtesy of a Petri Pasanen own goal, and a fantastic header from Peter Crouch. Spurs were giving their more established opponents the run-around on their own pitch. Sadly for them, the momentum swiftly turned once Hugo Almeida headed Bremen back into the match two minutes before half-time. In the second half, Marko Marin quickly bought the game level, and despite Crouch missing a great chance late on, Tottenham clung onto their precious point at the end.
Tuesday was also a flat night for Manchester United, as they were held to a disappointing goalless draw by Scottish champions Rangers at Old Trafford. Sir Alex Ferguson made ten changes for this match, with his focus clearly on Liverpool’s Premiership visit at the weekend. His gamble backfired, as his side misfired badly. Long-range efforts from youngster Darren Gibson were the order of the night, as Rangers very negative tactics took any form of class out of the game. Wayne Rooney made his first club appearance since the revelations about his private life had been exposed in the newspapers, and he was left a forlorn figure throughout. A dismal night for the 2008 winners was compounded by a horror injury to Antonio Valencia. Valencia’s ankle buckled underneath the Old Trafford turf whilst competing for possession with Kirk Broadfoot. The instant reaction for his fellow professionals could tell that the Ecuadorian winger was in agony, with Sky television refusing to show any replays of the unfortunate incident. Valencia has been diagnosed with a broken ankle, and is likely to be out of action until February at the earliest.
Whilst Tuesday was a frustrating night for the English clubs, Wednesday’s action was seamless. Arsenal crushed Sporting Braga 6-0 at the Emirates; with another vintage performance from Arsene Wenger’s chargers that rolled back the years. Cesc Fabregas was fantastic all evening, scoring twice and unlucky not to score his first professional hat-trick. Carlos Vela came off the bench to score a late double, and there were also strikes from Andrei Arshavin and Marouane Chamakh. Having beaten Celtic and Sevilla in qualification for the group stages, Braga were desperately poor and folded once Chamakh had made it 3-0 after half an hour. Consequently, although Arsenal’s performance was magnificent, it will be difficult to judge their potential this season until they meet a far better opponent.
Chelsea continued their goal scoring spree in Slovakia, winning 4-1 against MSK Zilina, making their debut in the Champions League. The match as a contest was over inside half an hour, with the Blues 3-0 up, through Michael Essien and a Nicholas Anelka double. After the break, they relaxed a fraction and Zilina deserved their goal for effort and commitment. Daniel Sturridge scored his first goal in Europe for Chelsea, and with a side missing Frank Lampard to injury and Didier Drogba due to suspension, this is was a signal of intent from the West London side.
Elsewhere in Europe, Barcelona fell a goal behind, but showed their pedigree, with a 5-1 demolition of Panathinaikos in the Nou Camp. Defending champions Inter Milan stuttered to a 2-2 draw in Holland, against Dutch champions FC Twente. Jose Mourinho’s Real Madrid got off to a winning start in Group G, beating Ajax 2-0 in the Bernabeau, courtesy of a double from Gonzalo Higuain. Zlatan Ibrahimovic scored both goals in AC Milan’s 2-0 success against Auxerre of France, and German World Cup stars Thomas Muller and Miroslav Klose both netted in Bayern Munich’s convincing 2-0 triumph over AS Roma in Germany.
After the first set of games, the jury is out on some and there is still a long way to go, before anyone can predict the finalists at Wembley in May 2011. However, do expect the usual suspects from Spain, Italy and England to be in the reckoning in the latter stages of the 2010/11 UEFA Champions League.
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