Image: Adam Davy/PA Wire
It was a do-or-die encounter for Arsene Wenger’s men and his side didn’t let him down, as the Gunners rejuvenated hopes of European glory with a 2-0 win over the German giants Bayern Munich. Ivan Rakitic scored twice, as Barcelona recorded an easy win over Belarusian minnows BATE Borisov. Despite dominating proceedings, Chelsea failed to score a goal in Kiev but will take plenty of positives after a fine overall display.
Image: Reuters/Dylan Martinez
After Arsene Wenger conceded that his side didn’t take their first two European outings seriously, which subsequently ended in embarrassing defeats, Arsenal faced their toughest opposition yet – the mighty Bayern Munich. Arsenal were expected to be run over by the rampaging Germans, who were favorites to top Group F, but there was this sense of optimism that the home side would pull off a miracle and that’s exactly what happened. Arsenal defended deep in their own half and Douglas Costa often gave the Gunners a scare on the left-flank with his mazy runs. But it was Manuel Neuer who grabbed all headlines in the first-half, when pulled off perhaps the save of tournament. Monreal dinked in an inch-perfect cross from the left flank to the unmarked Theo Walcott, and the Englishman’s free header was inexplicably saved by Manuel Neuer’s left hand, stunning both Arsenal and Bayern fans alike. Petr Cech, who replaced David Ospina between the posts, made two brilliant saves to dent Thiago and Vidal. Both sides had attempts on target in the first-half but there were no goals to show for it, as the referee blew the half-time whistle to an exhilarating 45 minutes display of end-to-end action.
Action Images via Reuters/Tony O’Brien
Bayern dominated possession in the second-half but couldn’t find a way through past Petr Cech and especially the timely interventions of Laurent Koscielny, and it was the home side which took the lead thanks to an uncharacteristic lapse of judgement by Manuel Neuer. The German no.1, attempted to punch Santi Cazorla’s teasing free-kick away but missed the ball altogether and the ball fell kindly enough right onto the substitute Olivier Giroud’s head and although the Frenchman didn’t quite intend the header, he didn’t mind as the ball rolled into the back of the net. In the dying second of the game, as Bayern pushed for an equalizing goal, Hector Bellerin pounced upon David Alaba’s weak pass in his own half, and the Spanish full-back burst his way through to send in an inviting cross to Mesut Ozil and although Neuer incredibly clawed the ball away, the goal was given as the ball crossed the line, to double Arsenal’s lead and to secure a much needed three points. The only negative Wenger will draw from this landmark victory is the hamstring injury to Aaron Ramsey, who had only regained his form over the last few games and will probably face a long spell on the sidelines.
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A shock win for BATE Borisov was always off the cards and Barcelona made that quite clear in the opening stages, when Luis Suarez and Neymar forced early saves. Although the first-half ended goalless, Ivan Rakitic opened the scoring with a vicious shot into the top corner from 20 yards. The Croatian midfielder doubled his lead when he latched on to Neymar’s incising pass in the BATE box and chipped the ball over the onrushing ‘keeper to confirm his side’s victory.
Action Images via Reuters/John SIbley
Chelsea faced a tricky trip to Ukrainian giants Dynamo Kyiv but will be disappointed not to have returned with more than a point. Eden Hazard, who was dropped for Chelsea’s league win over Aston Villa, was brought back into the starting line-up and was a threatening presence for the entirety of the match. Nemanja Matic also made a return and repaid his boss’ faith with a typical commanding display in the middle of the park. Hazard came close to scoring when his low shot had ‘keeper Shovkovskiy well beaten but his low shot agonizingly struck the post. Mourinho was furious when Fabregas was denied a penalty, after the Spaniard was clearly fouled in the box and made his point clear in the post-match interview that his side was hard done by, even labeling the referee as ‘weak’. Although Chelsea don’t have three points to show for it, the Blues will return to London high on confidence and with a glimmer of hope, as their season seems to be back on track.
Bayer Leverkusen and AS Roma shared the spoils in an eight goal thriller at the Bay Arena, as both sides came back from two-goal deficits to make matters level. Javier Hernandez scored twice in the opening 20 minutes but two scrappy goals by Daniele De Rossi before the break made it two goals apiece. Miralem Pjanic’s gorgeous free-kick gave Roma the lead, before Iago Falque finished off a counter-attacking move to make it 4-2 for the Italian side. Kevin Kampl reduced the deficit to one goal with a curled effort into the top corner and Admir Mehmedi leveled terms in the 86th minute with a finish from close-range.
Other Results:
Group F
Dinamo Zagreb 0-1 Olympiakos
Group G
FC Porto 2-0 Maccabi Tel Aviv
Group H
Valencia 2-1 KAA Gent
Zenit St Petersburg 3-1 Lyon
Tags: Arsenal Barcelona BATE Borisov Bayern Chelsea Dynamo Kyiv
