Cech proves his worth
When Petr Cech pushed Arturo Vidal’s snappy, looping volley away in the first half, it was a save that told Bayern Munich they were going to have to do a bit better than that to get past him. Good try, Arturo, but did you really think a goalkeeper of Cech’s stature was going to let that one in?
Bayern being Bayern, they took the hint and Robert Lewandowski, the man who arrived at the Emirates Stadium with 15 goals in his previous seven games for club and country, rolled up his sleeves, flexed his muscles and got in the ring with Cech after the break, belatedly presenting the Arsenal goalkeeper with a worthy adversary, two world class players locked in a formidable duel that would play a huge part in the final outcome.
Yet while Lewandowski had tossed his gloves aside as he attempted to continue his astonishing form in front of goal, the ball seemed to be magnetically drawn to Cech’s. The Bayern striker boomed a volley goalwards. It brushed Cech’s fingertips and went over the bar. Lewandowski wore a look of disbelief – and then he came back for more, the fight far from finished, the opening goal seemingly a formality when the Bayern striker raced clear of the Arsenal defence in the 74th minute. His shot was firm and accurate, and still there was no way past Cech, who diverted the ball over with the most feathery of touches.
A superb save from a superb goalkeeper, who also did well to keep out an early shot from Thiago Alcantara, and a performance that made Arsène Wenger’s decision to leave Cech out against Dinamo Zagreb and Olympiakos even more curious. No, there is no guarantee that Arsenal would have made life much easier for themselves if Cech had started instead of David Ospina in their first two group matches. Yet everything Cech did against Bayern oozed authority and while there were times when Pep Guardiola’s team carved them open, Arsenal defended with an assurance that has often eluded them in the big games.
Although Ospina was not at fault in the defeat to Dinamo, he had a night to forget against Olympiakos, whose 3-2 victory at the Emirates Stadium three weeks ago left Arsenal in a perilous position in Group F. Beating Bayern has restored hope and the value of signing Cech from Chelsea has been increasingly obvious in recent weeks. Arsenal’s 3-0 win over Manchester United was largely down to their attacking brilliance in the opening 20 minutes, but do not underestimate the significance of Cech’s save from Anthony Martial just before half-time.
One of the responses to the criticism of Ospina was to point out that Cech made two errors against West Ham on the opening day of the season. Yet as Manuel Neuer’s part in Olivier Giroud’s goal on Tuesday night demonstrated, even the best goalkeepers have imperfections. It does not support the argument that resting them for important Champions League matches is a good idea. JS
Talking about Kevin
It was a tale of two Kevins in Manchester on Wednesday evening. While Kevin De Bruyne continued his encouraging start to life at Manchester City by scoring a fine late winner that could turn out to be a defining moment for Manuel Pellegrini’s side in their fight to reach the last 16, two glaring misses from Kévin Gameiro meant that Sevilla are in an unnecessary quandary in Group D after the Europa League winners failed to capitalise on their long spells of dominance. Gameiro had clear sights of goal either side of half time and on both occasions he headed over the bar when it looked easier to score, leaving Sevilla open to De Bruyne’s sucker punch in the 91st minute. For all Sevilla’s composure in possession, they had nothing to show for it and the pressure will be on them when they host City on 3 November. Gameiro’s wastefulness must have made the Spaniards pine for Carlos Bacca, the electric Colombian striker who left them for Milan in the summer. JS
Malmo get off the mark
Malmo took the scenic route into this season’s Champions League, starting their campaign with a qualifier against Zalgiris Vilnius in July, and after seeing off Red Bull Salzburg and Celtic, the Swedes must have been wondering if they had offended someone at Uefa when they were thrown into a group with Real Madrid, Paris Saint-Germain and Shakhtar Donetsk. Six games, six defeats? Think again. While successive 2-0 defeats against Madrid and PSG were entirely predictable, the 1979 finalists they have given themselves a decent chance of qualifying for the Europa League after a 1-0 home victory over a substandard Shakhtar. Malmo’s coach, Age Hareide, wanted his team to play without fear. He felt that they showed Madrid and PSG too much respect. Markus Rosenborg’s goal in the 17th minute is evidence that Malmo are not here to make up the numbers. JS
Further reading
- Match report: Arsenal 2-0 Bayern Munich
- Cech gives Arsenal belief to keep Champions League dream alive
- Five talking points from Arsenal’s victory over Bayern Munich
- Özil greases the cogs as Arsenal twist and turn to put Bayern in a spin
- Bayern Munich fans stage protest against £64 Arsenal tickets
- Mourinho: referee was ‘weak and naive’ in Chelsea’s draw at Dynamo Kyiv
- Mourinho says he is lonely and ‘living in a different world’
- Match report: PSG 0-0 Real Madrid
- Match report: Bate Borisov 0-2 Barcelona
- Match report: Manchester City 2-1 Sevilla
- Sevilla sparkle as Europe’s great over-achievers despite defeat
- Pellegrini hails Kevin De Bruyne as ‘perfect’ for Manchester City
- Martial praised by Louis van Gaal despite ‘stupid’ mistake
- Match report: CSKA Moscow 1-1 Manchester United
Winners and losers
Winner … Hulk
Hulk was smashing them in again for Zenit St Petersburg as André Villas-Boas’s side beat Lyon 3-1, using that hammer of a left foot to clobber the second goal past Anthony Lopes, who was probably wise not to get a hand to the ball given how quickly it was travelling. Zenit have made a strong start to their campaign, winning their first three matches in Group H, and Hulk has played a crucial part in their early success. The Brazilian forward scored twice when Zenit won 3-2 at Valencia last month, the second of his goals a thunderous drive into the top corner from long range, and a player who has often disappointed at the highest level is looking good. Failing to close Hulk down when he has the ball on his left foot in the final third is asking for trouble. JS
Loser ... Roma
To concede one goal in the last six minutes may be regarded as a misfortune but to lose two is just carelessness, which could come back to haunt Roma. After the loss to Bate Borisov in the last round of matches, the Italian side had just one Champions League point to their name and needed that win to keep up their chances of qualifying for the next round. They got off to a dreadful start against Bayer Leverkusen thanks to two early Javier Hernández goals but fought their way back into the match to score four without reply and find themselves within sniffing distance of that victory. Instead of keeping up that fight, however, they dropped too deep, gave Leverkusen too much room and switched off. Kevin Kampl’s finish was exquisite but before he wrapped his foot around it Giulio Donati was given the freedom of the Roma half. For the second late goal, it was Kampl’s turn to receive that honour and Admir Mehmedi was certainly aided by some loose marking and poor individual mistakes. After the game, Rudi Garcia was adamant that he was “not disappointed” but he should be. That was three points thrown away. IMC
Stat time
8 - No team has ever managed more shots on target vs.a Pep Guardiola side in the UCL than the eight Arsenal mustered tonight. Riposte.
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) October 20, 2015
B04 4-4 ROM: Leverkusen and Roma equal the biggest draw in CL history. Also: HSV - Juve (2000) & Chelsea - Liverpool (2009) #UCL
— Infostrada Sports (@InfostradaLive) October 20, 2015
51 - Iker Casillas has completed 51 clean sheets, the most in UCL history. Saint pic.twitter.com/xpxat6maVD
— OptaJose (@OptaJose) October 20, 2015
Hulk has now been involved in 5 CL goals this season (3 goals, 2 assists), top of the league with Cristiano Ronaldo (5 goals). #UCL
— Infostrada Sports (@InfostradaLive) October 20, 2015
2010 - Roma’s last away win in the Champions League was in November 2010: since then, they have drawn three and lost three. Anxiety.
— OptaPaolo (@OptaPaolo) October 20, 2015
Chelsea in all comps this season: With Branislav Ivanovic (11 games, 1 clean sheet). Without Branislav Ivanovic (3 games, 3 clean sheet).
— Squawka Football (@Squawka) October 20, 2015
Real Madrid fail to score in a #UCL group match for first time in 41 matches (0-2 Juve Nov 2008) #PSG @PSG_inside
— Infostrada Sports (@InfostradaLive) October 21, 2015
10 - Anthony Martial's goal tonight ended a sequence of 10 passes, starting from David de Gea. Fluid. pic.twitter.com/hIOBDOgcZP
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) October 21, 2015
Anthony Martial (19) scores his 5th goal for #MUFC in his 9th match. Ronaldo needed 39 matches to score 5 goals for United at age 19.
— Infostrada Sports (@InfostradaLive) October 21, 2015
Best images
And finally …
When you play alongside Lionel Messi, Luis Suárez and Neymar, struggling to gain recognition comes with the territory and it is inevitable that Ivan Rakitic’s role at Barcelona can sometimes be overlooked. Yet what the Croatian midfielder lacks in star quality, he makes up for in ability. Rakitic may not dominate the headlines but he can dominate midfields and he was in excellent form for Barcelona in their 2-0 win over Bate Borisov, opening the scoring with a shot from 20 yards and then sealing the points with a delicately disguised dink over Sergey Chernik. He is a brilliant player. JS
