A competitive week in the so-called Champions League.
Comebacks, goalkeeping mistakes and spectacular strikes have led to nail-biting arithmetic in some Groups.
But Group E is not one of those. If Fiorentina beat Lyon on Matchday 5, they will eliminate Liverpool, whose fate is out of their own hands. Lyon have 10 points, Fiorentina 9, Liverpool 4. Plucky Debrecen of Hungary have scored five goals but lost all four games.
Arsenal strolled to a 4-1 victory over AZ Alkmaar and lead their weak group, Barcelona were held to 0-0 on a very cold night in Russia by negative new boys Rubin Kazan, Manchester United recovered from 3-1 down to CSKA Moscow at Old Trafford.
In Kiev, Inter looked dead and buried after Shevchenko’s dipping volley but won with goals from Milito (86) and Sneijder (89).
Big strikers delivered, Drobga’s goals were superb, so were two by Kun Aguero for Atletico Madrid in that 2-2 , and managers wobbled, especially ace tactician Rafa Benitez.
The main feature of the Arsenal game was the classy interchanges between Nasri, Fabregas and Arshavin.
The Frenchman scored Arsenal’s best goal, the Spaniard scored twice, and the little Russian supplied three assists. Arshavin’s pass into Diaby’s breakaway run was not his best of the night but the big man did well to control the ball with his left foot and smack it in with his right.
Diaby’s a tempo player, a drummer in big boots. When he finds the right beat, he can drive the music. When he can’t find the beat, he’s an embarrassment. Playing for Arsenal gives him credibility, so he’s in the French squad. I find that amazing but then Raymond Domenech is often amazing.
After the AZ game, Cesc Fabregas said he will only be happy when Arsenal win something. He is mature beyond his years and will be a great manager. So will Frank Lampard.
Robin van Persie didn’t score but Wenger is talking him up, saying he’s better than Drogba and Torres (!). With Arsenal unbeaten in 12 games in all comps, a 2-0 win at Wolves could be next. Any clean sheet would be nice, especially for Thomas Vermaelen, who went ballistic when Lens scored a late goal for AZ to make it 4-1, after a foul on Gibbs near the half way line. Almunia was off balance and beaten by tame shot at his near post. Vermaelen is a huge asset who could become as important to Arsenal as big Dane Martin Laursen was to Aston Villa
In a very tight Group F, Inter have 6 points, Rubin 5, Barcelona 5, and Dynamo Kiev 4.
I like Fiorentina and Sevilla, although Sevilla could only draw 1-1 with Stuttgart, whose equaliser was a 25 yard thunderbolt from Swiss-born Serbian midfielder Zdravko Kuzmanovic, who played for Fiorentina for two years. Who is Fiorentina’s talent-spotter, I wonder. Who is their Director of Football?
When there are three good teams in a group, it gets interesting. Right now Bordeaux (10 points) are above Juventus (6) and Bayern Munich (4) in Group A.
In Group C, three teams have won two games, so it’s Milan (7), Real Madrid (7), Marseilles (6) , with FC Zurich on 3.
Some of us love to slag off Serie A as a backwater, a wasteland where small crowds watch divers, cheats and time-wasters, but flowers can blossom beautifully in deserts as Fiorentina proved when they beat Liverpool 2-0 in their second game. That result was no aberration, no fluke. It told us a lot. It gave a us a signal, warned us to pay attention to Group E
Seven weeks after beating Debrecen 1-0, Rafa had a lot of injuries, played Carragher at right back, and it didn’t work. Babel eventually scored with a thunderous shot in 83, Rafa took the limping Torres off after 87, centreback Cris then came forward, Kyrgiakos jumped against two men, lost the header and Lopez made it 1-1.
Torres on one leg is a threat. His reputation is a threat, his blond head is a threat. Take him off and you invite trouble. But all managers have taken off strikers in big games, hoping to protect a lead, and conceded crucial late goals. High anxiety drives those decisions, so the same mistake is made over and over again.
If Barcelona, the European champions, should go out before the knock-out stage, they will redouble their efforts to sign Fabregas and Mascherano.
The latter was superb against Lyon, winning a lot of 40-60 balls. Torres has gone to Spain to seek a second opinion on his groin injury, which may need surgery sooner rather than later.