Champions League Matchday 4

By: Bob | October 31st, 2006

I swear that if any kids come to my door wearing Oliver Kahn masks for Halloween I am going to give them apples and dental floss instead of candy. The Scary One was back in action today in what some people like to call the Champions League. Matchday 4 was a pivotal one for teams looking to stamp their ticket to the knockout round and for those on the verge of elimination. Here is what went down.

Barcelona 2 Chelsea 2
Finding themselves in a must win situation, the defending champions from Barcelona took an early lead on a goal by Deco in the third minute. Frank Lampard scored his bi-annual goal in the second half for Chelsea. Eidur Gudjohnsen quickly answered with a goal of his own. Looks like he has learned how to score in addition to learning how to dive since going to Spain. Barcelona could not hang on to the lead, however, with the on-fire Didier Drogba netting the equalizer right before the whistle. Chelsea stays atop Group A. Barcelona will have to beat out Bremen to advance. More thoughts and insights to come on the Chelsea Offside.

Levski Sofia 0 Werder Bremen 3
For the first 33 minutes of the match Levski Sofia looked like it almost belonged in the Champions League but than the Bremen blitzkrieg took over with goals in minutes 33, 35 and 37. With no points from four matches, the Bulgarian side can concentrate once again on kicking ass domestically. Bremen is now two points ahead of Barcelona in the race to finish second behind Chelsea in Group A with two games remaining. Barca and Bremen will meet on Matchday 6 in what could be a cracker.

Bayern Munich 0 Sporting Lisbon 0
ESPN viewers in North America were treated to the day’s lone scoreless game and numerous close-ups of Oliver Kahn’s face. Curse you, ESPN, curse you. Bayern Munich stays on top of the Group B table and advances to the next round, while Sporting Lisbon is in a dogfight with Inter Milan for the second spot.

Inter Milan 1 Spartak 0
You’d think the cats from Russia would have figured it out by now that you need to break Julio Cruz’s legs during warm-ups because otherwise he is likely to score in the first minute every match. For the second time in Champions League play, the Argentine striker scored in the opening minute to help defeat Spartak. Inter stays alive in Group B. Spartak is all but done in the Champions League.

Liverpool 3 Bordeaux 0
Trotting out the same lineup in back-to-back games for the first time since the Stone Ages, Liverpool received a brace from Sanz Luis Garcia to book their spot in the knockout round, while Bordeaux can take comfort in knowing they make excellent wine. More thoughts and insights about all this to come on the Liverpool Offside.

PSV Eindhoven 2 Galatasaray 0
The Dutch side joins Liverpool in the knockout round and can thank Stjepan Tomas for making life easy. Tomas picked up a red card in the first half making an overmatched Galatasaray side ever more overmatched. The Turkish team has now been eliminated from the Champions League. Thanks for playing, please come back again.

Roma 1 Olympiakos 1
Roma gives up two points at home, but the Italian team should have little problem advancing in the weak ass group that is Group D. Totti scored a goal, but missed on a penalty kick in the first half.

Shakhtar Donetsk 2 Valencia 2
Valencia survives their trip to Ukraine – which is more than some travelers can say – and advances to the next round thanks to a second half equalizer from Roberto Ayala. Bottom of the table Donetsk is all but eliminated, but they haven’t embarrassed themselves with their play in the Champions League.

Wednesday, November 1

Real Madrid vs. Steaua
Lyon vs. Dynamo Kyiv
Benfica vs. Celtic
København vs. Man. United
Arsenal vs. CSKA Moskva
Hamburg vs. Porto
AEK vs. Lille
AC Milan vs. Anderlecht