Champions League Matchday 2: We have liftoff

By: Bob | October 3rd, 2007

Round 2 of Champions League group play is in the books. We saw some favorites continue to cruise toward a spot in the knockout round, some others slip, late game heroics and a few surprise teams open some eyes. Here are some random takeaways from the Matchday 2 action.

Scotland uber alles - Ok, a bit premature to rush to judgment but after Scotland knocked off France in Euro 2008 qualifying last month and after Rangers laid the smackdown on the road against Lyon and after Celtic’s dramatic 90th minute victory over AC Milan, it is easy to forgive Scottish football fans for thinking their nation is percolating to the top of the football world. After losing a pair of Champions League games 3-0, it is also easy to understand why Lyon fans might want to take a vacation far from their televisions when their team plays in Europe.

Masterful Messi - This is probably the 9,000th time you have read this sentiment this week, but boy oh boy isn’t Lionel Messi playing some excellent football? It is a pleasure watching someone so young and with a body that is so mortal playing like he is from another universe. It was also a pleasure watching the saves that Stuttgart’s Raphael Schafer and Barcelona’s Victor Valdes made in that game.

Repeat after me - Ruud Van Nistelrooy scored a goal in the Champions League. Ruud Van Nistelrooy scored a goal in the Champions League. Has a familiar ring to it, doesn’t it? The master of the poach seems to live for the Champions League. The Real Madrid striker recorded a brace against Lazio.

They always win 1-0 - For the sixth time this season, Manchester United came away with a 1-0 win. After all the build up about Roma seeking revenge for last year’s slaughter, Manchester United simply played an efficient game with Wayne Rooney scoring his first goal of the season. Roma, who started the season looking like the best team in the world, have not won in four matches. I’ll admit to a bit of perverse pleasure seeing Cristiano Ronaldo’s face bloodied.

Zoom zoom Zlatan - I’ve always thought that Zlatan Ibrahimović has been overhyped, but I will be the first to admit that he is playing like a stud at the moment. Not only did he score a brace for Inter against PSV, but he also did some defending after his team was reduced to 10 men and then nine.

Rock the Shakhtar - After taking it to Celtic at home, Shakhtar pulled out an impressive road result against Benfica. The Ukrainian side has the backing of an owner with deep pockets and so far this has them on top of Group D. We’ll see if they are contenders or pretenders when they travel to face holders AC Milan on October 24.

They still have life - The bugles were warming up to play Taps when Chelsea fell behind Valencia in the 9th minute, but to their credit the team in turmoil turned things around to pick up three road points that can only be described as huge. By the way, don’t you think that John Terry should play with protective gear from head to toe? The guy doesn’t have an unbroken bone in his body. He’s a warrior.

There’s no place like on the road - Out of the 16 home teams in matchday 2, only four came away with three points. So much for home field advantage. Olympiacos even won on the road, something they hadn’t done in their previous 31 Champions League away matches.

Whither nil-nil? - Through two rounds, 32 games in total, there has been no scoreless draws.

Whither Liverpool? - One point from two games for a Liverpool club that has been so good in the Champions League the past two seasons. They still have time to turn it around, but their form at the moment is less than stellar. Marseille seem to be saving their best football for the competition.

90th minute heroes - In terms of excitement, nothing beats a last minute game winning goal. Scott McDonald provided the thrills for Celtic fans with a goal in the 90th minute to knock off AC Milan. Ricardo Quaresma notched the lone goal two minutes into stoppage time to give Porto fans goosebumps.

Champions League Matchday 2 results

Lyon 0-3 Rangers
Stuttgart 0-2 Barcelona
Man. United 1-0 Roma
Dynamo Kyiv 1-2 Sporting
CSKA Moskva 2-2 Fenerbahçe
Internazionale 2-0 PSV
Steaua 0-1 Arsenal
Sevilla 4-2 Slavia
Liverpool 0-1 Marseille
Beşiktaş 0-1 Porto
Valencia 1-2 Chelsea
Rosenborg 0-2 Schalke
Lazio 2-2 Real Madrid
Bremen 1-3 Olympiacos
Celtic 0-1 Milan
Benfica 0-1 Shakhtar