Champions League 2009-10

C.Ronaldo

Champions League Wed Review

AC Milan edged a thrilling contest with Real Madrid 3-2 at the Bernabeu in the pick of Wednesday's Champions League games.

Raul put the home side ahead after pouncing on a dreadful blunder by Milan goalkeeper Dida, but Andrea Pirlo (62) and Alexandre Pato (66) turned the match around.

Substitute Royston Drenthe made it 2-2 after 76 minutes but Pato's second two minutes from time sealed a memorable win.

Also in Group C, a moment of quality from Gabriel Heinze settled a poor contest between FC Zurich and Marseille, Heinze volleying home after 69 minutes to give the visitors a 1-0 win.

Marseille had Laurent Bonnart sent off for a second yellow in stoppage time.

Michael Ciani scored at both ends and Bordeaux missed two penalties as the French champions leapfrogged Bayern Munich to move to the top of Group A with a 2-1 win.

Ciani put Bayern ahead with an own goal in the sixth minute before making amends with a fine equaliser in the 29th minute.

Bayern were reduced to 10 men when they lost Thomas Muller and Marc Planus then scored the winner in the 41st minute.

Bordeaux could even afford to miss two penalties with Hans-Jorg Butt saving from both Yoann Gourcuff and Jussie, while the visitors ended the game with only nine men as Daniel van Buyten was sent off for the foul which led to the second penalty in the 88th minute.

Elsewhere in the group, Juventus made life hard for themselves but held on to defeat 10-man Maccabi Haifa 1-0.

Giorgio Chiellini's header early in the second half was enough to hand the Bianconeri all three points in Turin.

Chelsea put themselves on the brink of qualification from Group D with a comfortable 4-0 victory over Atletico Madrid.

A goal in each half from Ivory Coast international Salomon Kalou, a fine drive from Frank Lampard and an own goal from Luis Perea maintained Chelsea's 100% record.

Porto are three points behind Chelsea after coming from behind to beat Apoel Nicosia 2-1, Hulk scoring twice - one a penalty - after an own goal from Alvaro Perreira gifted the visitors the lead.

In the early evening kick-off, Antonio Valencia struck a late winner as Manchester United maintained their 100% record in Group B at the expense of CSKA Moscow.

The other Group B game between Wolfsburg and Besiktas finished in a goalless, yet entertaining, draw.

Champions League Wed Review | ESPNSTAR.com

C.Ronaldo

Champions League Wed Review

AC Milan edged a thrilling contest with Real Madrid 3-2 at the Bernabeu in the pick of Wednesday's Champions League games.

Raul put the home side ahead after pouncing on a dreadful blunder by Milan goalkeeper Dida, but Andrea Pirlo (62) and Alexandre Pato (66) turned the match around.

Substitute Royston Drenthe made it 2-2 after 76 minutes but Pato's second two minutes from time sealed a memorable win.

Also in Group C, a moment of quality from Gabriel Heinze settled a poor contest between FC Zurich and Marseille, Heinze volleying home after 69 minutes to give the visitors a 1-0 win.

Marseille had Laurent Bonnart sent off for a second yellow in stoppage time.

Michael Ciani scored at both ends and Bordeaux missed two penalties as the French champions leapfrogged Bayern Munich to move to the top of Group A with a 2-1 win.

Ciani put Bayern ahead with an own goal in the sixth minute before making amends with a fine equaliser in the 29th minute.

Bayern were reduced to 10 men when they lost Thomas Muller and Marc Planus then scored the winner in the 41st minute.

Bordeaux could even afford to miss two penalties with Hans-Jorg Butt saving from both Yoann Gourcuff and Jussie, while the visitors ended the game with only nine men as Daniel van Buyten was sent off for the foul which led to the second penalty in the 88th minute.

Elsewhere in the group, Juventus made life hard for themselves but held on to defeat 10-man Maccabi Haifa 1-0.

Giorgio Chiellini's header early in the second half was enough to hand the Bianconeri all three points in Turin.

Chelsea put themselves on the brink of qualification from Group D with a comfortable 4-0 victory over Atletico Madrid.

A goal in each half from Ivory Coast international Salomon Kalou, a fine drive from Frank Lampard and an own goal from Luis Perea maintained Chelsea's 100% record.

Porto are three points behind Chelsea after coming from behind to beat Apoel Nicosia 2-1, Hulk scoring twice - one a penalty - after an own goal from Alvaro Perreira gifted the visitors the lead.

In the early evening kick-off, Antonio Valencia struck a late winner as Manchester United maintained their 100% record in Group B at the expense of CSKA Moscow.

The other Group B game between Wolfsburg and Besiktas finished in a goalless, yet entertaining, draw.

Champions League Wed Review | ESPNSTAR.com

C.Ronaldo

Kaka: Real Madrid will still qualify

Real Madrid were defeated by AC Milan at the Santiago Bernabeu, as the Italian side fired three past their hosts in the second half.

The triumph marked a return to form for Alexandre Pato, and it was a special night for Kaka, who took to the field against his former team for the first time since joining Los Merengues.

"I'm sorry that we lost against my old team tonight, but Pato is a very strong player," Kaka told Sky Italia.

"I was hoping to get a win, but we weren't able to. I hope that we can get it right next time, so we can qualify from the group stage.

"In the end we will qualify though," the Brazilian playmaker added.

Kaka took some time to talk about Milan's alleged downfall, which he expunged as a myth.

He continued, "I never believed that Milan were in crisis. After six years at the club, I knew that they were still very strong in Europe.

"At the key moments, they have the grit required to win."

Kaka greeted his former running mates well before the match, and was among them after the game. He even managed to exchange his shirt for two Rossoneri shirts after the showdown.

"Who did I exchange my shirts with? One with Ambrosini and one with Inzaghi," he concluded.

C.Ronaldo

Kaka: Real Madrid will still qualify

Real Madrid were defeated by AC Milan at the Santiago Bernabeu, as the Italian side fired three past their hosts in the second half.

The triumph marked a return to form for Alexandre Pato, and it was a special night for Kaka, who took to the field against his former team for the first time since joining Los Merengues.

"I'm sorry that we lost against my old team tonight, but Pato is a very strong player," Kaka told Sky Italia.

"I was hoping to get a win, but we weren't able to. I hope that we can get it right next time, so we can qualify from the group stage.

"In the end we will qualify though," the Brazilian playmaker added.

Kaka took some time to talk about Milan's alleged downfall, which he expunged as a myth.

He continued, "I never believed that Milan were in crisis. After six years at the club, I knew that they were still very strong in Europe.

"At the key moments, they have the grit required to win."

Kaka greeted his former running mates well before the match, and was among them after the game. He even managed to exchange his shirt for two Rossoneri shirts after the showdown.

"Who did I exchange my shirts with? One with Ambrosini and one with Inzaghi," he concluded.

C.Ronaldo

Manchester United won

Chelsea too

but Real lost in the end!

Kimi

Real lost

Milan's midfield and defence was really good,Casillas made a stupid thing by coming off the post

. Kaka was playing as if he's playing half-heartedly against Milan,Granero was good in the first half,he should have been replaced by Vander Vaart in the second half,Marcele did well and so did Raul.Pato was brilliant,Ronaldinho did showed some form few times,but was smartly outplayed by Albiol and Marcelo,Zambrotta escaped from being given spot kick for his foul on Benzema in the first half,except for the first goal,Dida really did some brilliant saves.

Chelsea was

and the sole reason behind all goals was Lampard

C.Ronaldo

Rafa Benitez is facing the very real prospect of trying to save Liverpool's European dream without Steven Gerrard.

The Liverpool boss was without his skipper at Fulham in the Barclays Premier League, and is seemingly clutching at straws that Gerrard will be available for Wednesday's Champions League trip to Lyon.

Liverpool have lost back-to-back Group E matches to Fiorentina and the French club, and a victory in the Stade Gerland is now the only result that will realistically keep the Reds in with a chance of reaching the last 16.

With Fiorentina at home to Hungarian club Debrecen on Wednesday, having already won in Budapest convincingly against the group's bottom club, Liverpool know they are up against it if they want to snatch one of the two qualifying places.

Lose to Lyon and the French side will have 12 points to Liverpool's three. If Fiorentina win their match in Florence, they will have nine points.

And that will mean Liverpool are all but doomed with just two games left, with the top two sides being able to engineer a result when they meet in Florence on November 24 that will eliminate the Anfield club.

It is a shattering prospect for Benitez, and would cost Liverpool £20million of UEFA prize money.

Benitez said: "We must win in Lyon. No matter what happens elsewhere, anything but a victory will leave us facing a really bad situation."

Gerrard is battling to overcome a groin injury, and is facing surgery if he fails to make the Lyon match.

Benitez added: "I do not know yet whether Steven will play in Lyon, we must work with him. But it is true there is a problem.

"We do have a problem if he is not fit for Lyon, it is a crucial time. In three days we will maybe have a better idea.

"He is doing well, and maybe he could be available. But Glen Johnson will be out for five days with a calf tear, so he is a problem too."

He added: "We know we have to win in Lyon, we do not know what will happen in the other group game with Fiorentina at home to Debrecen, but the Italian club have already won in Hungary, so they must be favourites to win in Florence.

"If they do then we know we just have to win. But we really know that anyway, we already know we have to win to stay in contention.

"We expect Fiorentina to win their match, but football can produce surprises. We can only look after ourselves and try to win our match."

Without Gerrard, the spotlight will fall elsewhere for the inspiration to keep Liverpool in the European hunt.

And Benitez sees Argentina captain Javier Mascherano as the perfect answer, despite claims of late that the midfielder is not happy and not at his best.

Benitez said: "Javier played his best game of the season when we won against Manchester United last weekend, I am happy with his form now.

"He was worried about whether Argentina would qualify for the World Cup finals, and sometimes you cannot stop players worrying about their countries.

"But they have reached the finals now and he is more relaxed and playing up to his best levels again.

"What happened in the summer with Barcelona is in the past now and not bothering him. We all knew about that interest, but it is not a consideration now.

"He is now doing really well and back to the very best level he was before."

Liverpool's form against French clubs, having won their last four matches on French soil in Europe, is good. A fifth is now critical.

Benitez: We must win in Lyon | ESPNSTAR.com

Kimi

Clarence Seedorf believes AC Milan are finally beginning to find their rhythm as they prepare to face Real Madrid.

The Rossoneri had won just one of five games before facing Madrid last month, when they came from a goal down to claim victory at the Bernabeu, but Leonardo's men have found some form ever since.

They have taken seven points from a possible nine in Serie A, including Saturday's 2-0 triumph over Parma which lifted them to fourth in the standings.

"Little by little, the team is showing its true colours," said Seedorf.

"We are happy, although we know the road is long.

"But the positive thing is that I see the team is starting to have confidence in its own ability and that is something which satisfies me."

The Rossoneri know Madrid will be eager to avenge last month's 3-2 defeat.

The result left the teams level on six points at the top of Group C after three games.

"I don't need to prepare my players for these type of games," Leonardo said.

"What we hope is to maintain the same high level as we have displayed in recent matches."

History suggests the Italian giants have reason to be optimistic as they have won all five games against Madrid at the San Siro and conceded just one goal.

The good news for the hosts is that Alessandro Nesta has recovered from a muscle injury that kept him out of Saturday's game against Parma and will be available to face the Spaniards.

Alexandre Pato, who scored twice in the first meeting between the two, is set to lead Milan's attack alongside Filippo Inzaghi and Ronaldinho.

Madrid also head into the match with renewed confidence after going some way towards redeeming themselves for last week's humiliating Copa del Rey defeat to lowly Alcorcon.

They enjoyed a stirring derby victory over Getafe on Saturday, where they recovered from the early dismissal of defender Raul Albiol to claim a 2-0 win.

Madrid had plenty of heroes in that match but it was striker Gonzalo Higuain who stood out, netting both his side's goals and only narrowly missing out on a sensational 12-minute hat-trick after seeing another shot strike the post.

The Argentinian could hardly have picked a better time to produce such a performance, with both Madrid and coach Manuel Pellegrini under intense pressure following three defeats in five games.

But the 21-year-old dismissed any suggestion he is the team's "saviour".

"I had the fortune to score two goals, but the team played a great match and we won thanks to the effort of everyone," he said in Marca.

"I'm not the saviour. I don't like that. I'm very happy because you don't score two goals every day, but I'm not the saviour at all. The merit goes to the team."

Saturday's match was only Higuain's fourth start of the season in all competitions, partly due to injury, but Madrid fans are eager to see the former River Plate hitman keep his place in the side for tomorrow's game with Milan.

When asked if he would be disappointed to be back on the bench at the San Siro, Higuain said: "I'm calm, it's not something I'm obsessing about. Obviously I want to play, because it's a special game, but the coach is the one who makes the decisions.

"I always want to play, but at Madrid there are many players and we are all ready to play."

Coach Pellegrini, who received a vote of confidence from club president Florentino Perez yesterday, named a 20-man squad for the trip to Italy with Cristiano Ronaldo and Ezequiel Garay injured, and Guti and Christoph Metzelder omitted.

AC Milan vs Real Madrid Preview | ESPNSTAR.com

C.Ronaldo

Champions League Tuesday Review

Manchester United and Porto have been joined by Bordeaux and Chelsea in qualifying for the Champions League last 16.

However, AC Milan and Real Madrid could yet miss out on progression from the group stages.

Bayern Munich are in danger of missing out in qualification from Group A after Bordeaux claimed a 2-0 win at the Allianz Arena.

The pressure mounted on Bayern coach Louis Van Gaal after strikes from Yoann Gourcuff and Marouane Chamakh secured qualification for Les Girondins, who are unbeaten at the top of the Group A standings.

Juventus are two points behind the French side and four ahead of Bayern following their 1-0 win at Maccabi Haifa, courtesy of Mauro Camoranesi's winner in first-half injury-time.

Photo Gallery

Chelsea booked their progression from Group D after a 2-2 draw with Atletico Madrid at the Vicente Calderon Stadium.

Sergio Aguero gave Atletico the lead in the 66th minute, but Didier Drogba - on his return to European action following suspension - netted twice in the last eight minutes to seemingly earn Chelsea the win.

It was not to be as Aguero struck his second goal from a free-kick in stoppage-time to earn Atletico a draw, but Chelsea are still assured of a place in the knockout stages courtesy of Porto's win over Apoel Nicosia.

The Portuguese side triumphed 1-0 in Cyprus, with Falcao on target six minutes from time.

Last season's runners-up Manchester United required a stoppage-time equaliser from Antonio Valencia to secure their place in the last 16 with a 3-3 Group B draw against CSKA Moscow at Old Trafford.

The winger scored the winner in Russia and his effort this time around capped a rousing fightback by Sir Alex Ferguson's side following strikes from Michael Owen and Paul Scholes.

CSKA Moscow squandered a 3-1 advantage, with Alan Dzagoev, Milos Krasic and Vasili Berezutsky the men on target.

Players Ratings for Man United-CSKA Moscow

Wolfsburg are in pole position for second place behind United after a 3-0 win at Besiktas.

European giants AC Milan and Real Madrid, who have won the competition on seven and nine occasions, respectively, shared a 1-1 draw in Group C, with both teams a point above Marseille.

Karim Benzema gave Real the lead in the 29th minute, but Ronaldinho replied with a penalty 10 minutes before the break.

Alexandre Pato had a goal controversially disallowed moments later before Dida denied Raul a late winner in a dramatic game at the San Siro.

Player Ratings for AC Milan-Real Madrid

Marseille could yet progress at the expense of Milan or Real after a 6-1 defeat of FC Zurich, with two goals in the opening 10 minutes and three in the final 10.

An own-goal from Silvan Aegerter put them on their way before Fabrice Abriel, Mamadou Niang, Vitorino Hilton, Benoit Cheyrou and Brandao were on target. The visitors' Alexandre Alphonse made it 2-1 after 31 minutes.
Champions League Tuesday Review | ESPNSTAR.com

C.Ronaldo

Champions League Tuesday Review

Manchester United and Porto have been joined by Bordeaux and Chelsea in qualifying for the Champions League last 16.

However, AC Milan and Real Madrid could yet miss out on progression from the group stages.

Bayern Munich are in danger of missing out in qualification from Group A after Bordeaux claimed a 2-0 win at the Allianz Arena.

The pressure mounted on Bayern coach Louis Van Gaal after strikes from Yoann Gourcuff and Marouane Chamakh secured qualification for Les Girondins, who are unbeaten at the top of the Group A standings.

Juventus are two points behind the French side and four ahead of Bayern following their 1-0 win at Maccabi Haifa, courtesy of Mauro Camoranesi's winner in first-half injury-time.

Photo Gallery

Chelsea booked their progression from Group D after a 2-2 draw with Atletico Madrid at the Vicente Calderon Stadium.

Sergio Aguero gave Atletico the lead in the 66th minute, but Didier Drogba - on his return to European action following suspension - netted twice in the last eight minutes to seemingly earn Chelsea the win.

It was not to be as Aguero struck his second goal from a free-kick in stoppage-time to earn Atletico a draw, but Chelsea are still assured of a place in the knockout stages courtesy of Porto's win over Apoel Nicosia.

The Portuguese side triumphed 1-0 in Cyprus, with Falcao on target six minutes from time.

Last season's runners-up Manchester United required a stoppage-time equaliser from Antonio Valencia to secure their place in the last 16 with a 3-3 Group B draw against CSKA Moscow at Old Trafford.

The winger scored the winner in Russia and his effort this time around capped a rousing fightback by Sir Alex Ferguson's side following strikes from Michael Owen and Paul Scholes.

CSKA Moscow squandered a 3-1 advantage, with Alan Dzagoev, Milos Krasic and Vasili Berezutsky the men on target.

Players Ratings for Man United-CSKA Moscow

Wolfsburg are in pole position for second place behind United after a 3-0 win at Besiktas.

European giants AC Milan and Real Madrid, who have won the competition on seven and nine occasions, respectively, shared a 1-1 draw in Group C, with both teams a point above Marseille.

Karim Benzema gave Real the lead in the 29th minute, but Ronaldinho replied with a penalty 10 minutes before the break.

Alexandre Pato had a goal controversially disallowed moments later before Dida denied Raul a late winner in a dramatic game at the San Siro.

Player Ratings for AC Milan-Real Madrid

Marseille could yet progress at the expense of Milan or Real after a 6-1 defeat of FC Zurich, with two goals in the opening 10 minutes and three in the final 10.

An own-goal from Silvan Aegerter put them on their way before Fabrice Abriel, Mamadou Niang, Vitorino Hilton, Benoit Cheyrou and Brandao were on target. The visitors' Alexandre Alphonse made it 2-1 after 31 minutes.
Champions League Tuesday Review | ESPNSTAR.com