Eurosport - Mon, 19 Oct 11:52:00 2009
A penetrating look at the opposition to the four English clubs and Rangers in the third group stage matches of the Champions League.
GROUP E
Lyon (face Liverpool at Anfield on October 20)
Lyon 0-2 Sochaux
The Ligue 1 leaders slumped to a 2-0 home defeat by Sochaux at Stade de Gerland.
A goal in each half by defender Jacques Faty and forward Sloan Privat gave the visitors a shock victory against Claude Puel's side.
Defender Faty gave Les Lionceaux the lead in the 17th minute to force the hosts on to the back foot, and his side defended doggedly thereafter to keep Lyon at bay.
Privat added a second in the final minute of the match, eight minutes after coming on as a substitute, to round off a fine victory for Francis Gillot's side.
The French side are the early pacesetters in Group E thanks to wins against Fiorentina (1-0) and Debrecen (4-0).
GROUP G
Unirea Urziceni (face Rangers at Ibrox on October 20)
Unirea Urziceni 1-2 Vaslui
Vaslui inflicted Unirea's third defeat of the Liga 1 campaign with second-half goals from Willian Gerlem and Wesley Da Silva.
Dan Petrescu's side went ahead through Romania striker Marius Onofras in just the seventh minute as the 29-year-old netted his second goal in four games.
Brazilian forward Gerlem drew his side level in the 50th minute with a composed finish before his compatriot, midfield playmaker Wesley, snatched the points in the 75th minute to leave Unirea down in fifth place in the table.
The Romanian side remain rooted to the bottom of the Group G after they responded to a 2-0 loss at Sevilla by posting a 1-1 home stalemate with Stuttgart.
GROUP H
AZ Alkmaar (face Arsenal at the DS Stadium on October 20)
FC Twente 3-2 AZ Alkmaar
Alkmaar were downed by Steve McClaren's FC Twente, who further consolidated top spot in Eredivisie after a thrilling victory at De Grolsch Veste.
Veteran midfielder Kenneth Perez gave his side a 36th-minute lead as the 35-year-old Dane stamped his authority on the match in a frantic first half.
But a flurry of goals in the second half saw Twente edge out their opponents after goals from Mounir El Hamdaoui and Peter Wisgerhof had given the visitors the lead on the hour mark.
Costa Rica striker Bryan Ruiz Gonzalez restored parity for McClaren's side, before his Swiss strike partner Blaise N'Kufo clinched a dramatic victory in stoppage time.
Standard de Liege's added-time equaliser at home in Alkmaar's second Champions League match in Group H leaves Ronald Koeman's side still seeking their first success in the competition having lost 1-0 at Olympiacos in their first outing.
GROUP B
CSKA Moscow (face Manchester United at the Luzhniki Stadium on October 21).
Spartak Nalchik 1-1 CSKA Moscow
CSKA took the lead in just the third minute through midfielder Milos Krasic at the Spartak Stadium.
Juande Ramos's side looked comfortable early on after the Serbian scored his eighth goal in 21 appearances this campaign.
But Georgia defender Alexander Amisulashvili drew the hosts level in the 26th minute and neither side was able to muster another goal as the second half petered out poorly.
CSKA will be buoyed by their victory over Beiktain, their second match in Group B, and the Russian side have won their last six European home matches.
Group D
Atletico Madrid (face Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on October 21).
Osasuna 3-0 Atletico Madrid
Atletico were ripped apart by Osasuna as they leaked three goals inside a chaotic first half hour in Pamplona.
Abel Resino's defence was unable to cope with the aerial power of Walter Pandiani, and the striker dived to head the first after only four minutes.
The Uruguayan headed his second from a free kick in the 25th minute and Carlos Aranda put away the third four minutes later to leave Atletico with just one league win this season and languishing in 15th place in La Liga.
Atletico will be keen to kick-start their campaign after they followed a goalless draw at home to APOEL Nicosia with a 2-0 loss at Porto's Estadio Dragao.
Comment 1 - 1 of 1
AAAND Barca couldnt defeat with full strength (without Ibrahimovich) upon Valencia... too shameful... but Kazany.. well... we will see.
Please login to post a comment
Not already a Yahoo! user ? Sign up to get a free Yahoo! Account