%202.png)
UEFA Champions League | RESULTS
|
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Robin van Persie struck twice to rescue Manchester United as Sir Alex Ferguson’s side came from behind to beat Cluj in Romania.
As Chelsea and Celtic also enjoyed Champions League away wins, Wayne Rooney — starting with Van Persie for the first time — set up both United goals.
The Dutchman described his stunning second as ‘my best goal’ since joining the club, after finishing wonderfully with the outside of his left foot from a brilliant chipped Rooney pass.
Dream team: Wayne Rooney (right) and Robin van Persie (centre) celebrate Manchester United's win at Cluj
‘It was my best goal,’ said Van Persie. ‘But credit to Wayne, everything starts with a good pass and I knew he could see that pass.
‘I have seven goals now but I’ve only made one assist and I need more.’
Ferguson was delighted with how the partnership paid off after United again went behind early on.
‘Everyone thought it was going to be a miracle combination,’ said the United boss. ‘The best thing is they can both turn a game.
‘It doesn’t matter if they have a personal combination, it’s their ability to finish moves off. Losing the goal away from home is never easy, and we had to dig deep. We were a bit lucky with the first goal because it came off Van Persie’s shoulder but the second goal was absolutely fantastic.
Poacher: Van Persie's double in Romania helped United to six points out of six in their Champions League group
‘It was a good ball from Wayne. I thought he hit it too far in front of him but his speed to get to the ball and deftness of touch was fantastic.’
One concern for Ferguson is the fitness of Jonny Evans, who was taken off near the end struggling with the thigh injury he picked up against Tottenham at the weekend.
With Nemanja Vidic, Chris Smalling and Phil Jones already sidelined, Ferguson hopes Evans will recover for Sunday’s trip to Newcastle.
Nice finish: United's £24m marksman flicks in his second goal of the night following Rooney's superb pass
Lucky boy: Van Persie's first came off his shoulder
‘Jonny got injured on Saturday with a dead leg,’ he added. ‘He’s got five days to recover and hopefully he’ll be OK.’
Ferguson was far from impressed with the nature of Pantelis Kapetanos' opener for Cluj. He told ITV1: 'If you look at the way they kept going to the end, they're good crossers of the ball.
'They kept us under pressure the whole time and kept us on edge.
'I'm really pleased that the possession was really good tonight and apart from their goal I think we defended really well.
'David (De Gea) made a good save towards the end.
'Coming out here is never easy and as I said before the game, they've got a good home record.'
If Van Persie's first goal had a touch of fortune about it, there was no denying the quality of his second.
And Van Persie was quick to praise Rooney for his vision, telling ITV1: 'Wayne gave me the good pass so I have to thank him. Not many players can give a pass like that. When the ball came to him I knew that he could see the pass and give it to me exactly the way I wanted.
'I think I'm on the way, I'd like to make more assists. For me, as I've said many times, it's not about goals - it's about winning. I'm on a good run but it can always be better.'
Rooney was as gracious in acknowledging his team-mate's praise as he was in commending Cluj for their never-say-die spirit.
'It was obviously a nice finish by Robin,' he told ITV1. 'It was a tough game tonight, a tough pitch, so we had to make sure we were concentrating fully with our first touches.
What a catch: Sir Alex Ferguson is happy with the partnership between Rooney and summer buy Van Persie
'It's difficult in the Champions League, we know it was a silly goal to give away but thankfully we managed to get back in the game and win.
'It's great to get a first 90 minutes and I'm feeling good and looking forward to getting a run in the team. Hopefully that will happen.
'Maybe we should have done more with the possession but sometimes you need to take the heat out of the game which we managed to do in the end. But they put us under a lot of pressure and thankfully we hung on.
'We're going to take one game at a time and we're at home next (against Braga). Hopefully we'll get three points and be in a good position in the group.'
Pass master: Van Persie hailed Rooney's vision and execution in setting up his second goal
CHELSEA YAUA 4-0...
The scoreboard may have read 4-0 to Chelsea but that was not the full story —and if the European champions knew little about Nordsjaelland before Tuesday night, they certainly do now.
The Danes made life hugely uncomfortable for Chelsea on a night when the visitors were expected to win comfortably. In the end they did so, thanks to a flurry of late goals from David Luiz, Juan Mata and Ramires.
But those strikes put gloss on a less-than-emphatic Chelsea performance.
Mata of fact: The Spaniard scored two for Chelsea as the holders edged past the Danes
Match facts
FC Nordsjaelland: Hansen,Parkhurst, Okore, Runje, Mtiliga, Adu, Stokholm, Lorentzen (Laudrup 84), Nordstrand (Ticinovic 65), John, Beckmann (Christensen 75).
Subs not used: Villadsen, Christiansen, Gundelach, Petry Andersen.
Booked: Runje.
Chelsea: Cech, Ivanovic, Luiz, Cahill, Cole, Ramires, Lampard, Moses (Hazard 65), Oscar, Mata (Mikel 83), Torres.
Subs not used: Turnbull, Romeu, Terry, Azpilicueta, Bertrand.
Goals: Mata 33, 82; Luiz 79; Ramires 89.
Attendance: 42,000
Referee: Marijo Strahonja (Croatia).
You are not supposed to enjoy easy matches in the Champions League — but this visit to Copenhagen certainly seemed to offer that possibility.
This was only Nordsjaelland’s second outing among Europe’s elite — their first ending in a 2-0 defeat by Shakhtar Donetsk.
Nordsjaelland, who were only founded in 1991, pay their players on average £150,000 a year — enough for seven days of service from Chelsea skipper John Terry.
And Roberto Di Matteo saw fit to leave his captain out of his starting line-up as David Luiz and Gary Cahill began in the heart of defence, while Victor Moses was handed his Champions League debut in place of Eden Hazard.
Di Matteo knew only victory at Parken Stadium would be good enough, particularly after the 2-2 home draw against Juventus on match-day one. But a record of one win in eight away Champions League clashes must have been a worrying distraction for the Chelsea manager.
The biggest night in Nordsjaelland’s history almost got off to the worst possible start as a sloppy throw-in from left back Patrick Mtilinga on three minutes handed the returning Frank Lampard space on the edge of the box to pick out Brazilian starlet Oscar.
Brace yourself: Mata scored two on the night as Chelsea secured their first win in the competition this year
He exchanged passes with Moses, then conjured a shot that trickled narrowly wide of Jesper Hansen’s far post.
Nordsjaelland were breathing another sigh of relief less than 60 seconds later as Moses somehow sent a header from three yards on to a post with the goal gaping after Oscar’s superb cross.
But in fairness to Hjulmand’s side, they did not let Chelsea’s promising start effect their passing philosophy and the Danes popped the ball about attractively.
Stunner: Luiz fired home this free-kick as the Blues turned on the style late in the first half
Nevertheless, Chelsea continued to press for an opener in the face of a suspect-looking back four, with Lampard firing over from outside the box after Mata’s surging run down the right in the 10th minute.
Despite three early scares, Nordsjaelland refused to throw the ball forward aimlessly. Their first chance arrived in the 15th minute, Joshua John — who had been pinpointed as one of Nordsjaelland’s dangermen — firing over from long range after some sloppy defending.
Without creating any clear-cut opportunities, there was a sense of the home side’s confidence growing with every passing minute.
Ram raid: The Brazilian got on the scoresheet late in the game
And Nordsjaelland would have been celebrating their first Champions League goal in the 21st minute had it not been for Ashley Cole, who produced a goal-saving challenge on Kasper Lorentzen deep inside the Chelsea area after John’s accurate low cross.
Paris St-Germain manager Carlo Ancelotti has revealed his intention to sign Cole in January, branding him ‘the best left back in the world’ — and there was plenty of evidence to support the Italian’s assertion.
Torres was denied by an excellent Hansen save in the 22nd minute as the visitors tried to regain their early dominance. But while Nordsjaelland’s play was defined by neat passing, Chelsea’s was quite the opposite as they struggled to find any rhythm.
Cech mate: The Chelsea fans enjoyed their first win in the competition since winning it last May
Di Matteo would have been hugely relieved, then, when a Nordjaelland mistake led to his side taking an undeserved lead in the 33rd minute.Torres robbed Enoch Adu deep inside the Danes’ half and he slipped the ball inside to Lampard, whose pass set up Mata to coolly slot past Hansen.
Torres should have doubled the lead just before half-time after Oscar’s beautiful through pass — but with just the keeper to beat the No 9 fired straight at the keeper from 12 yards.
Chelsea had created enough clear-cut chances in the first half to be out of sight, while the hosts, who enjoyed 55 per cent of the ball in the opening period, would have felt they deserved more for their dominance in terms of possession.
And the impressive John came close to an equaliser in the 53rd minute, his drive from the edge of the area arrowing just wide of Petr Cech’s near post.
Four star performance: Chelsea were not the dominant side but finished the match as comfortable victors
Mikkel Beckman went close just before the hour, sending a looping header on to the roof of Cech’s goal after Adu’s searching cross, before Stokholm saw his long-range piledriver parried by the keeper.
Di Matteo sent on Hazard for the ineffective Moses in the 65th minute as he tried to inject some much-needed invention.
But Nordsjaelland could have pulled level in the 73rd minute when Cech tipped John’s curling effort on to a post before Cole blocked Beckman’s rebound.
Chelsea were rocking until Luiz struck a stunning free-kick inside Hansen’s near post on 79 minutes. Then Mata nudged home his second of the night after a dash into the box and Ramires tapped in a minute from time as the floodgates finally opened.Whether Chelsea deserved their 4-0 win was another matter.
BAYERN, BARCA ZAFANYA MAUAJI PIA...
BATE Borisov claimed one of the biggest scalps in their history after stunning in-form Bayern Munich 3-1 at the Dinamo Stadion to open up a three-point lead at the top of Champions League Group F.
Goals Alexander Pavlov and Vitaly Rodionov put the Belarusian champions in charge and although Bayern pulled one back in stoppage time through Franck Ribery, BATE added a third through Renan Bressan to seal their first ever home win in the competition.
Goals either side of half-time by Alexis Sanchez and Cesc Fabregas helped Barcelona maintain their perfect start to the season after a 2-0 win at Benfica.
Party time: Bate Borisov celebrate beating Bayern Munich in the Champions League
However, the Catalans' night was soured towards the end when captain Carles Puyol was carried off on a stretcher with what appeared to be a broken arm after he landed awkwardly when attacking a corner, before Sergio Busquets was shown a straight red card two minutes from time.
Also in Group G, Georgios Samaras' late header earned Celtic a 3-2 victory over 10-man Spartak Moscow in the Luzhniki Stadium.
Blow: Barcelona's Carles Puyol is taken off the pitch on a stretcher
The victory means unfancied BATE have now won both their group matches having previously downed Lille 3-1 away, while for Bayern the defeat ends their nine-match winning streak at the start of the season and leaves them on three points in Group F.
Valencia got their Champions League campaign up and running as two goals from Jonas sealed a 2-0 win over Lille.
On their way: Jonas of Valencia scores against Lille in the Champions League
Chelsea top Group E after Juventus were surprisingly held to a 1-1 home draw against Shakhtar Donetsk. It took a thunderbolt from defender Leonardo Bonucci to guarantee a share of the spoils after Alex Teixeira had put the Ukrainians ahead on the counter-attack.
In Group H, Galatasary were made to pay for poor finishing as a 27th-minute goal from Ruben Micael and a last-gasp effort from Alan gave Braga a smash-and-grab 2-0 win.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2211987/Champions-League-round-Bayern-beaten-Barcelona-win.html#ixzz28CkGlGWB
Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook
0 comments:
Post a Comment