Matchday 2 is in the books. The groups are starting to take shape. While a few teams have taken maximum points from these two matches, many groups are still completely up for grabs. In this blog I will discuss the matchweek 2 results, look at the groups as they stand now and revisit my predictions from my last post.
Winners
Barcelona — Barca secured an important and comprehensive away win over a decent Spurs side, 4-2, in Round 2. Lionel Messi lead his team yet again netting twice in the victory. Barcelona now have two wins from two and sit atop of Group B. They now turn their attention to Inter Milan, who also sit on 6 points after dismissing PSV Eindhoven 2-1.
Borussia Dortmund — After struggling to a victory against bottom feeder Club Brugge in matchweek 1, Dortmund responded by showing everyone why they are a real force to be reckoned with in the Champions League. BVB handled the French runners-up with ease as they cruised to a 3-0 victory on Wednesday. This puts Dortmund top of the group, sitting above Atletico Madrid on goal difference.
Napoli — Napoli shocked high-flying Liverpool at the Stadio Sal Paolo to secure a massive 3 points after dropping points to Red Star Belgrade in matchweek 1. The victory was well deserved, as Napoli outpossessed, outpassed and outshot the English giants. It looked like the game was destained for a nil-nil draw until Lorenzo Insigne scored in the 90' to send the fans into pandemonium. Napoli held Liverpool's world class front three without a shot on target in the match.
CKSA Moscow — This has got to be the story of the round, if not the story of the tournament thus far. CSKA secured a history 1-0 win at home over none other than three-time defending champions Real Madrid on Wednesday. The Russian side latched onto a terrible early backpass to grade a surprise lead, and from there it was an all hands on deck, back-guard action. CSKA secured the shutout despite Real Madrid registering 26 shots and Moscow's experienced goalkeeper Igor Akinfeev getting sent off in stoppage time. This victory shockingly puts CKSA atop the group, above both Madrid and Roma. If nothing else, these three points all but secure Europa League football for the Russia side, at the least.
Losers
Bayern — Despite not losing the match, Bayern are included on this list after dropping points at home to Ajax. Ajax deserve credit, though. After winning their opening fixture, this draw keeps them even on points atop the group with Bayern, above them on goal difference. But it must be said that Bayern would be expected to win this match, especially at home. After scoring within the first five minutes of the match, one would think Bayern, with world class goalkeeper Manuel Neuer back from injury, could defend the lead.
Lokomotiv Moscow — Opposite their Russian counterparts, Lokomotiv are off to a disastrous start in Group D. After falling 1-0 to young American Weston McKennie's late goal for Schalke, the Russian champions sit at the foot of the table with 0 points and a -4 goal difference. Its inevitable that the Lokomotiv players are struggling to cope with the quality of the Champions League, and many people's pre-tournament complains about the Russian Champions being seeded are now being justified by a terrible performance in a weak group.
Manchester United — Manchester United and Valencia played to a relatively uneventful draw at Old Trafford. This is a much better point for Valencia than it is United. Furthermore, United have been struggling and manager Jose Mourinho's job may be on the line, according to multiple reports. This poor result prevents United from keeping pace with Juventus in Group H.
AEK Athens — AEK Athens will feel extremely hard done by not to come away with anything from their match against Benfica. The defending Greek champions are not tipped by many to finish any higher than last in Group E. With that said, this match was their opportunity for points. Playing at home, AEK found themselves 2-0 down after 15'. However, it was a Benfica red card just before halftime that gave them hope. Two goals from Viktor Klonaridis had AEK level by the 63'. With all the momentum and the extra man, many would have predicted that Athens would go on to win the game. In the end, it was a momentary lapse of concentration in the back that allowed Alfa Semedo to get in behind the Greek defense and earn a massive road win for Benfica.
After matchweek 2, here are the current standings in each group
Groups A-D
Groups E-H
Last week, I took on the bold task of predicting the results of all 16 Champions League matches for matchweek 2. To my surprise, I didn't do as bad as I thought I would. With that said, I did get some matches completely, 100% wrong. Below, I revisit my predictions and see how I did.
Group A:
Actual Scores: My Predicted Scores:
Dortmund 3-0 Monaco Dortmund 3-1 Monaco
Atletico 3-1 Club Brugge Atletico 2-0 Club Brugge
Group B:
PSV 1-2 Inter Milan PSV 1-1 Inter Milan
Tottenham 2-4 Barcelona Tottenham 2-2 Barcelona
Group C:
PSG 6-1 Red Star Belgrade PSG 3-1 Red Star Belgrade
Napoli 1-0 Liverpool Napoli 1-2 Liverpool
Group D:
Lokomotiv Moscow 0-1 Schalke Lokomotiv Moscow 0-1 Schalke
Porto 1-0 Galatasaray Porto 2-2 Galatasaray
Group E:
AEK Athens 2-3 Benfica AEK Athens 1-3 Benfica
Bayern 1-1 Ajax Bayern 5-1 Ajax
Group F:
Hoffenheim 1-2 Man City Hoffenheim 2-4 Man City
Lyon 2-2 Shakhtar Lyon 2-2 Shakhtar
Group G:
CKSA Moscow 1-0 Real Madrid CSKA 0-4 Real Madrid
Roma 5-0 Viktoria Plzen Roma 3-1 Viktoria Plzen
Group H:
Juventus 3-0 Young Boys Juventus 4-0 Young Boys
Man United 0-0 Valencia Man United 2-1 Valencia
By the numbers:
Total number of matches: 16
Correct Results and Correct Score: 2
Correct Result but Wrong Score: 7
Completely Wrong: 7
Matches that were close but barely missed:
Dortmund / Monaco
AEK Athens / Benfica
Juventus / Young Boys
Miserably wrong
Napoli / Liverpool
Bayern / Ajax
CSKA Moscow / Real Madrid
I'll try to do better next time.
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