by TRAVIS CLARK
There was end-to-end action pretty much everywhere you looked on Matchday 4 of the UEFA Champions League. A couple of high profile matches delivered the goods, with late equalizers in Madrid and Manchester scuttling a Chelsea comeback against Atletico and a CSKA upset of United. After today's results, four clubs — Chelsea, Bordeaux, Manchester United and Porto — are through to the knockout stages.
Atletico Madrid held a 1-0 lead against Chelsea thanks to Kun Aguero's tidy finish in the 66th minute. Cue the antics of Didier Drogba, returning after a three-match ban for his abuse of referee Tom Henning Ovrebo last spring, netted goals six minutes apart to seal what looked like a last-gasp victory. However, Aguero snatched a point for his side when he beat Petr Cech with a beautiful 90 minute free kick and tying the game at 2-2.
The high profile match-up of AC Milan and Real Madrid featured Kaka's return to the San Siro, though the game didn't have the same high-scoring result as the previous outing. There was plenty of controversy after Karim Benzema and Ronaldinho traded goals — Alexandre Pato had the go-ahead goal ruled out for a foul in the build up. Neither side could find a second, and it ended in a 1-1 draw.
Meanwhile, CSKA Moscow took Old Trafford by storm, jumping out to a 3-1 against the Red Devils. But a goal from Paul Scholes drew one back before Antonio Valencia smashed home a goal that deflected off the face of a CSKA player to earn a 3-3 draw for the home side.
In other action, Bordeaux sealed their spot in the knockout round with a 2-0 win against Bayern Munich on the road, while Porto joined them after squeaking by Apoel Nicosia 1-0. Marseille laid the hammer down on FC Zurich 6-1, Vfl Wolfsburg handled Besiktas with relative ease 3-0, while Juventus nicked Maccabi Haifa 1-0.
What did you think of Tuesday's action? Surprised to see so many goals and draws all at once? What was your favorite match of the day? Share your thoughts below.
So I can apparently reply to comments…
I couldent agree more.
Ives, not sure if you do all the technical support for your website, but on my work computer (windows XP on Internet Explorer 7) the comment window doesn’t fit, and I can’t preview my comment before posting. I also can’t reply to other comments. Is anyone else having these problems?
The French league is quietly progressing. Could they possibly surpass the talent of Serie Ahhhhhh?
The first half of the Madrid/Milan game was breath-taking. I got chills for the first time since Johnny B. scored off his head in the finaly kick in RFK. That is what soccer is all about, and I was very dissapointed Pato’s beautiful goal was disallowed for the defender tripping over his own feet.
nominated for best soccer blog
You can begin to see the hand of Leonardo in this Milan squad. Everyone is playing as a team a much more different Milan. Pato is a future FIFA player of the year, you heard it hear first. As for Madrid Marketing Corporation, needless to say.