Who has their feet frozen?
Dynamo K - Lyon - 0: 3. According to statistics, Dynamo Kyiv is the worst club of the current draw. "Lyon" with the cruelty of an oncologist confirmed the diagnosis. Now the main thing for Kiev is not to update the sad anti-record of Moscow Spartak: 0 points, goals - 1:18. While Dynamo is ahead of schedule, 12 goals have already been missed. In the confrontation with Lyon, the wards of Anatoly Demyanenko lasted exactly thirty minutes. Taras Lutsenko, who replaced Aleksandr Shovkovsky at the goal, will try to understand for a long time: how did the ball sent by Juninho Pernambukano from the free kick choose such an intricate trajectory? However, the Dynamo had a chance to soak the Lyons. But to the post-match question about the reason for the miss on an empty net, Maxim Shatskikh answered: “My feet were frozen.” It turns out that in vain Ukrainian football functionaries temper clubs with December finishes from year to year. The thermophilic Dynamo was never the first club to take the Lyon goal in this draw.
Fifty dollars for treatment
“Steaua” - “Real” - 1: 4. Rud van Nistelrooy became the third, after Raul and Andrei Shevchenko, the scorer, who reached the league champions mark of 50 goals. His magnificent goal completed the defeat of Steaua. The Romanian club attracted attention with the European Cup successes of the last two years. However, the arrival of Real Madrid in Bucharest turned out to be a master class for the Romanians. On the other hand, it was surprising how quickly Fabio Capello healed a team that seemed seriously ill. Just two days before the match, rumors circulated in the Spanish press that Capello had resigned, which, however, had not been accepted. The reason for them was the match against Getafe, the “worst for Real” in the memory of Iker Casillas, when the “galacticos” delivered only one blow, and even that was not on target. The main explanation for the change was the appearance in the starting lineup of the young Brazilian striker Robinho. Do not be surprised if he now sits on the bench of Ronaldo himself. The guest victory made the Club of Madrid a real partner of Lyon at the exit to the playoffs from Group E.
Japanese Scottish bagpipe motif
“Celtic” - “Benfica” - 3: 0. The starting line-up of the Scottish champion probably pleased the commentators, saving them from uttering the most cumbersome surname in European football: Vennegoor of Hesselink. The Scotsman’s useless form of the main striker was on hand - instead, he was played by Kenny Miller, the author of the double against Benfica. However, in today's “Celtic” there is only one hero - the Japanese Shunsuke Nakamura. The attacking midfielder already has the first “Japanese" goal in the Champions League. And in the last round of the national championship Nakamura broke out a hat-trick. This caused an unprecedented interest in his person from Japanese adolescents, posting photos and videos of their hero on the Internet with doses that David Beckham himself would envy. In the match against Benfica, the high-speed Japanese repeatedly left the Portuguese midfielders out of work, having actually completed all three goals. After the match, Benfica head coach Fernando Santos said his team was required to take revenge in the home game. To do this, the Lisbon will have to surpass themselves: because so far in this draw they have not scored a single goal.
Rooney is already a captain
Manchester United - Copenhagen - 3-0. In the absence of Rain Giggs and Gary Neville, the captain's armband was presented to Wayne Rooney. Apparently, to maintain the fighting spirit of the striker, who scored only 2 goals in the last 18 matches. Under the new leadership, “Manchester United” without any problems figured out the champion of Denmark, much inferior to him in the class. The match was marked by landmark returns for the English club. Firstly, Alan Smith finally recovered, recovering from the monstrous injury he received in February. Secondly, Paul Scholes held his first goal for Manchester United after December 25 of last year. Such a stream of positive should become a dope for Manchester United. Even though Rooney did not score again.
Milan misery
“Anderlecht” - “Milan” - 0: 1. AC Milan played the usual match of the Ancelotti era. A plain game, removal and the only goal scored by Kaka's crazy punch, slightly flavored with a rebound. A minimum of energy is a maximum of luck. On the other hand, this game of Milan is due to the resistance of Anderlecht. The champion of Belgium in Europe is not well understood, although it is worth a closer look. Under a league performance, the club brought together all the brightest young players of the Belgian championship, diluting them with a couple of veterans. And although the result is still negative, just in the match against Milan, it became clear how promising young people gathered in Anderlecht. Experience is not enough, but they will still gain it.
Ivan MAKAROV