Champions League review: Gervinho comes good for Roma, plus Atlético woe
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Version 0 of 1. Gervinho comes good for Roma No, Arsenal fans, your eyes did not deceive you: that deadly chap Roma had in their attack against CSKA Moscow really was Gervinho. The Ivory Coast forward was a perennial source of frustration during his two seasons at Arsenal, regularly flattering to deceive despite flashes of potential here and there. There were occasional glimpses of his talent but too often he chose the wrong option or was wayward with his finishing, giving the impression that he was weighed down by the expectation that comes with playing for Arsenal. Yet he has been a different player since joining Roma last summer and Rudi García, who coached Gervinho at Lille, clearly knows how to get the best out of him. Gervinho had a promising first season in Serie A last season and he helped Roma get their Champions League campaign off to a flyer by scoring twice in the first half of their 5-1 thrashing of an admittedly hapless CSKA Moscow. His first goal was an instinctive stabbed effort after the ball broke to him in the area and for his second, he sped down the right wing, cut inside and finished with aplomb. Watch out, Manchester City. Here comes Gervinho. JS Atléti-woe After the win came the post-match Instagrammed selfie. This one featured Olympiakos’ Pajtim Kasami and Kostas Mitroglou, their faces adorned with smiles. You may know these two team-mates from such former clubs like Fulham. At Craven Cottage, Felix Magath deemed the duo not good enough to play for the west London club in the second tier of English football. Now, here they are smiling, happy people after Kasami set up Mitroglou to score the winning goal in a 3-2 triumph against the Spanish title holders and last year’s Champions League runners-up, Atlético Madrid. Oh Felix. Mitroglou’s goal sealed the shock of the opening round of group games but the Greeks were given quite the helping hand by the Spaniards’ poor defending throughout the match. Take the three goals for example. Arthur Masuaku was given enough time to have a heavy first touch and still score from distance for the opener; either of the two present defenders should have cleared the ball to safety before Ibrahim Afellay struck the second; and as for the last one, in such a situation defenders need to be like a pair of hipster’s jeans, tight, snug and restrictive of movement; Miranda was loose and baggy like something from the rave days and Mitroglou capitalised. More slack defending like that could cost Atlético a place in the next round in what is an especially tough group. IMC Tevez provides the spark for Juventus Juventus really did make a mess in Europe last season. First they failed to reach the knock-out stages of the Champions League despite a kind draw and then they failed to reach the Europa League final, which was held in their stadium, after losing their semi-final to 10-man Benfica. That was an underachievement for a squad packed with so much talent and it looked like they were going to have to endure more frustration as they toiled in the first half against Malmo on Tuesday night. It was goalless at the break, Malmo had threatened to nick a goal on the counterattack and Juventus were struggling to break the Swedes down. They were in need of inspiration, so imagine the relief when Carlos Tevez gave the Italians the lead after 59 minutes with his first goal in the Champions League since 2009. Having ended his own barren run, the Argentinian was able to relax and he went on to settle any lingering nerves by adding a second – curling home an 89th-minute free-kick. Juventus will need Tevez to continue to be that effective if they are to make a proper challenge this season. JS Credit the wrong way round at Anfield “I don’t have words for Steve [Gerrard],” gushed Alberto Moreno, after the Liverpool captain converted a last-minute penalty against Ludogorets. “He’s a great footballer, he’s a special person, not just here but at a world level.” Gerrard is a great player and may well be a special person but on Tuesday night he was a poor player often caught out of position and often giving the ball away while Moreno looked to be the worldwide star. The full-back was one of a handful of Liverpool players making their Champions League debuts but unlike many of the rest (especially Adam Lallana) he was not overawed by the occasion. He continually careered his way up and down the flank, doing his best to set up chances (admittedly a few of his crosses were overhit) as well as covering the sporadic threat from the Bulgarians. Late in the second half, the Spaniard put in a superb recovering tackle to deny what looked like a golden opportunity for Ludogorets to take the lead and moments later he provided the cross for Mario Balotelli to get Liverpool on their way. After the match, it should have been Gerrard pouring about the praise for Moreno and not the other way round. IMC Further reading Winners and losers Winners … Real Madrid: Over in the Bernabéu, the fans are about as patient as the Rage virus and so it does not take long for a couple of poor results to transform into a big, scary monster with teeth like chainsaws and fowl juice dripping from its jaws, that consumes all that dares stand in its way – until a regime more to its liking comes to power. This season has seen Real Madrid lose the Super Cup to their cross-town rivals, Atlético Madrid as well as two of their three opening games, including another defeat to said pesky neighbours. That return left said monster positively chomping at the bit and Tuesday evening’s clash with Basel was probably not top of Carlo Ancelotti’s wish list. After all, this is a decent side who conceded less than a goal a game in the Swiss League last season. But goals and plenty of them, as well as some fine individual performances (see Luka Modric for further details), are what the fans expect and its what the fans got as Madrid made an eye-catching start to the defence of their trophy. Heck, even Iker Casillas pulled off a good save or two. All of that will not only calm those nerves and further intimidate the other sides who have to make the journey to the Spanish capital but should also hand Los Blancos quite the confidence boost for their fixtures in La Liga. A good night all around for the current cup holders. IMC Losers … Arsenal: Arsenal were humiliated by Borussia Dortmund but it could have been a different story if Danny Welbeck had converted an excellent opportunity shortly before Ciro Immobile’s opener. Instead he shot wide and later blazed over from the edge of the area after rolling his marker. Arsenal need him to be as clinical for them as he was for England against Switzerland. JS It’s stat time again … No eventual winners of the Champions League ever started their campaign with a defeat. #UCL 2 - Arsenal have conceded 2+ goals for the 11th time in their last 19 Champions League away games. Susceptible. 1 - Carlos Tevez has scored his first Champions League goal since April 2009 (a period of 1003 mins of play). Relief. Best images Fans get their banners (and flags) on And finally … Hats off to both Sporting Lisbon and BATE Borisov for some marvellous slapstick defending in their respective matches. Sporting were on their way to a 1-0 win against Maribor after a fine strike from Nani – remember him? – but threw it away after a hapless sliced clearance from Mauricio allowed Luka Zahovic, Zatko Zahovic’s teenage son, to score a stoppage-time equaliser. But Mauricio was outshone by BATE’s goalkeeper, Sergei Chernik. Under no pressure at all, Chernik inexplicably produced one of the lamest throws of all time, chucking the ball straight to Porto’s Yacine Brahimi, who was minding his own business on the edge of the area. Brahimi could hardly believe his own luck, duly punished Chernik in ruthless style and put Porto on the way to an easy 6-0 win. JS |