It was a night for the underdogs in Tuesday’s Champions League play as none of the European powerhouses in action—Chelsea, Liverpool, Inter Milan, or Barcelona—managed to win.
AS Roma may be in 17th place—one point above the relegation zone—in Serie A, but they beat English Premiership leader Chelsea 3–1 in Rome. Chelsea was guilty of uncharacteristically sloppy defending, and midfielder Deco was sent off.
“We made many mistakes. This is football [soccer]. Today we did not play well. We need to understand this,” said Chelsea coach Felipe Scolari.
“We came here to get at least a point and in the end we got beaten. We didn’t play well,” echoed goalkeeper Petr Cech.
Mirko Vucinic grabbed two goals for Roma who have now put themselves in second place in Group A with six points. Chelsea still leads with seven.
Liverpool needed an injury-time penalty kick goal from captain Steven Gerrard to salvage a point against Atletico Madrid 1–1. The highly controversial call to award Liverpool the penalty kick is nothing new for the Reds, who seem to get more than their fair share of such calls. Just ask Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger about last year’s knockout stage games.
“Obviously the penalty is a bit debatable but I’m disappointed the ref didn’t spot a handball early on,” Gerrard told Sky Sports. “Their players obviously complained about the decision.”
Liverpool and Atletico lead Group D with eight points each and already have one foot in the knockout stage.
The biggest underdog (or smallest minnow) to deny a favorite a victory has to be Anorthosis Famagusta of Cyprus. Inter Milan needed an 80th minute goal from Julio Cruz to save coach Jose Mourinho from an embarrassing loss.
This exciting contest ended up 3–3, which is a surprise in itself with Anorthosis scoring three on Inter. Inter still leads Group B with eight points while Anorthosis is second with five.
In Barcelona, Swiss team FC Basel managed a 1–1 draw after being humbled 5–0 two weeks ago. Lionel Messi worked his magic with Thierry Henry to give Barca the lead but Eren Derdiyok equalized in the 82nd with a bouncer that found the top corner.
Barcelona failed to win for the first time this year in Champions League, but with the point, qualified for the knockout stage. Basel will have to fight for a UEFA Cup spot with only one point to show from four games.
Also from Barca’s group, Sporting Lisbon qualified for their first Champions League knockout stage after beating Shakhtar Donetsk 1–0.
AS Roma may be in 17th place—one point above the relegation zone—in Serie A, but they beat English Premiership leader Chelsea 3–1 in Rome. Chelsea was guilty of uncharacteristically sloppy defending, and midfielder Deco was sent off.
“We made many mistakes. This is football [soccer]. Today we did not play well. We need to understand this,” said Chelsea coach Felipe Scolari.
“We came here to get at least a point and in the end we got beaten. We didn’t play well,” echoed goalkeeper Petr Cech.
Mirko Vucinic grabbed two goals for Roma who have now put themselves in second place in Group A with six points. Chelsea still leads with seven.
Liverpool needed an injury-time penalty kick goal from captain Steven Gerrard to salvage a point against Atletico Madrid 1–1. The highly controversial call to award Liverpool the penalty kick is nothing new for the Reds, who seem to get more than their fair share of such calls. Just ask Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger about last year’s knockout stage games.
“Obviously the penalty is a bit debatable but I’m disappointed the ref didn’t spot a handball early on,” Gerrard told Sky Sports. “Their players obviously complained about the decision.”
Liverpool and Atletico lead Group D with eight points each and already have one foot in the knockout stage.
The biggest underdog (or smallest minnow) to deny a favorite a victory has to be Anorthosis Famagusta of Cyprus. Inter Milan needed an 80th minute goal from Julio Cruz to save coach Jose Mourinho from an embarrassing loss.
This exciting contest ended up 3–3, which is a surprise in itself with Anorthosis scoring three on Inter. Inter still leads Group B with eight points while Anorthosis is second with five.
In Barcelona, Swiss team FC Basel managed a 1–1 draw after being humbled 5–0 two weeks ago. Lionel Messi worked his magic with Thierry Henry to give Barca the lead but Eren Derdiyok equalized in the 82nd with a bouncer that found the top corner.
Barcelona failed to win for the first time this year in Champions League, but with the point, qualified for the knockout stage. Basel will have to fight for a UEFA Cup spot with only one point to show from four games.
Also from Barca’s group, Sporting Lisbon qualified for their first Champions League knockout stage after beating Shakhtar Donetsk 1–0.
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