On Wednesday, the champions league fourth round got underway, with some of the most promising and enticing fixtures on the cards. Here's a breakdown of what transpired:
Liverpool 0-3 Real Madrid
The ten-time crowned European kings , were travelling to Anfield to face off with the five time winners in the competition. Ronaldo's return to England was the highlight of the match, since the prolific Portuguese forward had never hit the back of the net at Anfield, a record stringing back to his Manchester days. The ballon d'or winner took just 23 minutes to break the deadlock, after he beautifully connected Rodriguez's looping pass to smash home past the hapless Mignolet. This was goal No 70 for him in the Champions League that puts him within one of Raul’s record in the competition. Benzema's brace late on in the first period capped off a perfect night for Ancelotti's men who continued their 100% record this term, with three wins out of three. The match also saw Iker Casillas play his 143rd match in the Champions League, putting him level with Xavi Hernández at the top of the list of appearances in the competition.
Club Atletico 5-0 Malmo
Last season's runners-up ran riot in their Vicente Calderón Stadium, with a resounding perfect performance which saw Diego Simeone's men hit five past Swedish side Malmo FF, courtesy of Koke, new boy Mario Mandžukić, Antoine Griezmann, Diego Godín and Alessio Cerci.
The put the Spanish team at the top of group A standings, level with Olympiacos.
Olympiacos FC 1-0 Juventus
With qualification pressure heating up in group A, Olympiacos grabbed the chance to bolster their chances with a rare win against Italy giants, Juventus at home. The Bianconeri who had suffered another defeat the last time out, require a miracle to go through the tough group. The Greek title holders prevailed by virtue of Pajtim Kasami's first goal in Europe at the 20th attempt.
PFC Ludogorets Razgrad 1-0 FC Basel
Regarded as one of the most surprising sides this term, little known Ludogorets Razgrad put up the performance of their lives as they registered their first win of the campaign, front of their home crowd after disappointing losses to Real Madrid and LIverpool. Yordan Minev's added time winner, made sure his team become the Ludogorets first Bulgarian side to earn group stage points, despite playing for over an hour with ten men after Geoffroy Serey Die's red sending off.
Bayer Leverkusen 2-0 FC Zenit
A Wendell's red card for Leverkusen, had no impact for the travelling Zenit, who had already shipped in two goals before he received his marching orders. Giulio Donati and Kyriakos Papadopoulos were the damage controllers a feat they achieved in the space of six second-half minutes.
As Monaco 0-0 Benfica
The departure of James Rodriguez to Real Madrid and Falcao to Manchester United, has evidently affected the once high flying Monaco. Though they had spent a large chunk of years outside Europe, their dismal performances are questionable once one takes a dig deep their vast talented players. a goalless draw saw them fail to go top and only trail Leverkusen with a single point.
Anderlecht 1-2 Arsenal
In Wenger's 65th birthday, just weeks apart since the club celebrated their 18th anniversary since the manager joined the club; He couldn't have wished for anything less of a convincing win from his boys. After being hit by a ballooning list of injuries, Arsenal welcomed back Ramsey into the squad and were looking to emulate their 4-1 winning performance against Galatasaray. But a 71st minute goal by
Andy Najar, seemed to have changed the tide after he gave the hosts a decisive-looking lead. However, late goals from Kieran Gibbs and Lukas Podolski ensured a dramatic turnaround adding a much needed icing on the manager's birthday cake.
Galatasaray 0-4 B. Dormund
Many have accused the former finalists for their inconsistency in their domestic fixtures, a result which has seen them drop points in numerous occasions, hence why they sit 14th in Bundesliga after eight rounds. This however, is far much incomparable whenever the yellow submarines take to the field on bigger occasions. Yesterday's win against a below par Galatasaray, ensured they kept their 100% record intact after wins against Arsenal and Anderlecht in their first two games. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang broke the deadlock and went ahead to score a brace in the first 18 minutes, before Marco Reus and Adrián Ramos capped op a commendable night for Klopp's troops.
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