Here’s what happened on Wednesday in the UEFA Champions League, in case you missed it…
The results
Watch match highlights: Zenit Saint Petersburg 1, Benfica 0 || Ludogorets 2, Liverpool 2 || Malmo 0, Juventus 2 || Arsenal 2, Borussia Dortmund 0 || Bayer Leverkusen 0, AS Monaco 1 || Anderlecht 2, Galatasaray 0 || Basel 0, Real Madrid 1 || Atletico Madrid 4, Olympiacos 0
Talking points
What has become of Liverpool?: Liverpool used to intimidate opponents before they even stepped onto the pitch. Bob Paisley built upon the tireless work of predecessor Bill Shankly and turned Liverpool into a dominant force on the domestic and European scene. How those two legendary managers must be rolling in their graves over what has become of their beloved Reds.
Teams no longer fear Liverpool—they rub their hands in glee at the prospect of taking them on. Remember those European nights that Liverpool fans used to look forward to? Those days are long gone, with expectation replaced by sheer dread. Ludogorets, with all due respect to them, is a team that Liverpool, even in their current state of disarray, should beat. Instead, the Reds conspired to throw away another valuable three points, and now face a must-win game vs Basel on Matchday 6.
The Swiss will go into the Anfield affair as the favourite, and why not? All four of Liverpool’s goals in the Champions League this season have come against Ludogorets, and they’ve conceded 29 goals in all competitions—13 of which have come from set pieces. The loss of Luis Suarez and the injury to Daniel Sturridge have hurt them, no doubt. But the bigger issue has been the club’s defensive woes. Dejan Lovren hasn’t been able to set things right in the back since joining in the summer, and he’s received little support from Steven Gerrard who is a shadow of himself. Liverpool can’t outscore opponents like they did last season, which means they have to play tight and be defensively organized. It’s going to take a major overhaul of the roster in the next two transfer windows for this team to be competitive again.
Unsung heroes rule the day: A day after super stars Sergio Aguero and Lionel Messi dominated headlines, a trio of unheralded heroes played major roles for their respective clubs in the Champions League on Wednesday.
Incredibly, Mario Mandzukic became surplus to requirements at Bayern Munich over the summer, but that was more a reflection on the Germans’ depth than the Croatian’s quality. The hardworking Mandzukic doesn’t earn style points—he’s more steak than sizzle. What he does do is quietly go about his business and rack up the goals. His hat trick not only ripped apart Olympiacos, but also sent Atletico Madrid through to the Round of 16 in two consecutive Champions League campaigns for the first time in club history.
Yaya Sanogo has had a rough time of it at Arsenal. The Frenchman has struggled for playing time since joining the Gunners last summer, leading many to question why Arsene Wenger signed him in the first place. On Wednesday, the 21-year-old gave a brief glimpse of what he’s capable of doing, scoring on a brilliant individual effort to give Arsenal the lead over Borussia Dortmund after only two minutes. Sanogo’s first goal in 19 appearances for Arsenal ended a 15-month scoring drought and, ultimately, sent the Gunners through to the knockout stage of the tournament for a 15th consecutive year.
Danny doesn’t get as much press as some of his more famous Portuguese teammates. He was central to Zenit’s win over Benfica, though, scoring the decisive goal with a lovely and calm finish in the 79th minute off a perfect setup from Hulk. Up until that point, Benfica dominated proceedings and looked the far better side. Danny’s goal gave Zenit a major boost, helping them stay in contention headed into the final matchday with a serious shot at moving on to the Round of 16. Had he not scored, you could have written off the big-spending yet under-achieving Russian out for another European season.
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Goal of the day
Save of the day
Juventus created their first opportunity after 15 minutes when Stephan Lichtsteiner charged down the right and pulled back for Arturo Vidal, whose powerful shot from just inside the box was beaten away by Malmo goalkeeper Robin Olsen.
Match of the day
Ludogorets vs Liverpool featured a furious start, drama throughout, and a late equalizer from the Bulgarians.
Six pack of stats
Cristiano Ronaldo is level with Raul on 71 Champions League goals, three behind all-time leader Lionel Messi.
Arsenal has qualified for the knockout round of the Champions League for 15 consecutive seasons.
Liverpool has kept just one clean sheet in their last 10 Champions League matches.
This is only the second matchday in Champions League history to see tree hat tricks scored (Shevchenko, Adriano, Kobiashvili on Matchday 5 in 2005-06).
For the fist time in Champions League history four German teams lost on the same matchday.
Mario Mandzukic is the first Atletico Madrid player to score a hat trick in Champions League history.
** Stats courtesy of Opta
Best moment of the day
The expression on Yaya Sanogo’s face after he scored was priceless.
He said it
“It’s not easy to be consistent so I am very proud of that. We want more.” — Arsene Wenger
Burning question
3 stars
1) Mario Mandzukic: Scored a hat trick against Olympiakos to send Atletico Madrid through to the knockout round.
2) Alexis Sanchez: Mr. Excitement for Arsenal scored a goal and caused plenty of problems for Dortmund’s defence.
3) Arturo Vidal: Served as a defensive anchor for a Juventus side that gave away very little in earning a win in Sweden.
Thursday programming alert: Watch Dynamo Moscow vs Panathinaikos on Sportsnet World at 11:00 am ET, Wolfsburg vs Everton on the four main Sportsnet channels at 1:00 pm ET, Sparta Prague vs Napoli on Sportsnet ONE at 1:00 pm ET, Feyenoord vs Sevilla on Sportsnet World at 1:00 pm ET, Tottenham vs Partizan on the four main Sportsnet channels at 3:00 pm ET, Celtic vs Salzburg on Sportsnet ONE at 3:00 pm ET, and Inter Milan vs Dnipro on Sportsnet World at 3:00 pm ET. || Also, watch these games online at Sportsnet World NOW: Slovan Bratislava vs Young Boys at 1:00 pm ET, Guincamp vs Fiorentina at 1:00 pm ET, HJK Helsinki vs FC Copenhagen at 3:00 pm ET, Torino vs Club Brugge at 3:00 pm ET and Villarreal vs Borussia Monchengladbach at 3:00 pm ET || Broadcast schedule