Oh man. Great goals, great play, great upsets, day two of matchday one of the UEFA Champions League had some great moments.
Matchday one of the UEFA Champions League is over and we got our first glimpses of how teams may perform in the rest of the group stage. We are going to take a look at the good and bad of today, in case you missed anything.
Biggest Win: Dinamo Zagreb 2-1 over Arsenal
The big upset of the day went to Croatian side Dinamo Zagreb defeat Premier League power Arsenal. What started as Arsenal domination culminated in a Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain own goal and a sloppy performance that saw Olivier Giroud sent off for dissent.
After the Oxlade-Chamberlain own goal, Zagreb scored a second goal and the fans went wild. Theo Walcott pulled a goal back but it was too late. Dinamo Zagreb won 2-1 and got their first Champions League win since 1999 while Arsenal lost in consecutive Champions League opening games.
Biggest Loss: Arsenal
Speaking of Arsenal, they follow the two Manchester teams as English teams who struggled in their opening Champions League game. This has been a glaring problem for English teams and there doesn’t seem to be any sign of that stopping.
Most Shocking Result: Bayern Munich 3-0 Olympiakos
The Bayern win itself isn’t that shocking. Most people pretty much assumed that Bayern was going to win. What’s shocking is that Bayern won with such ease, away from home, against a team that usually keeps games close and makes it a pain for whoever plays against them.
Thomas Muller’s cross that wound up being a goal stunned Olympiakos and then with two goals at the end of the game, the straw really broke the camel’s back.
Who Didn’t See That Coming?: Chelsea going with reserves
Chelsea played Maccabi Tel Aviv today and while Jose Mourinho, who is known for not changing up his lineups all that often, played a bunch of the bench players. Abdul Baba, Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Loic Remy all saw playing time even though they wouldn’t normally start.
Call it due to Mourinho getting fed up with the recent form of the team or playing a weaker opponent right before a derby game in the weekend or a combination of the two, the team was shaken up. It turned out to be the correct strategy. Chelsea won 4-0 and Tel Aviv really had no chance at all in the game.
Best Tweet: Carli Lloyd-esque
Roma just went full on Carli Lloyd
— Men in Blazers (@MenInBlazers) September 16, 2015
Best Goal: Alessandro Florenzi – Roma
Team In Most Trouble After Matchday 1: Arsenal
It’s only been one game so with five games to go, it’s still anybody’s game. Arsenal’s loss to Dinamo Zagreb gives Bayern Munich a definite advantage for the group win. So that leaves Arsenal having to fight for second. The other two teams, Dinamo Zagreb and Olympiakos have varying chances to upset Arsenal for that second spot. While Arsenal will still likely advance, this will make the Olympiakos game much more interesting, especially with Giroud suspended.
Highlight games for Matchday 2 (Groups E to H):
Porto vs. Chelsea
Barcelona vs. Bayer Leverkusen
Arsenal vs. Olympiakos
