Champions League Matchday 3 Awards: Arsenal Come to Life, Casillas Sets Record
The UEFA Champions League group stage has reached the halfway point after all 32 teams took part in Matchday 3 on Tuesday and Wednesday. And what a matchday it was.
In Group F, Arsenal finally jumpstarted their European campaign with a famous win over Bayern Munich. In Group E, Bayer Leverkusen and AS Roma played out an eight-goal thriller. And all across the continent, we saw goals, cards and all sorts of drama.
Here, B/R hands out awards for the best of Matchday 3.
Latest to the Party: Arsenal
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Don't mind Arsenal. They just decided to show up fashionably late.
Arsene Wenger and his side seemed destined for an early Champions League exit after losing to unfancied Dinamo Zagreb and Olympiakos, respectively, on the first two matchdays. The Gunners still face an immense challenge to qualify for the knockout stage, but their plight became somewhat more manageable after their first win of this season's competition, which came on Tuesday night.
Don't bother trying to make sense of it. After losing to Dinamo and Olympiakos, Arsenal turned in a stellar performance against Bayern, a team that had won 12 straight matches in all competitions. The Bundesliga giants are well on course for yet another league title, but against Arsenal, they looked like, well, Arsenal.
That is, Bayern struggled to beat the game plan that so often frustrates Arsenal in the Premier League. The Gunners played defense resolutely, remained organized at the back and hit Bayern efficiently on counters and set pieces. The formula resulted in a 2-0 win, and suddenly Arsenal have European life once again.
Speaking to Arsenal.com, defender Laurent Koscielny said:
"You can see the team were very focused in their defensive job and it is very important to keep this for the rest of the season because for the first two games of the Champions League we did not play very well.
But here we saw a very good face of Arsenal and we need to keep this for the other games because I like I said before sometimes it is more difficult but you need to be stronger when you defend.
"
Arsenal still have a tough task to qualify from Group F, but the Gunners will now have confidence ahead of their final three games. Up next is a daunting trip to Bayern for the return match, followed by games against Dinamo (home) and Olympiakos (away).
A loss at Bayern, coupled with another Olympiakos win over Dinamo, would make progression difficult indeed. Through three matches, the Gunners have collected just three points, and the above scenario would give Olympiakos a six-point cushion on the north London side with two games to play.
But after beating Bayern, Arsenal will now feel they have the potential to pull off a great escape.
Most Extreme Variation in Performance: Manuel Neuer
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The match against Arsenal witnessed both the best and worst of Bayern goalkeeper Manuel Neuer.
In the first half, the German stopper made a magnificent save to keep out Theo Walcott's close-range header. Diving to his left, Neuer produced an absolute world-class stop, pushing away the ball with a powerful left hand.
But in the second half, the occasionally erratic goalkeeper made an error that led to Arsenal's opening goal. Misjudging a free-kick lofted into his box, Neuer allowed the ball to fall to substitute Olivier Giroud, who bundled in unceremoniously but effectively with what turned out to be the winner.
Most Eyebrow-Raising Stat: Jackson Martinez
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Jackson Martinez has started his Atletico Madrid career slowly, scoring just once in all competitions before Wednesday's match against Astana.
But against the Kazakh side, Martinez managed to find the back of the net for his 13th career Champions League goal. That's not really all that many, but as MisterChip pointed out on Twitter, Martinez reached that (admittedly arbitrary) number faster than Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo and Raul, the three top scorers in the history of the competition.
Now, some context is needed. Martinez, who is 29, has enjoyed the benefit of playing his first 25 Champions League games during his best years. Messi and Ronaldo were much younger—and thus not at the height of their powers—when they played a comparable number of games in the competition.
And yet, any time you can compare yourself favorably to Messi, Ronaldo and Raul, you've done something right as a footballer.
Best Goal from a Seemingly Impossible Angle: Brown Ideye
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Olympiakos are riding high in Group F, standing on even terms with Bayern Munich after collecting six points from their first three Champions League matches. On Tuesday, the Greek side defeated Dinamo Zagreb, 1-0, thanks to a goal from former West Bromwich Albion man Brown Ideye.
To be honest, Ideye had no business even attempting a shot from where he scored. But that just made the goal more impressive.
You can see the video of the strike at UEFA.com, but if you don't feel like clicking that link, suffice it to say that Ideye basically scored from a position an inch or so away from the byline, just to the left of goal.
Record-Setter (Again): Iker Casillas
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Porto goalkeeper Iker Casillas already set one Champions League record this season, passing Xavi Hernandez last month with a 152nd appearance in the competition.
On Tuesday, the former Real Madrid man broke another mark. In helping Porto claim a 2-0 home win over Maccabi Tel-Aviv, Casillas notched his 51st clean sheet in the Champions League, per UEFA.com. That's one more than Edwin van der Sar, the former record-holder.
It's just the latest accolade in a legendary career for Casillas, who will undoubtedly go down as one of the game's all-time greats.
Wildest Game: Leverkusen-Roma
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Before Tuesday, only two games in Champions League history had finished in a 4-4 draw. After Tuesday, we had a contender for the most entertaining game of the season out of Group E.
First, Bayer Leverkusen stormed to a 2-0 lead over visiting Roma thanks to an early brace by Mexican forward Javier Hernandez. Then, Roma fought back with two goals from midfielder Daniele De Rossi.
Next, the visitors claimed a 4-2 lead after Miralem Pjanic converted a fine free-kick, and Iago Falque slotted home following a breakaway. That seemed to have completed an amazing comeback, but Leverkusen weren't finished.
In the 84th minute, Kevin Kampl fired into the top corner to give the hosts hope. Just two minutes later, Admir Mehmedi netted the equalizer to finish off an enthralling night of football.
We already can't wait for the rematch.
