Champions League Results 2014: Scores, Group Tables, Standings for Matchday 2
Matchday 2 of the 2014-15 Champions League season lived up the competition's billing in once again bringing together the elite of the European scene, with the results and entertainment to match.
Paris Saint-Germain's 3-2 win over Barcelona breathed a fresh lease of life into Group F, Luis Enrique's first defeat as manager of the Camp Nou outfit and another reason to believe PSG are on the cusp of even bigger things.
Manchester City, meanwhile, were halted by Roma 1-1 at the Etihad Stadium, Chelsea faring more fruitfully in their trip to face Sporting Lisbon, coming out of the Portuguese capital with a 1-0 triumph.
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That being said, there were reasons to keep one's eyes peeled across the continent as drama unfolded in every fixture before Wednesday brings another onslaught of world-class Champions League action.
| Date | Home | Score | Away |
| September 30 | CSKA Moscow | 0-1 | Bayern Munich |
| September 30 | Schalke | 1-1 | Maribor |
| September 30 | Shakhtar Donetsk | 2-2 | Porto |
| September 30 | Manchester City | 1-1 | Roma |
| September 30 | APOEL | 1-1 | Ajax |
| September 30 | BATE Borisov | 2-1 | Athletic Bilbao |
| September 30 | Paris Saint-Germain | 3-2 | Barcelona |
| September 30 | Sporting Lisbon | 0-1 | Chelsea |
| October 1 | Zenit St. Petersburg | 0-0 | Monaco |
| October 1 | Atletico Madrid | 1-0 | Juventus |
| October 1 | Bayer Leverkusen | 3-1 | Benfica |
| October 1 | Ludogorets Razgrad | 1-2 | Real Madrid |
| October 1 | Basel | 1-0 | Liverpool |
| October 1 | Arsenal | 4-1 | Galatasaray |
| October 1 | Malmo | 2-0 | Olympiacos |
| October 1 | Anderlecht | 0-3 | Borussia Dortmund |
| Group A | |||||||
| 1 | Juventus | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| 2 | Atletico Madrid | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
| 3 | Malmo | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
| 4 | Olympiakos | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | -1 | 3 |
| Group B | |||||||
| 1 | Real Madrid | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 6 |
| 2 | Basel | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | -3 | 3 |
| 3 | Liverpool | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
| 4 | PFC Ludogorets Razgrad | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | -2 | 0 |
| Group C | |||||||
| 1 | Monaco | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 |
| 2 | Zenit St. Petersburg | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 4 |
| 3 | Bayer Leverkusen | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| 4 | Benfica | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | -4 | 0 |
| Group D | |||||||
| 1 | Borussia Dortmund | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 6 |
| 2 | Arsenal | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| 2 | Anderlecht | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | -3 | 1 |
| 4 | Galatasaray | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | -3 | 1 |
| Group E | |||||||
| 1 | Bayern Munich | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 6 |
| 2 | Roma | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 |
| 3 | Manchester City | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | -1 | 1 |
| 4 | CSKA Moscow | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | -5 | 0 |
| Group F | |||||||
| 1 | Paris Saint-Germain | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 |
| 2 | Barcelona | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
| 2 | Ajax | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 4 | APOEL Nicosia | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | -1 | 1 |
| Group G | |||||||
| 1 | Chelsea | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 |
| 1 | Maribor | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 1 | Schalke 04 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 1 | Sporting CP | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | -1 | 1 |
| Group H | |||||||
| 1 | FC Porto | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 4 |
| 2 | BATE Borisov | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | -5 | 3 |
| 2 | Shakhtar Donetsk | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 4 | Athletic Bilbao | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | -1 | 1 |
Wednesday, Oct. 1 Recap
Wednesday made for a fruitful setting for those sides hailing from Germany as Borussia Dortmund and Bayer Leverkusen each followed Bayern Munich's act in claiming Matchday 2 victories, beating Anderlecht and Benfica, respectively.
And it was a case of the likely suspects giving their sides the impetus to win, Ciro Immobile firing the Black and Yellows ahead inside three minutes. Meanwhile, Heung-Min Son and Stefan Kiessling gave the Factory squad a 2-0 cushion at the break, per the Bundesliga's official Twitter account:
Within 14 minutes of coming on in the second half, Adrian Ramos scored a brace to secure the 3-0 win for Jurgen Klopp's men, while Eduardo Salvio and Hakan Calhanoglu scored for Leverkusen and the Eagles, respectively, the former winning 3-1.
Arsenal had an even simpler time of things at the Emirates Stadium, where Danny Welbeck continued his Gunners success with a hat-trick against Galatasaray, Alexis Sanchez adding a fourth as Cesare Prandelli's men lost 4-1 in north London.
Playing three at the back was always a risky decision for Gala, and the hosts made them pay despite the absences of Aaron Ramsey and Mikel Arteta, with Mesut Ozil, Mathieu Flamini and Santi Cazorla reigning dominant in midfield.
There was a darker moment, however, as Wojciech Szczesny was dismissed on Arsene Wenger's 18-year Arsenal anniversary for taking down Burak Yilmaz in the area. The Turkish international converted to give Gala some consolation, Goal.com's George Ankers summarising Szczesny's performance:
It was far from as open a fixture in Basel as their Premier League peers Liverpool struggled to gain a foothold against the Swiss champions, FourFourTwo's Stats Zone showing the hosts had the better passing numbers early on:
The Reds would go on to lose 1-0 through Marco Streller's 52nd-minute finish and continue their poor run of form, a strong outing from Fabian Schar enough to earn Man of the Match credential, according to WhoScored.com:
And just as Brendan Rodgers' team was frustrated, so too were the bastions of Madrid as last season's finalists were made to work for their results. Atletico claimed a 1-0 win over Juventus while Real came from a goal down to beat Ludogorets Razgrad 2-1 in Bulgaria.
Bundesliga reporter Jonathan Harding nonetheless tipped his hat to Ludogorets, who eventually succumbed to goals from Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema, the former missing a penalty in the 11th minute but managing to tuck away a second attempt in the 25th:
Atleti made their way past Juve in what was a critical three points if they're to top Group A, Arda Turan providing the sole finish just 16 minutes from time.
In Wednesday's early kickoff, Monaco earned a very valuable point in St. Petersburg and are still yet to concede a goal in this season's tournament following a 0-0 stalemate against Zenit. Both outfits sit tied on four points apiece at the summit of Group C.
And finally, Malmo struck their first points of the Champions League campaign with a 2-0 beating of Olympiacos, Markus Rosenborg netting both goals as Age Hareide's outfit climbed back into the fray for a place in the knockout stages.
Tuesday, Sept. 30 Recap
As aforementioned, PSG got the better of the Blaugrana in a 3-2 victory that left fans gasping for more, both teams having their chances to take the three points in what was a back-and-forth of epic proportions.
On the night, goals from David Luiz, Marco Verratti and Blaise Matuidi were enough to outshine Lionel Messi and Neymar's additions, although French expert Matt Spiro had other players to highlight:
That result sends Laurent Blanc's side one point clear at the top of their pool, Ajax and APOEL Nicosia drawing 1-1 in Cyprus to ensure they'll stay off the chase for the top places for now, if not indefinitely.
And just as Barca stumbled in their most recent trial, Manuel Pellegrini's City were held to a 1-1 draw at home against Roma. Goal.com confirmed that 38-year-old Francesco Totti's goal makes him the oldest scorer in the competition's history:
That effort came after Maicon fouled Sergio Aguero just four minutes in to give the Etihad hosts an early penalty. The Argentina striker converted from 12 yards to start City's day off brightly.
The Giallorossi may have made more from their trip, too, as they enjoyed a more economical approach on goal, having the minority of total shots on goal but steering more of their efforts on target than the home side.
It was a similar story for Chelsea, who raided the Sporting goal with as much frequency as the hosts did theirs, but simply making more of their probes count as Nemanja Matic found the decider.
His pivot pairing alongside Cesc Fabregas is looking more stable by the fixture, and WhoScored.com provide a statistical look at how balanced the Serbian was in taking down Sporting's threat:
The Blues and Bayern Munich were the only two teams to take away wins on Tuesday night, Pep Guardiola watching his men take another 1-0 victory from the Russian capital in the day's early kickoff.
And while the scoreline may not suggest it, Der FCB were dominant in all realms against CSKA Moscow, accounting for no less than 77 percent of the possession and amassing 21 shots at goal. Thomas Muller's penalty in the 22nd minute was the only chance Bayern could convert, however.
Tight scores were a theme on Tuesday, and with not one fixture decided by a margin of more than one goal, Schalke and Shakhtar Donetsk may be disappointed not to have left their respective matchups with more than a point each.
The Miners drew 1-1 with Maribor in Gelsenkirchen, where Klaas-Jan Huntelaar had to save his side after Damjan Bohar opened the Slovenians' account, per the official Bundesliga Twitter account:
Shakhtar, meanwhile, were in a far more controlling state against Porto, Luiz Adriano scoring in the 85th minute to build on Alex Teixeira's 52nd-minute opener to establish a 2-0 lead.
It wouldn't last, though, and two points were needlessly let slip as Jackson Rodriguez struck twice in the last five minutes of the match to clinch a draw for the Dragons.
Elsewhere in Group H, BATE Borisov also clawed in valuable points with a 2-1 win over Athletic Bilbao to go second in the standings.
All statistics come courtesy of WhoScored.com.
