Champions League Matchday 2 Awards
The UEFA Champions League group stage continued this week as all 32 teams played for the second time.
Our 16 games produced heroes and villains, as well as stars and goats. And as we've come to expect from Europe's premier club competition, we saw great goals and record-setting performances.
Here, B/R hands out awards from Champions League Matchday 2.
Top Man: Robert Lewandowski
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It's simple, really. Robert Lewandowski scores goals when he wants.
Lewandowski fired in three more on Tuesday as Bayern Munich routed Dinamo Zagreb 5-0 at the Allianz Arena. This latest hat-trick brought the Poland international's tally to 10 goals in his last three matches.
No, that's not a typo. He really has scored 10 goals in three matches.
The amazing run started last week as Lewandowski scored five times (in a substitute's appearance!) against Wolfsburg. Following a comparatively weak two-goal haul at the weekend, he hit Dinamo for three more in the Champions League.
Writing about Lewandowski for B/R, Clark Whitney noted:
"The Poland international is absolutely on fire at the moment and has shown no signs of slowing down. Actually, he's a bit unlucky not to have scored more.
Lewandowski’s performance in the thrashing of Zagreb is just another feather in his cap. Many still feel there are better strikers in world football, but with each passing game, the question has to be asked: How much longer until the vote becomes unanimous?
"
At the moment, Lewandowski is the gold-standard striker in world football. How long will this run continue?
Milestone Man: Cristiano Ronaldo
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Cristiano Ronaldo scored both goals as Real Madrid won 2-0 at Malmo on Wednesday. Though both were well-taken, neither strike was anything special by Ronaldo's lofty standards. They did, however, represent milestones for the Portugal international.
Note: That's milestones, plural.
Ronaldo's first strike gave him 500 for his professional career at the club and international level. He accomplished the feat in an impressive 753 games.
The second goal was Ronaldo's 323rd for Real Madrid. If that sounds like a lot, that's because it's tied for the club's all-time record. No other player has scored more. Only Raul has scored as many, but he needed 741 matches—compared to just 308 for Ronaldo, according to Infostrada Sports.
"Five hundred one career goals and equalling Raul’s Real Madrid all-time top goalscoring record. What a night for Ronaldo," tweeted the Telegraph's Offside Liam. "Genuinely absurd. What a player."
Milestone Man, Pt. 2: Iker Casillas
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When Iker Casillas started in goal for Porto against Chelsea on Tuesday, the Spaniard was making his 152nd appearance in the Champions League. That's the most of all time.
Xavi Hernandez of Barcelona previously held the record at 151, but he's now playing in the Middle East. Casillas remains a classy goalkeeper, and at only 34 years old, he seems to have plenty of time to extend the record.
Casillas deserves praise not only for his longevity, but for his ability to stay at the top year after year. He's no longer the best keeper in the world, as he was in his younger years with Real Madrid, but he's still good enough to get it done at the Champions League level.
Worst Gaffe: David Ospina
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At the other end of the goalkeeping spectrum this week was Arsenal's David Ospina. Preferred to first-choice stopper Petr Cech for reasons that are inscrutable to everyone not named Arsene Wenger, the Colombian made an embarrassing error that contributed to his side's 3-2 defeat to Olympiakos.
Late in the first half, with the score level at 1-1, Ospina snared a corner as it flew into his box. However, poor positioning and awareness meant that his momentum carried him into his own goal. The fifth official ruled that the ball crossed the goal line, and Olympiakos had a goal for basically nothing.
Even so, Wenger was defiant afterward.
“Ospina played 19 games last season and kept 14 clean sheets," Le Professeur said, per the Guardian's David Hytner. "Last week at Tottenham, he had a fantastic game. No 'keeper is mistake-free. It could have happened to Petr Cech as well."
That's not true at all. We know it. Wenger knows it. Everybody knows it. Ospina made an awful mistake, and Arsenal couldn't overcome it.
Meanwhile, Gooners will take heart in the fact that the runner-up in this category was Wojciech Szczesny, erstwhile of Arsenal.
Most Artistic: Juan Mata to Chris Smalling
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Juan Mata set up Manchester United's winner against Wolfsburg on Wednesday with an outrageous show of skill. With the ball looping toward him, the Spaniard stuck out his leg and sent a no-look flick over the top of the defense to Chris Smalling, who finished expertly.
In some cases, words can't do justice to a work of true art. This is one of those cases. You can see the flick here.
Strangest Decision: Atletico Madrid
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Riddle me this: When your home kit is a red-and-white-striped classic, and you're playing at home, why would you wear all blue?
Atletico Madrid did just that on Wednesday against Benfica. Granted, the visitors' away kit is a white shirt with red shorts, but surely the teams could have come to some sort of arrangement?
The football gods punished Atletico for their sartorial faux pas, with Benfica winning 2-1 at the Vicente Calderon.
Biggest Comedy of Errors: Astana and Galatasaray
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One own goal? That's going to happen from time to time.
Two own goals? Well, that's unfortunate.
Three own goals? In 12 minutes? Now you're just talking crazy.
Top Team: Bayern Munich
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Tuesday's demolition of Dinamo Zagreb was Bayern Munich's 10th straight win (in competitive matches) to open the season. The Bavarians earned their trip to Oktoberfest on Wednesday, and it wouldn't be a surprise if manager Pep Guardiola allowed his players a few extra beers in celebration.
Or not. Guardiola is a perfectionist, and you can bet he'll have left the biergartens early in order to study up on Bayern's upcoming opposition. The season is long, and the reigning Bundesliga champs will face tougher challenges along the way.
The top priority, for Guardiola at least, might be winning another Champions League title. To that end, the Bavarians might have one concern in spite of all the positive results. It's nit-picking, of course, but there's the slight danger that Bayern could be peaking too soon against weaker opposition like Olympiakos, Dinamo and—sorry, Gooners—Arsenal.
Then again, the best might be yet to come.
