Champions League: Fabulous Braga Humble Arsenal 2-0, Keep Their Dream Alive

It was certainly the greatest night in SC Braga's history, as the Portuguese outfit defeated all odds and humbled a much stronger Arsenal side 2-0.

As mentioned in the match preview, on paper Braga had no chance whatsoever. Cesc Fabregas's yearly wages are higher than Braga's annual budget, which pretty much sums up the differences between the two clubs.

Once the game started though, all that became irrelevant. Braga manager Domingos Paciencia knew exactly how to work within his limited resources and completely outwitted his Arsenal counterpart (Arsène Wenger).

He knew that it'd be suicidal to try and play an open game against Arsenal and he instructed his team to let Arsenal have the ball. As a result, the North Londonders enjoyed an impressive 65 percent ball possession throughout the match.

The Braga manager also ordered Luis Aguiar to man-mark an uninspired Cesc Fabregas, thus effectively nullifying the Gunners' attacking moves. Also, Braga's centre-back duo, Moisés and Rodriguez, proved to impenetrable. Solid, organized defense was the foundation of Braga's game.

During the first half Arsenal were in control of the match, but they could not create many chances. Their few dangerous plays were all originated by Theo Walcott's tremendous pace down the flank. However, Braga's defense eventually managed to find way to keep the English player quiet.

During the first 45 minutes, Braga's attack was virtually non-existent, thus giving Arsenal a false sense of security. Drawing against Arsenal was a great result in theory, but with Shakhtar winning at Partizan, only a win would keep Braga's Champions League dream alive.

Aware of this, Braga took a more daring approach in the second half. Defensive security kept being the priority, but now Braga were also proving dangerous in the counterattack and creating some chances of their own.

Even though Arsenal kept having more possession, it seemed like Braga could catch Arsenal on the counterattack and score at anytime.

And then it happened... David lost his fear and struck Goliath with all he had.

In the 83th minute, Matheus was on the receiving end of a perfect counter-attack pass by Elton and, with only Fabianski in front of him, he slotted it home to open the score. The home crowd went crazy while Arsenal, who only needed a point to progress, went all out to try and tie the match. That left them open at the back and at the last minute, Matheus scored another fabulous counter-attack goal, embarassing Arsenal's backline in the process and capping Braga's magical night.

And so Braga's fairytale continues. Defying all odds, as they've been doing all along, Braga played a fantastic match and beat a much more powerful Arsenal side. The powerful Gunners were brought to their knees by a relatively unreputed 27-year-old Brazilian striker and by a team who, despite their limitations, always believed they could slay the North London giants.

It was a night that Braga and their supporters will never forget, the biggest victory in the club's history.

On the losing side, Arsène Wenger showed his usual unwillingness to own up to hishortcomings. Amidst a rant about the referee, Arsène Wenger made the following comment on Braga: "We played against a team who refused to play and tried to catch us on the counter attack. They used every single trick in the book to slow the game down." 

Such comments were completely uncalled for. Given the difference between the two clubs, there's really no excuse for Arsenal's defeat. They were outwitted by a much more intelligent (at least on the day) Braga side, who knew their own limitations but managed to take full advantage of Arsenal's weaknesses.

This result and performance prove that Braga are a lot better than what they showed in their first two matches (0-6 at the Emirates and 0-3 at home against Shakhtar), where they clearly let the pressure get to them. They got back their form and won their last three matches, including today's brilliant win. However, Shakhtar's 3-0 win at Partizan might mean that it was too late.

Going into the final match day, Braga's dream is still alive, but it's a long shot.

On December 8, the Portuguese outfit will travel to Ukraine, while Arsenal will host Partizan. Currently, Shakhtar sit atop of the group with 12 points, while Arsenal and Braga both have nine points (with Arsenal in second place thanks to their 6-0 blowout on match day one). This means that Braga can only qualify as long as they win by a four goal difference or as long as they win and Arsenal fail to beat Partizan at home.

Even if the Braga fail to advance, beating Arsenal in such brilliant fashion and being in contention until the last day is fantastic for a club of Braga's stature. That said, Domingos Paciência and his men will not give up on their dream so easily. Once again, the odds are stacked against them, but that has never stopped Braga before.

One thing's for sure: Braga will do their best in Ukraine and then we'll see what happens. Having the same points as Arsenal before the last match is better than anyone could have imagined, but Braga's dream is bigger, a lot bigger and they'll fight for it until the last second of their last match.

Today's performance certainly gives Braga every reason to believe that they can do it!