Arsenal & Liverpool Struggle In Champions League

In their first competitive games of the season, both Arsenal and Liverpool flattered to deceive last night when they played the first legs of their Champions League Qualifying games.  Although it will be Arsenal that will be happier with their 2 - 0 away win at Steve McClaren’s new club FC Twente.  (Steve McClaren, that name rings a bell!)

Rafa Benitez on the other hand, will be more relieved than happy as his new look Liverpool side, which started the game without their captain Steven Gerrard, struggled to a 0 - 0 draw away at Standard Liege.  In fact Benitez will probably be the first to admit that the Reds were lucky not to lose and probably by two goals.

You have to say that Benitez looks more angry than the relieved, doesn’t he?

Not only that but Pepe Reina came to Liverpool’s and Benitez’s rescue when he saved yet another penalty.  There’s no denying he’s good at that. Liege also hit the woodwork twice.  It could have turned into an awful night for Liverpool.

However Benitez apparently claimed after the game that he was not 100% surprised that his team struggled and had to survive what can only be described as an “onslaught” against the mighty Standard Liege.  Wow, things are looking up for Liverpool fans then.

Here’s what he had to say:

“The real surprise for me was the way Liverpool played. The only positive to take from the match was the fact that we did not concede a goal.

“We will have to be a lot better in the second leg at Anfield, much better.

“We have been playing well in pre-season, looking confident and passing the ball well. But we did not do any of those things.”

Meanwhile, Arsene Wenger’s Arsenal were also below par in their game against FC Twente however at least they managed to score two away goals and take a tight grip on the tie and look odds on favourites to progress into the Group Stages.

Gallas and Adebayor were the scorers in a fairly young looking team sent out by Wenger.  Even though he will probably be pretty upset, like Benitez, at the performance I’m sure he will be thrilled with the 2 - 0 away win.  Here’s what he had to say after the game:

“We expected a very physical game and we were not disappointed.

“We needed to be patient and not make mistakes at the back.

“They dropped their level but to do what they did in the first half is very difficult and from then on we looked more comfortable.

“We were so young in the middle of the park for a game of that level and you could be worried but I have confidence in them.”

Oh I remember McClaren now!  Looks like he’s started off in Holland where he left off with England then!

In other top ties in the Champions League last night there were wins for Juventus, Barcelona and Schalke.  Barcelona effectively rubber stamped their passage into the Group Stages by knocking in 4 unanswered goals at the Camp Nou against Polish side Wisla Krakow.  The Italian giants Juventus, who have not been in the Champions League for the last two seasons due to their involvement in alleged match fixing, also racked up the same 4 - 0 score line against Artmedia Bratislava at home in Turin.  So there are two big names definitely safely into the hat for the next draw!

One of the most attractive looking games, at least on paper, was the tie between German Bundesliga side Schalke and Spain’s Atletico Madrid.  The tie seems to be well balanced after the first leg with the Germans winning 1 - 0 at home.  The second leg in Madrid could be worth a watch.

Simply click on the following link to catch up on all the results from the Champions First Qualifying First Legs.

Cheers

Rik
The Soccer Blogger

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Many thanks
Rik