Matchday 2 ended with a night of passion, drama and surprises.
The excitement made me forget tame Tuesday.
Heroic stuff by Chelsea with Drogba scoring goal of the month.
More heroic stuff by Celtic with AC Milan keeper Dida exposed as the most despicable cheat in the Champions League.
Complacency by Werder Bremen, who had just won 8-1 in the Bundesliga and faced Olympiacos, who had never won in 31away games in Europe. The Greeks beat the Germans 3-1 !!!!
I watched the Valencia-Chelsea game. I was told. "Liverpool were clueless, Sissoko was awful, Torres and Crouch never got a pass all night." Marseilles won with a very good goal by Valbuena, whose shot went into the top corner off the underside.
On a pulsating night at Parkhead, AC Milan's old men, who are jogging in Serie A, were deservedly punished by a belligerent Celtic side who beat the European Champions 2-1.
Ref Markus Merk gave Milan a soft penalty and Kaka equalised. But Scott McDonald slotted the winner in the last minute. When that goal was scored, Parkhead was rocking and a fan stupidly got onto the pitch and trundled past keeper Dida and patted him on the neck.The fan wasn't tall enough to pat him on the cheek. Dida chased the impertinent supporter for three yards and then collapsed holding his face. He was taken off on a stretcher ! Yes ! Dida was carried of on a stretcher holding an icepack to his face!
What a tart ! What a cheat ! He is corrupt ! He's been in Italy too long. Milan should sack him for gross misconduct.He was badly at fault for both goals. He should be banned by Uefa for the rest of this season. And Celtic should be fined for allowing a fan to run on the pitch after a goal had been scored.
At the Mestalla, David Villa scored a razor-sharp goal for Valencia after Paulo Ferreira's clearance rebounded off Essien to put him clear of John Terry.
Malouda then played a sweet one-two with his mate Drogba and crossed low into the six yard box for Joe Cole to equalise. Then Cole released Drogba on the left with a fabulous 40-yard pass and Drog exploded away from Albiol, his marker, and took one right-foot touch into the box, and as Hildebrand went to cover the middle of the goal, the striker swept the ball inside the near post with his left foot .What a goal ! What is more thrilling than a powerhouse centre forward going towards the goal at high speed with only one thing on his mind? On Monday Morientes said Drogba is the best centre forward in the world. Morientes knows what it takes to do what Drogba does. Carvalho, restored to defence, was superb, as was Makelele. Say what you like about Chelsea, and I often do, they are two great, tough footballers. After 33 goals last season, Drogba is still producing.
Good night for centre forwards. Ruud van Nistelrooy got two at Lazio but Pandev equalised twice.
In the Group Stage, always remember that it's seeded. The top teams are seeded, so the competition is loaded in their favour. The big clubs just have to perform to their seeding . Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester United did that.
Liverpool didn't do that. They lost at Anfield to a side that's fifth bottom of the French league. Rafa is resting players in September so they won't be tired in February. He is managing the season while losing the match. Rotation is fear. Rotation is bollocks. Rotation is nullification. Rotation is picking your team round the other guy's team. That is stupid. Rafa Benitez is killing football. He admitted it could be the worst performance since he's been in charge.
Celtic have a passionate team playing for passionate fans. Liverpool have passionate fans who don't know what they're watching. Clearly, Liverpool need Gordon Strachan to make them British again. Rafa has wasted many millions on journeymen.