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| City boss Mancini has a word with referees after 2-2 Ajax stalemate |
English champions Manchester City and German outfit Schalke
04 both had to come from two goals down to salvage a point against Ajax and
Arsenal respectively as the Champions League return leg matches started Tuesday
night.
Manchester City fell behind 2-0 in just over quarter an hour
against Ajax at the Eitihad Stadium with Dutch international Seim de Jong
scoring both goals. Yaya Toure pulled one back for the Citizens halfway through
the first half and Argentine hotshot Sergio Aguero netted in the 74th
minute to end it 2-2 at the final whistle but a point doesn’t look good enough for
Roberto Mancini’s side who look certain to be eliminated.
City sit rock bottom in the Group D with two points and even
victory in their two remaining matches against group leaders Borussia Dortmund
and second-placed Real Madrid may still not be enough to sail them through to
the knockout stages.
The ‘Group of Death’s’ other hopefuls Dortmund and Madrid were
also involved in a 2-2 stalemate which ensured they remain first and second in
the group respectively. Marco Reus gave the German champions the lead in the 28th
minute with a fine swerving volley but Pepe restored parity in the 34th
minute for Los Blancos only for Arbeloa to score an own goal to restore the
German’s lead just before the interval.
Jose Mourinho’s men had the lion share of possession in the
second period but could not break down a stubborn Dortmund defence. It took a
Mesut Ozil master set piece in the dying minutes of the game to salvage a draw
for Madrid and deny Jurgen Klopp’s charges from completing a historic double
over the 9-time Champions League winners.
Meanwhile highflying Spanish
side Malaga and Portuguese champions Porto became the first teams to book their
slot in the round of 16. Malaga conceded their first goal of the Champions league
season in their 1-1 away draw to AC Milan.
Eliseu put the
visitors ahead five minutes before the break and they looked on course to
maintain their 100% win record in Group C until Alexandre Pato popped in with
the equalizer in the 73rd minute. The point however ensured the Boquerones
progression from the Group with two games to spare while Massimiliano Allegri's
side continue to struggle in the group.
Anderlecht brought
themselves back into the qualification mix with a 1-0 win over Zenit Saint
Petersburg, their first in the group. The win moved them above Zenit into third
place, a point less than second-placed Milan.
Meanwhile Arsenal
continued with their latest struggles as they surrendered a 2-0 lead to draw
2-2 with Schalke. Contract rebel Theo Walcott continued his fine goal-scoring streak
with the opener after 18 minutes and Olivier Giroud doubled the lead eight minutes
later only for Klaas-Jan Huntelaar and Jefferson Farfan to ensure the
stalemates were shared in front of a home crowd.
The draw leaves the
group as open as any other and both teams will have to look over their shoulders
as Olympiakos Piraeus’s 3-1 win over Montpellier sees them only a point inferior
to the Gunners and two adrift of Schalke who lead Group B on 8 points.
Porto also ensured
their qualification from Group A in spite of their barren draw away to Dynamo
Kiev. Big-spending French side Paris Saint Germain looks certain to join the Portuguese
after they mauled Dinamo Zagreb 4-0. Alex’s first half strike was added onto in
the second half by Blaise Matuidi, Jeremy Menez and Guillaume Hoarau as PSG ran
the rings around their opponents who have been eliminated with no points thus
far.
The fifth round of
the return leg matches will be played in a fortnight.
And That's thesteifmastertake!!
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