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Champions league was back in action last night with the top teams in Europe facing off against each other. Match day 4 saw the teams from the first 4 groups battling it out to book a place in the next stage. There were some high tempo clashes including Spanish giants Real Madrid against German champions Borussia Dortmund and Manchester City, who are desperately trying to stay in the champions league playing against a young Ajax side. Here is a complete round up of all the games played during Match day 4 of the Champions League.
Group D
Real Madrid vs Borussia Dortmund (2- 2)
Madrid came from behind twice in a game which saw some beautiful football from both the champions. Rising star Marco Reus opened the scoring in the 28th minute for Dortmund with a shot from the edge of the box with Casillas having absolutely no chance. Pepe soon equalized for Madrid as he came up with a powerful header from a Mesut Ozil’s cross. The game was full of excitement with some excellent defending from Dortmund’s centre backs as they kept Ronaldo and Higuain at bay. Mario Gotze capitalized on some poor defending by Madrid as he put Dortmund ahead once again during the stroke of half time. Madrid kept the Dortmund goalkeeper busy as they desperately searched for an equaliser. Mesut Ozil came up with a brilliant free kick to expertly divert it into the goal with a minute of normal time remaining.
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Man City vs Ajax (2-2)
Big spending City, who are staring at Champions league exit, were two goals down within 17 minutes, Siem De Jong being the scorer on both occasions. The Ajax captain has scored 3 times in 2 games as he exploited the weak defending by the hosts. Yaya Toure pulled one back for City with a menacing finish after five minutes. Joe Hart was kept busy by the Ajax attackers as he came up with some neat saves to deny the Dutch on several occasions. Sergio Aguero scored the vital equalizer as he pounced on to a header from Mario Ballotelli in the 74 minute. Ballotelli and Aguero then came close for City but they were not able to get that crucial winning goal. City are still bottom of the group as they are almost sure to be out of the champions league.
Group C
AC Milan vs Malaga (1-1)
Malaga needed a draw against Milan and they did just that at the San siro. Cash strapped Malaga, who had to sell most of their top players during the summer, are unbeaten in the champions league. 20 year old Isco played a brilliant ball which split the Milan defence, resulting in Eliseu scoring the opening goal. Milan have been struggling from the start of the season with top players retiring and the Charismatic Zlatan Ibrahimovic leaving to PSG. Alxendre Pato gave Milan hope as he levelled the scores in the 73rd minute, heading the ball inside the goal from a cross by Emmanuelson. Milan were desperately trying for the winner but just could not get through the resilient Malaga defence. Manuel Pellegrini’s men are through to the next round in their debut season of the Champions league with Milan staying second.
The other game in group C saw Anderlecht winning by a goal against the newly rich Zenit at Belgium. Dieudonne Mbokani’s goal made the difference as Anderlecht kept their European dream intact. The score could have been more had it not been for poor finishing by the hosts. Zenit are now rock bottom of the group with just 3 points.
Group B
Schalke vs Arsenal (2-2)
The Gunners went ahead against the German outfit in as early as 18 minutes with Theo Walcott, who got a rare start, finding the back of the net. Arsenal were on the ascendancy and had revenge written all over them as Lukas Podolski’s cross was turned in by Oliveir Giroud with a diving header as Schalke were caught napping. Arsenal’s failure to clear the ball in the 44th minute saw Schalke come up with a great move as Klaas Jan Huntelaar found the bottom corner with a neat finish. It was the Dutchman’s 21st goal in 24 starts for Schalke. Jeferson Farfan levelled the scores in the 67th minute as his powerful strike was deflected into his own net by Thomas Vermaelen. Theo Walcott could have won the game for the gunners in the dying seconds of the game but he could not poke the ball past the Schalke keeper. Schalke are on top of the group with 8 points and Arsenal second with 7. Olympiakos, who defeated Montepellier 3-1 are now right behind Arsenal with 6 points.
Group A
PSG vs Dinamo Zagreb
A clinical display by Zlatan Ibrahimovic saw PSG tearing apart Dinamo Zagreb in Paris. The Swede, although not in the score sheet was phenomenal all through the game and played vital part by setting up all the four goals. Defender Alex opened the scoring with a striker like finish from an Ibrahimovic corner. The former AC Milan man, who playing in a much deeper role played a perfect pass to help Matuidi finish in the 61st minute. Four minutes later, Jeremey Menez displayed neat finishing as he made it 3-0 to PSG. Ibrahimovic then tried to score one himself but slipped and still managed to square the ball to striker Guillaume Hoarau. PSG lay second in the table behind leaders Porto who were held to a goalless draw by Dynamo Kyiv in Ukraine.
