Champions League Matchday 1 Roundup
19th September, 2007
The first round of matches in the Champions League group stages saw a disappointing set of results for British teams, with Liverpool and Chelsea held to draws, and Scottish side Celtic comprehensively beaten.
Liverpool travelled to Porto, and the point gained from their 1-1 away draw will be seen in a fairly positive light, gained in theoretically the toughest group stage game, in facing the next highest seeds away from home. They also came from behind and had to play for a significant period of the second half with ten men as Jermaine Pennant saw red for two bookable offenses.
Chelsea failed to make the most of their dominance at home to Norwegian side Rosenborg. After conceding a shock goal in the first half, the widely criticised Andrei Shevchenko popped up to head in an excellent cross from the lively Florent Malouda to level the game. Chelsea continued to press with nearly 30 shots throughout the game, but consistently failed to trouble the keeper with decent shots on target.
Celtic’s away trip to face Shaktar Donetsk ended in defeat, with the Ukrainian team producing some impressive football, more than worthy of the 2-0 win. Elsewhere holders AC Milan produced a comfortable 3-1 win over Benfica, Marseille netted two late goals to see off Besiktas, Olympiakos failed to take all three points at home to Lazio in a tight 1-1 draw, David Villa scored the only goal for Valencia in Schalke to win the game, and Real Madrid continued their good start to the season with a 2-1 victory over Werder Bremen.
