From Benzema to Kassai: The major winners and losers from tonight’s Champions League fixtures

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On another evening of intense Champions League football across the continent there were some pulsating fixtures as the group stages passed the halfway mark.  

In the earlier kick-offs Valencia saw off stiff competition from Young Boys in Group H, while Roma boosted their chances of qualifying from Group G with a win over CSKA Moscow.

In the traditional kick-offs, Manchester City humbled Shakhtar Donetsk while Real Madrid also had no problem easing past Viktoria Plzen, while Lyon could only draw with Hoffenheim in a tense encounter at the Parc Olympique Lyonnais and Bayern Munich beat AEK Athens.

Finally, Manchester United edged past Juventus after going a goal down courtesy of two goals in the final five minutes, while Ajax and Benfica played out a 1-1 draw.

And so, the Champions League group phase has finally passed the halfway stage, but who were the major winners and losers from matchday four?

Winner: Santi Mina

The 22-year-old faces stern competition at the Mestalla, but Mina has done his chances of cementing a starting berth in Marcelino’s starting XI no harm this evening after he bagged a crucial brace against Group H rivals Young Boys, taking his tally to four for the season in all competitions.

That places the Spaniard level on goals with Kevin Gameiro, Rodrigo Moreno and Michy Batshuayi combined, despite playing the least number of minutes out of the three strikers, and by a considerably amount – just 287 in the league, and just 20 minutes in the Champions League prior to tonight’s match.

Mina demonstrated his poacher’s instinct for the first goal, tapping in from close range after the ball struck the woodwork and deflected straight into his path, while his second was an exquisite toe-poke past the reach of David von Ballmoos.

Mina enjoyed his most prolific goalscoring season last term, but the arrival Michy Batshuayi looked destined to stunt his growth on Spain’s southeastern coast, however, the former Celta Vigo talisman has now started in Los Che’s last three matches and could yet play a prominent role this campaign.

Loser: Hordur Bjorgvin Magnusson

It was always going to be a tall order for CSKA Moscow to replicate their achievements from last month and beat another of Europe’s great footballing aristocrats, but they looked capable of reproducing a performance reminiscent of that famous Real Madrid victory that is, until Magnusson was sent off.

The Iceland international – a former Bristol City defender – received two yellow cards from referee Cuneyt Cakir and as a result, he all but ended his side’s hopes of producing another European upset at the Luzhniki Stadium.

Roma went 1-0 up through an early Kostas Manolas header, but the Giallorossi largely failed to build on from that moment in the first-half, and the Moscow club continued to pose an ominous threat throughout the first 45 minutes – Magnusson also picked up his first card on the half-hour mark.

However, Viktor Goncharenko’s men rallied and drew level just after the restart, a fine finish from Arnor Sigurdsson, unfortunately his compatriot was adjudged to have fouled Justin Kluivert just moments later and Cakir deemed that to be worthy of a second bookable offence – Roma would ultimately score three minutes after his dismissal.

Winner: David Silva

David Silva has now netted three goals in the Champions League this season, which is the Spaniard’s best goalscoring return in a single season across the competition, and there are still two games remaining in the group stage for City.

On the week Pep Guardiola confessed his love for the midfield magician, Silva has repaid the faith and affection shown in him by his compatriot by opening the scoring against Shakhtar Donetsk this evening – it was a beautifully executed tap-in after some neat footwork from Riyad Mahrez on the right wing.

Such has been Silva’s impact that since making his Champions League debut for the Citizens, only Sergio Aguero has been directly involved in more goals throughout the competition, with the Spain international scoring eight and assisting eight.

And it seemed almost inconceivable, but Silva has taken his game to another level this season despite the fact he turns 33 in just two months time, but the elegant playmaker is still an integral component of Guardiola’s plans, and in truth, no player embodies the Catalan tactician’s philosophy more than Silva.

Loser: Ukrainian sides

The record of Ukrainian sides on English soil is quite simply woeful, with no club from the country winning in England in 29 attempts across any European competition, with 23 defeats and just six draws – the last team to avoid defeat were actually Dynamo Kiev against Man City in 2016 at the Etihad.

Shakhtar Donetsk were in fact able to beat the Premier League champions in last season’s competition during the group stages, but that came in Kharkiv at the Oblasny SportKomplex Metalist; the fixture at the Etihad was a comfortable 2-0 win for City.

And that was the case again tonight as Guardiola’s side brushed past the Miners with sheer ease. There were a number of notable absentees from Paulo Fonseca’s starting XI, including creative winger Marlos, but Shakhtar were simply blown away by the English juggernaut.

David Silva opened the scoring after just 13 minutes, while Gabriel Jesus doubled the host’s advantage just 10 minutes later, and there was no coming back for Shakhtar from there, as City continued to add goals – a hat-trick from Jesus – and ultimately compile further misery on that rather insipid record.

Winner: Karim Benzema

Karim Benzema netted his 200th goal for Real Madrid in all competitions this evening after opening the scoring for Los Blancos in the 21st minute against Viktoria Plzen at the Doosan Arena, and he would net his 201st just 16 minutes later, putting Real three to the good.

As a result, the Frenchman has become just the seventh player to reach that goalscoring landmark for Real, and it brought up his ninth goal of the season, which is now just three goals shy of his total across all competitions last term.

Benzema is a polarising figure in the Spanish capital, but there can be no denying his goalscoring achievements for the club since joining Real as a fresh-faced 21-year-old from boyhood club Lyon some nine years ago.

His goalscoring prowess has significantly waned over the past couple of seasons, but only to accommodate a more selfless role so that Cristiano Ronaldo could truly flourish in the final third; now that the Portuguese ace has parted for Juventus, Benzema is starting to rediscover his former potency in front of goal.

Loser: Viktor Kassai

As if City needed any help, referee Viktor Kassai blessed Guardiola’s men with an absolute gift in the first-half after awarding the Manchester club a penalty when Raheem Sterling, in rather comical fashion, tripped over his own legs.

Without hesitation the Hungarian referee pointed to the spot, quite to the bemusement – and amusement – of the City spectators gathered in the Etihad Stadium, while the Shakhtar Donetsk fans could not quite believe what they were witnessing.

Pep Guardiola himself could be seen on the sideline having a giggle with his backroom staff over the incident and was caught on camera reenacting the fall of Sterling, who also looked as confused as Andriy Pyatov did in the Shakhtar goal, with the gloveman’s protests falling on deaf ears.

This just further begs the question as to what the role of the fifth official behind the goal actually is, while also adding further weight to the argument that they are simply irrelevant. The introduction of VAR will surely render them redundant, but they have largely been deemed useless by the football community already.

Winner: Cristiano Ronaldo

Cristiano Ronaldo netted his first Champions League goal for Juventus, and he managed to do it against the club where he truly made a name for himself before signing for Real Madrid, scoring in the second half to break the deadlock between the Red Devils and Juve.

And what better way to open your European account for you new club than by scoring an absolute beauty right of the the top drawer; make no mistake about it, this was a strike of pure footballing elegance, a volley of mesmeric beauty that left one of the world’s best goalkeepers rooted to the spot.

It was a fitting way for the Portuguese ace to end his goalscoring drought in Europe, a drought that spanned over 450 minutes without scoring a goal and 20 shots without finding the back of the net; that goal now ensures Ronaldo has only failed to score against his former club on just one occasion when facing them.

His scintillating performances yielded an incredible 15 goals in the competition last term – giving Ronaldo the top scorer accolade – and while he may not be able to surpass that previous goalscoring feat, he will play a pivotal role this season as Juve look to thwart Los Blancos’ European stranglehold.

The post From Benzema to Kassai: The major winners and losers from tonight’s Champions League fixtures appeared first on Squawka News.



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