Atletico de Madrid hosted Group G Club Zenit St Petersburg in an expectant & warm home ground atmosphere. The Russians had their ideas clear at the beginning; defend & allow Atletico be the protagonist awaiting a possible slip to then advance & attack. The Spanish team kept running into the Russian wall until a set piece - corner found the head of Atletico defender Miranda who scored in the 39th min.
This forced Zenit to change strategy & came out second half looking for the equalizer. Atletico de Madrid made the mistake to give back the ball to Zenit & the initiative & they paid with a Zenit equalizer in the 58 th min from a Hulk power driver.
Atletico reacted & won back the ball & Arda Turan managed to hook onto a loose ball in the square to put Atletico back in the lead in the 64th min. Then Atletico de Madrid player Leo Baptistao scored the third & the sealer in the 80th min just after coming on as a substitute a minute earlier.
Man of the match for me was Arda Turan who was brilliant & special & important mention to Atletico de Madrid goalkeeper Courtois who made three vital saves that keep Zenit at bay when Atletico was playing their worst Football.
Great start for Atletico de Madrid.
FC Barcelona played its Group H match at home against Ajax Amsterdam & won 4 - 0 with a Lionel Messi HAT-TRICK included. The game was relatively comfortable for Barça which started showing the initiative & creating opportunities from the beginning, plus surprisingly with a more "counter-attacking" spirit throughout the whole match.
It did not take long for Barça to score when Messi converted a brilliant free kick in the 22nd min. Ajax reacted & bettered their Football but Barça keeper Victor Valdes cancelled out their created opportunities as he is in top form.
The second half saw Barça lift in gears & Messi got the second in a counter-attack that took out two defenders in the 55th min. The third came in the 69th min when Pique headed a Neymar pass into the net, then Messi scored his HAT-TRICK & the fourth for Barcelona in the 75th min.
Top "rub salt in the wound", FC Barcelona goalie Valdes stopped a penalty committed by Mascherano in the 78th min to stamp his authority & to keep the scoreline with a "clean slate"
Good start for FC Barcelona in Champions League.
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