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On Tuesday, two Champions League round of 16 matches were played.
The "Napoli" team achieved a great victory, beating London's "Chelsea" 3-1 in front of their own fans. This was another painful blow for coach Andre Villas Boas, whose future in England seems uncertain.
True, the match started very successfully for the visitors: although the hosts dominated, after a rough mistake by defender Paolo Cannavaro trying to clear the ball it bounced straight to Juan Mata, who scored from a few meters against Massimo De Sanctis.
However, "Napoli" did not falter and soon restored balance - with a shot from afar, the first goal in the prestigious European club football tournament was scored by Ezequiel Lavezzi. As if that wasn't enough, just before halftime Edinson Cavani sent "Chelsea" reeling, scoring the second goal for the Italian team.
After the break, "Chelsea" had opportunities, but "Napoli" played with more fire and cemented their advantage: after a mistake in defense by David Luiz, Cavani rejected the ball to Lavezzi, who took advantage of goalkeeper Petr Cech's careless decision to leave the goal and sent the ball into the net.
The victory of the Italian side could have been even greater, but Christian Maggio, after a perfect pass from Marek Hamsik from a few meters away, managed to hit straight at defender Ashley Cole.
Debutant Pontus Wernbloom already during injury time defeated Madrid's "Real" goalkeeper Iker Casillas and snatched a dramatic equalizer 1-1 for CSKA.
In the match in Moscow, where the temperature was about -6 degrees, the Spaniards led for a long time after Cristiano Ronaldo's goal in the 28th minute. Interestingly, in the Champions League, the Portuguese has already scored 17 goals in 23 matches for the Madrid team. He has scored 32 times throughout his career.
The guests dominated on the artificial turf pitch, and the hosts created only a few chances, but in the last moment the Swede Wernbloom restored parity.
CSKA Lithuanian Deividas Šemberas remained on the bench.
Moscow CSKA 0 - 1 Madrid's "Real" 28' [0 - 1] C.Ronaldo 90' [1 - 1] P.Wernbloom
"Napoli" 3 - 1 London's "Chelsea" 27' [0 - 1] J.Mata 38' [1 - 1] E.Lavezzi 45' [2 - 1] E.Cavani 65' [3 - 1] E.Lavezzi
